Which Gen AI Tool Does What (And Prompts That Make Them Shine)

As an entrepreneur, I have found that Perplexity has completely replaced Google as my go-to tool for just about everything. Whether it’s handling mundane tasks, unpacking how to respond to a tricky email, or doing deep-dive research on products, services, business ideas, or anything in between, Perplexity has become my favourite AI tool bar-none.

Although Perplexity is my pet favourite, knowing when to use each can make the difference between an average and an outstanding business day. Three top choices lead the way: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude.

Here’s how they compare, and a list of practical prompts to get the best results from both for your everyday business activity.

What’s the Difference?

ChatGPT: The creative and conversational powerhouse, ChatGPT excels at brainstorming, content creation, dialogue, technical guidance, and rapid ideation. It’s your AI “think tank” to generate pitches, write emails, draft blog posts, or outline sales scripts. However, its knowledge may not always be fully up-to-date, depending on the version you use.

Perplexity: Perplexity is your AI search guru: hyper-focused on fact-checking, up-to-date market research, competitive insight, and delivering answers with source citations. Need timely data, competitive analysis, or answers referenced from across the web? Perplexity is designed for just that, delivering concise and sourced information in moments.

Claude: Claude is your project management and collaboration specialist. Think of it as an AI teammate for organizing projects, centralizing knowledge, and handling complex planning. With features like dedicated project workspaces, massive context windows, document analysis, and real-time team collaboration, Claude shines at transforming scattered information into clear roadmaps, actionable tasks, and insightful project reports. It’s the tool to reach for when you want AI to help run the show, keep your workflow sharp, and make teamwork seamless—from planning through execution and review.

Pro Tips for Getting Even More From AI:

Over time, I’ve picked up a few tricks to make both Perplexity and ChatGPT fit my needs even better. For example, I always remind them not to use the em dash (—) in their writing, to keep everything clean and on-brand.

Another game-changer: I regularly ask both AIs to respond in the voice or framework of my favorite business authors—whether that’s Donald Miller’s StoryBrand clarity, Adam Grant’s research-driven tone, or Brené Brown’s blend of empathy and insight.

You can ask the AI to take on any communication style or framework you admire, and it will adapt for your next email, pitch, or blog post.

Experiment with these instructions in your prompts and watch your AI’s output align even more closely with your goals and voice.

Prompts to Maximize ChatGPT for Business

• “Draft a sales email introducing our [product/service] to [target audience].”
• “List 10 potential business ideas for [industry/niche] with possible revenue models.”
• “Summarize the following meeting notes into three key action items.”
• “Write a job description for a [position] including key qualifications and responsibilities.”
• “Brainstorm five blog post titles about [topic].”
• “Generate a step-by-step guide for onboarding a new team member in a remote company.”
• “Create a content calendar for [type of business], including holidays and launches.”
• “Develop a customer journey map for our typical buyer persona.”
• “Analyze common objections in our sales process and suggest responses.”

Prompts to Maximize Perplexity for Business

• “Summarize the most recent trends in [industry] since January 2025, with source links.”
• “Compare the top three CRM platforms for small businesses and include pricing.”
• “What are customers saying about [competitor] across review sites? Please provide quotes and sources.”
• “Research the leading AI accounting integrations for QuickBooks and rank by popularity.”
• “What regulatory changes have impacted [industry] in the past year? Cite sources.”
• “List major conferences and events for [your industry] happening this quarter with dates and links.”
• “Find case studies of successful startups in [sector] launched after 2022, and summarize key learnings.”
• “Who are the top influencers on LinkedIn for [topic/industry], and what are their most recent insights?”
• “What articles support the effectiveness of [business strategy] for increasing sales?”

When to Use Claude: Project Management and Nuanced Data Analysis

Planning & Strategy Prompts

• “Draft a project brief for a digital marketing campaign, including objectives, key stakeholders, timeline, budget, and expected deliverables.”
• “Break down the launch of a new product into major tasks, subtasks, and specific action steps. Include duration, dependencies, role assignments, and risks in a numbered outline.”
• “Act as a strategic advisor: Analyze our project portfolio and recommend resource reallocation for maximum impact.”

Scheduling & Task Breakdown Prompts

• “Create a detailed project schedule with start/end dates, milestones, and durations for each phase. Format output as an editable table.”
• “Build a work breakdown structure for our upcoming tech rollout. List tasks in levels, with responsible roles and estimated durations.”
• “List dependencies and blockers for all deliverables in this project.”

Execution, Communication, and Monitoring Prompts

• “Summarize sprint progress and assign next steps, highlighting completed tasks, remaining work, blockers, and owners.”
• “Generate a dashboard summary for stakeholders showing budget vs. actual, schedule variance, risk flags, and recommendations for correction.”
• “Draft a communication plan outlining frequency, channels, and stakeholder groups for major project updates.”

General Analysis Prompts

• "Summarize the key insights from this dataset."
• "Identify trends in the data for the past year."
• "Are there any anomalies or outliers in the spreadsheet?"
• "What are the most common values or categories in this column?"

Visualization and Exploration Prompts

• "List the most informative visualizations for this dataset and what insights they provide."
• "Generate sample data for a sales report (or other specific use case)."

Predictive and Statistical Analysis Prompts

• "Conduct a time series analysis on sales/expenses over the last three years."
• "Estimate the likelihood of these data points occurring again based on historical patterns."
• "Provide statistical insights (mean, median, standard deviation) for these columns.

TL;DR:

Perplexity’s your research ace, ChatGPT brings the creative fire for content, and Claude is your go-to for project management with clarity and just the right touch of organized brilliance.

Final Note:

My favourite AI Tool integration is using the FireFlies AI Note-taker notes in conjunction with Perplexity / ChatGPT to discover what my action items are, customer sentiments, and key insights from a call were. You'd be surprised what it uncovers!