Which AI Platform Is Right for Your Marketing? A Guide for Small Business Owners
Generated using ChatGPT by Jeff Nelson
Today, small business owners and marketers have powerful AI tools at their fingertips—and many of them are free or very affordable. But with so many large language models (LLMs) available, which one is the best fit for your marketing needs?
In this post, we’ll break down the most popular AI platforms from a marketing perspective. Whether you’re writing blog posts, brainstorming campaigns, creating social content, or analyzing customer data, here’s what you need to know.
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Best for: Versatile content creation, email marketing, and SEO strategy
ChatGPT is widely used for a reason: it’s easy to use and incredibly capable. With the GPT-4o model (available for $20/month), it can draft blog posts, write headlines, generate meta descriptions, and help plan campaigns.
Pros:
Outstanding writing quality
Built-in tools for web browsing, code, and image creation (with Pro subscription)
Integrates with tools like Canva and Zapier
Cons:
Free version uses a less powerful model (GPT-3.5)
Can produce generic content if not prompted well
Verdict: If you're only going to use one AI tool, this is the one to start with.
Claude (Anthropic)
Best for: Long-form writing, editing, and ethical brand storytelling
Claude is like your thoughtful writing partner. It excels at long, structured responses and is great at polishing documents, strategy decks, and ebooks.
Pros:
Handles long input and output very well
More "cautious" and brand-safe responses
Free and Pro versions available
Cons:
Fewer integrations and no plugin ecosystem
Less tuned for punchy ad copy
Verdict: Excellent for high-quality writing and marketers who value nuance and clarity.
Gemini (Google)
Best for: Google Workspace users and productivity tasks
Gemini is integrated across Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, making it great for internal marketing work, reporting, and light creative tasks.
Pros:
Seamless integration with Google apps
Solid for summaries, presentations, and data analysis
Cons:
Creative content can feel stiff
Still evolving as a standalone tool
Verdict: A great option if your team already lives in Google Workspace.
Copilot (Microsoft)
Best for: Teams using Microsoft 365
Copilot brings AI into Word, Excel, and Outlook. It can help draft reports, clean up writing, and analyze spreadsheets.
Pros:
Powerful inside the Microsoft ecosystem
Speeds up writing, editing, and analysis
Cons:
Requires a Microsoft 365 subscription
Not built for external content creation
Verdict: Strong internal tool if you already use Microsoft, but less useful for outward-facing marketing.
Perplexity AI
Best for: Fast research with sources
Think of Perplexity as an AI-powered search engine. It answers questions with citations and links to real sources, making it great for market research and competitive analysis.
Pros:
Real-time search with citations
Simple, fast, and free to start
Cons:
Not ideal for storytelling or emotional copywriting
Limited formatting or content structuring
Verdict: Best used alongside another AI tool for content creation.
Poe (by Quora)
Best for: Comparing different models
Poe is a unique platform that hosts several AI models in one place, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. It’s a great way to test which tool works best for you.
Pros:
One account, multiple AIs
Easy to compare outputs side by side
Cons:
Not a content creation tool itself
Limited customization
Verdict: A good sandbox for exploration, not a core marketing tool.
DeepSeek
Best for: Technical users and multilingual tasks
DeepSeek is open-source and supports multiple languages, including English and Chinese. It's better suited for developers or advanced users.
Pros:
Free and open-source
High-quality reasoning
Cons:
No user-friendly interface
Not designed for marketing tasks
Verdict: Impressive under the hood, but not ready for small business marketing.
Final Thoughts
For small business owners, AI can be a game-changer in saving time and expanding your reach. Here's a quick rule of thumb:
Just starting out? Use ChatGPT.
Need deep, polished writing? Try Claude.
Use Google Docs all day? Go with Gemini.
Want marketing research fast? Check out Perplexity.
The key isn’t choosing the "best" AI—it’s picking the right one for your workflow.
Quick Comparison Table
Generated using ChatGPT by Jeff Nelson
PS I’m blatantly using ChatGPT for this post which demonstrates my bias.