Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini: picking the best AI for marketers
Five leading AI models compared for content creation, research, and campaign strategy.
From content generation to real-time research, AI models have quickly become essential tools in the modern marketer’s stack. But with a flood of new options—each boasting unique strengths and quirks—it’s no longer enough to just “use AI.” You need the right fit.
This article explores how six major models—OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Anthropic’s Claude, and xAI’s Grok—perform in real-world marketing workflows.
We break down their core use cases, pricing, learning curves, and strategic implications to help you decide where to invest your team's time and budget.
Short on time?
Here’s a table of contents for quick access:
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT: the enterprise-friendly all-rounder
- Google’s Gemini: power for the Google ecosystem
- DeepSeek: a budget AI with solid fundamentals
- Perplexity: the researcher’s favorite
- Claude: ethical, coherent, and long-winded—in a good way
- Grok: trend-savvy, witty, and real-time
- The strategic takeaway for marketing teams
Patrecia Meliana
OpenAI's ChatGPT: the enterprise-friendly all-rounder
Reach: Over 400 million weekly users¹
Best for: Creative content, campaign ideation, team-wide scalability
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has positioned itself as the most mature player in the AI race, especially for marketing teams that need scale and flexibility. With tools for content generation, customer support, and data analysis, ChatGPT handles everything from writing blog drafts to brainstorming campaign angles.
Enterprise adoption is also on the rise—BBVA, for example, deployed 3,300 ChatGPT Enterprise licenses, with 80% of employees reporting time savings².
While its integration options and language fluency are strong, teams should be mindful of its occasional factual inaccuracies and reliance on plugins for real-time data. The biggest tradeoff? You’ll get the most value only at the higher pricing tiers.
Learning curve: Moderate—best results come with some prompt-engineering finesse.
Pricing:
- Free plan: Access to GPT-4o Mini with limited features.
- Plus plan: US$20/month for GPT-4o access.
- Pro plan: US$200/month with enhanced capabilities and memory features.
- Team plan: US$30/month per user
- Enterprise plan: Approximately US$60/user/month with a minimum of 150 users and a 12-month contract (Contact sales for further information).
Atikah Amalia
Google's Gemini: power for the Google ecosystem
Reach: Built into 1B+ Google Search interactions³
Best for: SEO automation, internal workflows, multimodal creation
If your team lives inside Google Docs, Sheets, or Gmail, Gemini’s deep integration can unlock serious productivity gains. It also handles text, image, and audio inputs—useful for multimedia marketers or ad creatives.
Verizon reported a nearly 40% sales increase after deploying a Gemini-based AI assistant⁴. But Gemini’s complexity may be a barrier for casual users. While its multimodal outputs are impressive, they’re not always as refined or consistent as ChatGPT's. The pricing model is also less transparent for high-scale API use.
Learning curve: Steep—expect a ramp-up period to fully utilize its toolset.
Pricing:
- Free plan: Access to Gemini with limited features.
- Starts at US$19.99/month for AI Premium with access to Gemini Advanced
Atikah Amalia
DeepSeek: a budget AI with solid fundamentals
Reach: 92.1% benchmark NLP accuracy⁵, 120% YoY enterprise adoption⁶
Best for: Multilingual content, technical writing, small teams
DeepSeek may be the new kid on the block, but its value proposition is hard to ignore. The pricing is aggressively competitive, and the platform shines in multilingual and technical use cases.
However, it lacks the community support, third-party integrations, and polish of better-known models. It's a great entry-level tool, but you may outgrow it if you're looking for advanced collaboration features or robust toolchain compatibility.
Learning curve: Low—simple UX and output make it accessible from day one.
Pricing:
- Free plan: Access to DeepSeek with limited features.
- US$0.50/million tokens (input), US$1/million tokens (output)
Patrecia Meliana
Perplexity: the researcher's favorite
Reach: 15 million monthly users, 9+ minutes avg. session time⁷
Best for: Fast research, fact-checking, and ideation
Perplexity stands out with its real-time web access and clickable citations. For marketers who need fast answers, competitive intelligence, or fresh data sources, it’s a reliable research sidekick.
What it isn’t: a content writer. While it helps with idea generation and summarization, it’s not as adept at crafting longer-form or brand-aligned copy. It’s also not great for collaborative workflows.
Learning curve: Low—clean, intuitive UI makes adoption a breeze.
Pricing:
- Standard plan: Free access to DeepSeek with limited features.
- Professional plan: US$20/month per user
- Enterprise plan: Custom pricing for large businesses
Claude: ethical, coherent, and long-winded—in a good way
Reach: 18.9 million monthly users⁸
Best for: Strategy docs, customer interactions, tone-sensitive writing
Claude’s edge lies in its coherence and ethical grounding. It’s excellent for tasks that require context retention and nuance—like long-form marketing strategies for handling sensitive customer conversations. Its "harmlessness" principles also appeal to brands navigating compliance-heavy sectors.
