How to Pick the Right AI Tool

With new AI tools being introduced regularly, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one fits your workflow.

If your work involves precisions writing, research, and secure document processing, you need tools that will increase your productivity while maintaining your productivity.

This guide gives an overview of four leading AI tools, highlighting their strengths and key differences.

🎯 Objective:

You want to pick the right AI tool for the job, but with so many options available, it’s tough to decide. This guide will help you compare four major AI tools— ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity , and Microsoft Copilot—so you can make an informed choice based on your specific needs, whether it’s legal research, document drafting, or task automation.

Introduction:

If you are looking for tools to help with research and writing, your best bet is to start out with the "Big Four":

Task

You should use

Notes

For writing, planning, creating documents

Both are great and its best to learn both

For research

Perplexity is focused on fact checking and is far less likely to "hallucinate" than ChatGPT or Claude

For working with Microsoft Office tools

Many organizations have decided to ban the use of ChatGPT and Claude and to only allow Copilot

ChatGPT -- the one that everyone has heard of, available at
Claude -- a rival to ChatGPT that has some strengths that ChatGPT lacks and vice versa, aavilable at
Perplexity -- an AI tool focused on research, available at
Copilot -- a tool built my Microsoft to integrate with Microsoft Office tools like Word and Outlook -- for many this may be your only option since some employers have decided to block the other tools

Icons by

👀 Overview of Key AI Tools:

ChatGPT ChatGPT, offered by OpenAI, is a powerful general-purpose AI assistant available in both free and paid versions. The free version uses the GPT-3.5 model, while the paid version (ChatGPT Plus) leverages GPT-4 for enhanced performance. ChatGPT excels in drafting, brainstorming, and reviewing legal documents, but the paid version offers faster response times and the ability to handle more complex queries with plugins and custom GPT features.
Claude Claude, developed by Anthropic, focuses on more "human-sounding" interactions and provides strong coding and content generation capabilities. It also features a larger context window in its paid version, making it useful for working on complex legal matters where longer documents or multiple references are involved.
Perplexity AI Perplexity is designed as a research assistant, combining search engine-like functionality with conversational AI. It specializes in providing quick, citation-backed answers, making it particularly useful for legal professionals conducting case law research or fact-checking, especially with its focus modes for academic or specific media-related queries.
Microsoft Copilot Integrated into Microsoft 365, Copilot enhances productivity by automating and streamlining tasks in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Legal professionals benefit from Copilot’s ability to draft documents, analyze data, and provide meeting summaries, all within familiar Microsoft environments. This makes it a good option for firms already using Microsoft 365 for their daily workflows.

🆚 Side-by-Side Comparison:

Feature

ChatGPT (Free)

ChatGPT (Paid - GPT-4)

Claude (Free)

Claude (Paid)

Perplexity AI

Microsoft Copilot

Cost

Free

$20/ month

Free

$20/ month

Free and Paid versions ($20/ month)

Included with MS 365 licenses

Best For

Basic drafting, brainstorming

Complex drafting, plugins

Conversational writing, coding

Handling very large documents, advanced coding tasks

Legal research, fact-checking

Productivity, document automation

Text Processing Power

Limited (~4k tokens/ 3000 words)

High (~8k tokens or more/ 6000 words)

High (~21k tokens/ 16,000 words

Very High (~100k tokens/ 75,000 words)

High (~32k tokens/ 24,000 words)

N/A: based on documents

Citations/Sourcing

Yes -- provides links to sources

Integration

Standalone

Integrated with MS 365

Security/Privacy

Moderate (review terms)

High (privacy-focused)

Moderate

High (enterprise-grade)

🚀 Take it to the next level:

Combining Tools: In many cases, combining these tools will offer the best solution. Use ChatGPT for drafting and review, then turn to Perplexity for quick, citation-based research. Copilot can help integrate this work into your productivity suite, while Claude may handle more nuanced, client-facing communications.
Custom GPT Models: With ChatGPT Plus, you can create custom models tailored to specific tasks, such as legal research or contract review, further enhancing its usefulness.

⚠️ Keep in mind:

Privacy Considerations: Always check each platform’s privacy policies, especially when handling sensitive legal data. Some tools retain inputs for training purposes, so avoid entering confidential information unless you're confident in the platform's security.
Data Accuracy: Even the best AI tools are prone to errors, omissions, or biased results. Always verify AI-generated outputs, especially for legal documents, research, or anything client-facing.
Cost vs. Benefit: Free versions of these tools may be adequate for smaller tasks, but for larger volumes of work or more complex needs, upgrading to paid tiers or integrating multiple tools may be necessary.

By weighing the strengths and weaknesses of these tools, you can choose the one (or the combination) that best fits your legal writing, research, and productivity needs.

💡LawSnap Customized Training

If you'd like more personalized guidance, our one-on-one and customized group training sessions can help you master these tools even faster.

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Last updated 7 months ago

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