Artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzzword, it's a practical tool that businesses worldwide are using every day to save time, cost, resources, and to boost their productivity. Whether it’s for customer service, marketing or streamlining internal processes, AI can make a big impact. But with so many different choices out there, it can be hard to know which one is the best fit for your business.

We’ve decided to take a look at the “Big Four” AI platforms that are making the biggest waves at the moment (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Meta AI, and DeepSeek) to see what each one offers, how they could help your businesses, as well as a few things you may need to be cautious about when choosing the right AI platform for you.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT’s probably the most well-known of the group. It’s a conversational AI that businesses use for everything from writing emails to creating blog posts, automating customer support, and summarising long documents.

Pros:
It’s user-friendly and easy to integrate into day-to-day operations; The paid version (ChatGPT Plus) includes unlimited access to GPT-4, which is more accurate, up-to-date and can handle more complex tasks like writing code or analysing data. It also has plug-in options for browsing and document handling, which can increase its functionality to a wider range of different applications across your PC.

Cons:
ChatGPT is still in it’s relatively early stages of development has a long way to go so will sometimes generate inaccurate or overly confident answers. ChatGPT tends to prioritise speed over accuracy and can often miss, ignore or forget elements of what you’ve asked it, especially within the context of copywriting so you will likely find yourself having to feed an answer back into the AI multiple times or simply having to proofread and correct answers yourself.

When using any AI system, businesses will still need to be vigilant and heavily fact-check its outputs. Because of this, it’s best to avoid using AI for anything that requires guaranteed accuracy, like legal or financial content.

Google Gemini (formerly Bard)

Gemini is Google’s AI assistant, which is now heavily integrated into their wider ecosystem (like Gmail, Docs, and Search). It's useful for those already using Google Workspace, offering AI-powered suggestions within the apps you're already working in and as Google expands its integration, it will inevitably be something we end up using more and more.

Pros:
It's successfully integrated within a wide range of Google's tools, making it easy to adopt into your day-to-day work if you already use many of their systems for your work. It can also pull in live data from the web, giving it an edge on its competitors in this regard and making it a great choice for research or when you need the most up-to-date information.

Cons:
Its responses can be fairly inconsistent and, while it’s improving quickly, it doesn’t always match other AI for reliability or fluency, particularly in its longer answers, making it less useful for copyrighting. It’s also not ideal for use outside the Google ecosystem, so its functionality can be limited.

Meta AI

Meta AI is built into apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, with a strong focus on image generation and casual conversation. It’s still maturing, but Meta is investing heavily in making it a strong content creation tool, especially for social media.

Pros:
Meta AI is free, fast and already integrated into platforms many businesses use for marketing. It’s good for generating ideas, content drafts, and basic image creation.

Cons:
It’s currently more limited than other tools for business or technical use. It also lacks in-depth document handling and access to business features is still quite basic. If you were to integrate this tool into your business, it would probably only be relevant/useful to a branding or marketing team rather than anywhere else within your business.

DeepSeek

DeepSeek is a rising name in AI, known for its multilingual capabilities and strong performance on technical tasks. It's popular with developers and engineers but is starting to get more attention in other business areas too.

Pros:
It’s at its most powerful when dealing with maths, coding or multilingual content. Businesses working internationally or needing technical AI support may find DeepSeek more capable than other mainstream options.

Cons:
The interface isn’t as polished as others and it’s a less well-known platform, so integration options and third-party support are limited. It's best suited to businesses with a more technical focus or internal development teams, so would be less practical for other departments such as marketing, contracts or admin.

Which AI Tool Is Right for Your Business?

Choosing the right AI tool depends entirely on your goals and intended use for the software. For everyday tasks like writing, planning or customer service, ChatGPT and Google's Gemini are solid options. If you’re focused on social media or creative content, Meta AI might suit you better. And if you’re working in coding, analytics, or multilingual environments, DeepSeek could be worth a look at.

That said, no AI tool is perfect. You’ll still need human oversight, and it’s important to train your staff on how to use these tools properly. Misuse or over-reliance on AI can lead to errors, brand inconsistency, or even data risks.

Need Advice on Using AI for Your Business?

At Edmondson’s, we can help you explore how AI could fit into your current systems; Whether you’re looking to automate routine tasks or find smarter ways to work, we provide tailored advice, training, and support, so you can make the most of modern tools without the tech headaches.

Get in touch today to see how we can bring AI into your business safely, effectively, and in a way that works for you.