However, Claude is not as plug-and-play as ChatGPT or Gemini when it comes to integrations. And it’s more expensive if you want full-featured access.
Learning curve: Low—designed to be friendly across skill levels.
Pricing:
- Free plan: Access to Claude with limited features.
- Pro plan: US$17/month per user with access to more usage and Claude models
- Max plan: US$100/month per user with 5-20x more usage than Pro and higher output limits
- Team plan: US$25/month per user with a minimum of 5 members
- Enterprise plan: Custom pricing for large businesses
Patrecia Meliana
Grok: trend-savvy, witty, and real-time
Reach: 550 million monthly active users⁹
Best for: Trend analysis, social listening, fast-reacting campaigns
xAI’s Grok stands out for its deep integration with X (formerly Twitter) and its personality-driven interactions. It’s especially strong in real-time marketing scenarios—think trend tracking, viral moment engagement, or live campaign monitoring.
Features like Think Mode and Big Brain Mode bring higher-level reasoning to the table, making it more than just a fun chatbot. That said, Grok’s tight linkage to the X platform may limit its utility for broader martech stacks, and privacy concerns remain under scrutiny in the EU.
Learning curve: Low to moderate—easy to use but advanced tools take some getting used to.
Pricing:
- Basic plan: Free access to Grok with limited features
- SuperGrok: US$30/month per user with access to more models and increased memory
Patrecia Meliana
The strategic takeaway for marketing teams
There’s no single “best” AI model for every team. It depends on your goals, budget, and in-house skill level. Here’s how they stack up by need:
- Need an all-in-one powerhouse? Go with ChatGPT—especially at the Enterprise tier.
- Built into Google workflows? Gemini is the natural fit.
- Low-budget with global reach? DeepSeek checks the boxes.
- Live research and ideation? Try Perplexity as your fact-finder.
- Nuanced, ethical copywriting? Claude is your strategist-in-chief.
- Real-time trend engagement? Grok delivers speed and sass with serious insights.
That said, hybrid usage is often the best route. Personally, I use a mix of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini—it’s like getting the best of all worlds.
ChatGPT handles content creation like a champ, Claude brings depth and coherence to planning, and Gemini ties it all together with seamless data and SEO workflows. That combo has seriously leveled up how I approach marketing tasks.
What marketers should do next
- Audit your workflow: Identify gaps where AI could improve efficiency—content, customer service, analytics?
We like giving feedback openly about each other’s work. From there we find bottlenecks and areas for improvement. We also like giving recommendations of new AI features on different platforms.
- Test in parallel: Pilot multiple models side by side. Use the same prompt and compare results across tools.
My team spends 2-3 hours a day testing out new features on various AI models to see which gives the best results.
- Train your team: Host internal workshops on prompt crafting and AI ethics to level up usage.
We have weekly meetings to discuss our research results, then we create plans which are iterated weekly.
- Watch for convergence: Tools are evolving fast—features you love in one model might show up in another tomorrow.
AI isn’t a silver bullet, but the right combination of tools can streamline processes, cut content cycles, and deepen audience insights—without draining your budget or sacrificing creativity.
Sources
- CNBC. (2025, February 20). OpenAI tops 400 million users despite DeepSeek’s emergence. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/20/openai-tops-400-million-users-despite-deepseeks-emergence.html
- The Wall Street Journal. (2024, November 21). Six Months, Thousands of GPTs and Some Big Unknowns: Inside OpenAI’s Deal With BBVA. https://www.wsj.com/articles/six-months-thousands-of-gpts-and-some-big-unknowns-inside-openais-deal-with-bbva-5d6f1c03
- SEO Sandwitch. (2025, April 4). Latest Google Gemini Statistics for 2025: [Vital Data & Industry Impact]. https://seosandwitch.com/best-google-gemini-stats/
- Reuters. (2025, April 9). Verizon says Google AI for customer service agents has led to sales jump. https://www.reuters.com/technology/verizon-says-google-ai-customer-service-agents-has-led-sales-jump-2025-04-09/
- SEO Sandwitch. (2025, April 4). DeepSeek AI Statistics for 2025: [New Data on Market Growth and Usage]. https://seosandwitch.com/deepseek-ai-stats/
- Cropink. (2025, April 10). 30+ DeepSeek Statistics: How This AI Model is Changing the Game [2025]. https://cropink.com/deepseek-statistics
- DataGlobeHub. (2025, April 4). Perplexity AI Statistics and Insights 2025. https://dataglobehub.com/perplexity-ai-statistics-and-insights/
- Backlinko. (2025, March 3). Claude Statistics: How Many People Use Claude?. https://backlinko.com/claude-users
- SEO Sandwitch. (2025, April 4). Grok AI Statistics (Adoption, Performance, and Market Impact in 2025). https://seosandwitch.com/grok-ai-stats/
