Welcome to Your First Month!
Hi there, and welcome! Over the next month, you and I are going to turn an AI assistant into a useful everyday helper. We'll go one practical task at a time.
But first, a simple question: which assistant should you use?
You've probably heard a few names already: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Meta AI. They're all chat assistants. You type (or say) something, and they answer. Each one comes from a different company, and each has a free plan plus one or more paid plans.
Today you'll compare them, choose one, and send your very first message. That's it. Nice and gentle.
Why Check the Official Pages Yourself?
Think of AI plans like mobile phone contracts. The basics stay the same, but the details keep changing: prices, limits, which features are free. A blog post from six months ago could easily be wrong now.
That's why we go straight to the source: each company's own pricing page or help centre. And when you read one, write down the date you checked. Why bother? Because if you look back in a month and something seems different, you'll know whether the plan changed or you just remembered it wrong.
Here's a little of what those pages said in October 2026, just to give you a feel for it. Please check them again yourself, because they really do change.
ChatGPT (OpenAI) has a Free plan, a cheaper Go plan, Plus, and several Pro tiers. Ads may now appear on the Free and Go plans in some countries, including the US and UK. Plus and the higher plans are ad-free.
Gemini (Google) has a free plan with image generation, Deep Research and Gemini Live (its voice mode). Since October 2026 the free plan uses a lighter model called Flash-Lite. Paid plans are called Google AI Plus, AI Pro and AI Ultra, and they mainly add higher usage limits, stronger models and extra cloud storage.
Claude (Anthropic) has a Free plan that covers chat on the web, desktop and mobile, plus web search and memory. Pro costs $20 a month ($17 a month if you pay yearly) and adds more usage and extra tools. Max starts at $100 a month.
Copilot (Microsoft) is free to chat with. Microsoft no longer sells the old Copilot Pro. Its features moved into Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month, which puts Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Meta AI lives inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, and it also has its own app. Meta says it stays free for everyday use. In September 2026 Meta launched paid Meta One subscriptions, which mostly add more image and video generation.
Notice a pattern? Every one of them has a real, usable free plan.
So What Does Paying Actually Get You?
Great question. Here's a handy way to think about it. A free plan is like a gym's off-peak membership. You get the same building, but with limits on when and how much.
Paid plans usually add three kinds of things. First, more usage, so you hit the limit less often. Second, stronger models for harder tasks. Third, extra features, like longer research reports, video generation or links into your other apps. Many of the main paid plans cost around $20 (or about £19) a month.
And here's what paying does not get you: an assistant that's always right. Paid or free, it can still make mistakes. We'll practise checking answers later in the course.
So do you need to pay right now? Almost certainly not. You're just starting, and a free plan is plenty for learning the basics. If you keep running into limits a few weeks from now, you can look at upgrading then.
Your Task: Compare, Choose, Say Hello
Let's do it. Here's your plan, step by step:
- Open the official pricing or help page for at least three assistants. Search for something like "Claude pricing" or "Gemini plans", and make sure the link goes to the company's own site.
- For each one, jot down three things: what the free plan includes, what the cheapest paid plan adds, and today's date.
- Pick one. Don't overthink it! A good rule of thumb is to pick the one that fits the tools you already use. If you live in Gmail, try Gemini. If you use Word every day, try Copilot. If you're always on WhatsApp, Meta AI is right there. Or just pick the one whose page made the most sense to you.
- Create an account or sign in.
- Send a harmless first message.
What counts as harmless? Something with no personal details at all. Try typing exactly this:
Give me three ideas for a quick, cheap weeknight dinner using pasta.
What a Good Answer Looks Like
You should get three clear, sensible ideas back, probably with a short description of each. If that's what you see, congratulations! Your assistant works.
How can you check it? Ask yourself: does this make sense? Would these dinners actually be quick and cheap? You're the judge here, not the AI.
Variation to try: Ask the same question in a second assistant's free plan. Are the answers alike? Is one easier to read? That's a great, low-stakes way to confirm your choice. And remember, you can always switch later.
Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Meta AI all offer genuinely useful free plans.
- Always check plans on each company's official page, and note the date you checked, because details change often.
- Paid plans mainly add more usage, stronger models and extra features. They don't make the assistant always right.
- For your first month, a free plan is almost certainly enough.
- Pick one assistant, sign in, and start with a harmless message that has no personal details.