The verdict
ChatGPT remains the broadest default when the task list is messy: emails, drafts, code, summaries, image generation, and back-and-forth ideation in one chat, free to start and reachable from the web app or the ChatGPT app on iOS, Android, and desktop. The model line has moved well past the GPT-4 era — GPT-5, with Instant and Thinking variants, is the current generation, and the free tier now covers more everyday work than it used to before nudging you toward ChatGPT Plus at $20/month for the latest models, higher limits, native image generation, and Agent Mode. The honest critique: free-tier limits are still tighter than the marketing implies, hallucinations on specific facts remain a real problem (fact-check anything verifiable), and the conversational interface can be friction for users who want template-driven workflows. For general-purpose AI work across diverse tasks, ChatGPT is the right default. For specialist needs — long-context document analysis, more careful prose, or brand-voice consistency — Claude and other alternatives have edges worth respecting.