Home › Answers › Getting started with AI

Getting started with AI

Plain answers to the first questions people ask about ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and AI in general.

• Can ChatGPT be used for business?
  Yes. ChatGPT can be used for business on any plan, including free, for writing emails and quotes, analysing spreadsheets, planning marketing and researching new customers. If you handle customer or staff data, use ChatGPT Business, which OpenAI says doesn't train on your data by default. You stay responsible for checking everything it produces.
• Does ChatGPT have up-to-date information?
  It can. ChatGPT, including the free plan, can search the web for up-to-date information and show you the sources. Without a search, it answers from what it learned in training, which stops at a cut-off date and can be out of date. For UK tax rates, minimum wage or prices, check the linked source or GOV.UK.
• Will Copilot work on Windows 10?
  Partly. Windows 10 support ended on 14 October 2025. Microsoft says Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10 get feature updates and Copilot support until version 2608, then only security updates until 10 October 2028. Copilot on the web still works in a browser, but new Copilot features need Windows 11.
• Are there free AI courses in the UK?
  Yes. Every adult in the UK can take free online AI courses through the government's AI Skills Boost programme on the AI Skills Hub. Some take under 20 minutes and cover drafting, content and admin. Completing selected courses earns a government-backed virtual AI foundations badge. Some specialist courses on the hub are paid, so check first.
• How do AI chatbots and AI tools work?
  An AI chatbot such as ChatGPT runs on a large language model, trained on huge amounts of text to predict which words are likely to come next. When you type a question, it writes an answer one piece at a time. Many can also search the web, read files and use tools, but they still don't truly "know" facts.
• How do you use AI agents in a small business?
  Start an AI agent on one repeatable task with a clear end result, such as researching suppliers, building a weekly report or sorting your inbox. Give it read-only access first, require approval before it sends, pays or deletes anything, and check the result. Agents such as ChatGPT Work come with paid plans you may already have.
• How do you use AI on your phone?
  To use AI on your phone, install a free app such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude and sign in, or use the AI built into your phone: Gemini on most Android phones and Apple Intelligence on recent iPhones. You can type, talk out loud or point your camera at something and ask about it.
• How does NotebookLM work, and how do you use it?
  NotebookLM, which Google now calls Gemini Notebook, is a free research tool that answers questions using only the sources you add, such as PDFs, websites, Google Docs and videos. Create a notebook, add your files, then ask questions or make summaries, audio overviews, mind maps, flashcards, slides or reports. It cites the passages it uses.
• How do I use AI in my small business?
  Start with one job that eats your week (emails, quotes, review replies or missed calls) and use a free tool such as ChatGPT or Gemini to draft the first version. Check every output, keep customer data out of consumer accounts, then only pay when free limits bite.
• Should I use the ChatGPT app or the website?
  Use both: they share the same account and chat history. The phone app is better on the go, with voice chat and your camera. The website is better for long documents and spreadsheets on a big screen. The desktop app adds ChatGPT Work with local files and Codex. Only download apps published by OpenAI.
• Is there a better AI than ChatGPT?
  For some jobs, yes. Claude is often preferred for long writing and documents, Gemini for Google Workspace users and video, Copilot inside Outlook and Excel, and Perplexity for sourced research. ChatGPT remains the best all-rounder for most small businesses. Grok, DeepSeek and Meta AI are capable, but raise more privacy questions for business use.
• Are there any UK-based AI tools?
  Yes, though the best-known chatbots are not British. ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Grok come from US companies and DeepSeek from China. Google DeepMind, the lab behind Gemini, is headquartered in London, and UK firms such as Synthesia (AI video) and Wayve (self-driving) are well known. The government's £500 million Sovereign AI Unit now backs more UK AI start-ups.
• What is the difference between AI agents and agentic AI?
  Agentic AI is the general idea of AI that can plan and carry out a series of steps towards a goal, using tools such as a browser, email or spreadsheets, rather than just answering one question. An AI agent is a specific product built that way, such as ChatGPT Work or a voice agent that answers calls.
• What is an AI hallucination?
  An AI hallucination is when a tool like ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini states something false as if it were true: an invented price, law, statistic, quote or web link. It happens because these tools predict likely-sounding words rather than looking facts up. The fix is to check anything that matters against the original source.
• Does ChatGPT Plus include ChatGPT Work?
  Yes. ChatGPT Plus includes ChatGPT Work, OpenAI's agent for longer, multi-step jobs that end in a finished document, spreadsheet, presentation or report. Plus gets limited use of the newest Astra model in Work, with optional credits for more. Work replaced the older agent mode, and runs on the web, mobile and desktop apps.
• What is ChatGPT?
  ChatGPT is an AI assistant made by OpenAI. You type (or say) a request in plain English and it writes a reply: an email, a quote description, a social post, a summary of a long document or an answer to a question. It has a free plan, works in the UK, and makes mistakes, so check what it writes.
• What is the 30% rule for AI?
  The 30% rule for AI is an informal rule of thumb, not a law or official standard. Its usual meaning is that AI handles roughly 70% of a task, the repetitive drafting and sorting, while people keep the 30% that needs judgement, checking and accountability. Some people state it the other way round, so treat the number loosely.
• What is the best AI for a small business?
  There's no single best AI for a small business. The best choice is usually the one that fits software you already use: Gemini if you run on Google Workspace, Copilot if you use Microsoft 365, and ChatGPT or Claude as all-rounders. All four have free plans, so try your real tasks on two before paying.
• Which AI chatbot is best?
  No single AI chatbot is best at everything. ChatGPT is the strongest all-rounder, Gemini fits best if you use Google, Copilot if you use Microsoft 365, Claude for long writing and documents, and Perplexity for research with sources. All have free plans, so test your own tasks on two before paying.
• Which AI is best for research?
  For quick research with sources, Perplexity is the easiest. For longer reports, ChatGPT and Gemini both offer deep research that searches many sites and writes a cited summary. For research on your own documents, Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) answers only from the files you add. Always open the sources and check them.
• Which AI is best for writing?
  Claude is often the best AI for long, natural-sounding writing, such as proposals, reports and website copy. ChatGPT is the best all-rounder for everyday drafting. If you write in Word or Google Docs, Copilot or Gemini inside the document saves copying back and forth. Whatever you use, edit the draft so it sounds like you.
• Which company owns Perplexity, and is it the same as Claude?
  Perplexity is made by Perplexity AI, Inc., a privately held company in San Francisco, founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski. Its owners are the founders, staff and investors such as Nvidia and SoftBank. Perplexity is not the same company as Claude, which is made by Anthropic.
• Will AI take jobs, or create them?
  Both. AI is already taking over some tasks, especially routine office and writing work, and it creates new jobs and makes others more productive. The IMF estimated in January 2024 that about 60% of jobs in advanced economies are exposed to AI, with roughly half of those likely to benefit rather than shrink. Hands-on trades are among the least exposed.

All answers · Guides