AI chatbots like ChatGPT have grow to be ubiquitous and very important to what number of information employees, content material creators, and enterprise house owners function.
However as highly effective as ChatGPT is, it’s not the one participant within the recreation — and generally, exploring options can reveal new methods to streamline your workflow.
That’s the place this information is available in.
As an alternative of simply ranking chatbots based mostly on generic standards like accuracy, velocity, and creativity, I needed to see how they carry out in a real-world content material workflow.
So, I paid for the subscriptions (courtesy of Buffer’s AI Instruments stipend that may assist me recoup these prices) and fed them knowledge from my very own social media, and gave a structured problem to every one designed to judge how nicely they take current inputs and switch them into significant insights.
Let’s dive into the main points and decide which chatbot delivers the most effective outcomes.
The experiment: How I examined the chatbots
There’s no scarcity of AI chatbot comparisons on-line, however many concentrate on remoted prompts moderately than real-world use circumstances — particularly these related to you, our viewers of creators, and small enterprise house owners.
To really take a look at how helpful these instruments are for creators, I wanted a problem that mirrored how we really use AI in a content material workflow.
So, as a substitute of throwing random questions at every chatbot, I arrange a structured experiment:
- I uploaded a CSV file with 60 days of my LinkedIn posts and their efficiency knowledge—actual engagement metrics from my newest posts.
- I gave every chatbot a collection of interconnected prompts to see how nicely it might analyze, generate, and refine content material.
- I saved every thing inside one steady dialog, testing their potential to retain and apply context.
What I used to be testing for
This take a look at was designed to judge every chatbot throughout 5 key areas:
- Information evaluation: Can it break down LinkedIn efficiency metrics and extract helpful insights?
- Creativity & content material era: Can it generate recent, non-generic (tremendous necessary) content material concepts based mostly on actual engagement knowledge?
- Format adaptation: Can it remodel a high-performing thought into a number of content material codecs (LinkedIn submit, Twitter thread, short-form video script)?
- Strategic insights: Does it provide clear, actionable recommendation to enhance content material efficiency?
- Workflow optimization: Can it assist streamline content material planning, repurposing, and monitoring?
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It’s necessary that I make clear right here: I am no machine studying engineer, merely somebody who has performed round with sufficient chatbots, and has a good context of various social media wants. So in the event you’re searching for a really technical evaluation, you gained’t discover it right here.
The chatbots
I chosen 5 main AI chatbots for this experiment, every with totally different strengths, pricing, and options:
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Google Gemini (previously Bard)
- Perplexity AI
- DeepSeek
Now, let’s get into the problem and see how they carried out.
The problem
Every chatbot was given the identical structured take a look at — a steady dialog the place they needed to analyze LinkedIn efficiency knowledge, generate new content material concepts, adapt content material throughout codecs, provide strategic insights, and create a workflow for ongoing content material success.
After importing the CSV file containing my posts and knowledge, I requested every bot these questions:
- Right here’s my LinkedIn efficiency knowledge. What varieties of posts carried out greatest and why?
- Primarily based on what labored, recommend 5 new LinkedIn content material concepts.
- Take the best-performing thought and switch it right into a LinkedIn submit, a Twitter thread, and a short-form video script.
- How can I enhance my LinkedIn engagement fee based mostly on this dataset?
- Create a content material workflow that helps me repurpose high-performing content material and observe engagement.
Listed here are the outcomes.
ChatGPT
Finest at retaining context
Score: 3.5/5
Pricing: Free with restricted entry; $20 per 30 days for GPT-4
ChatGPT is OpenAI’s flagship chatbot and arguably probably the most well-known AI software on this record. With its potential to generate structured responses, adapt content material throughout codecs, and supply strategic suggestions, it’s a powerful contender for creators trying to streamline their workflow.
ChatGPT began sturdy analyzing the typical efficiency of every submit kind, displaying that evaluation, after which giving a powerful, nuanced record of takeaways and proposals. It didn’t state something too distinctive (movies carried out greatest, carousel posts had probably the most impressions), however the insights have been good to have.
Nonetheless, the request for engagement fee enchancment concepts confirmed off ChatGPT’s knowledge evaluation capabilities even higher. It broke down the engagement fee knowledge by submit kind, day, and even hour.
Then, extra impressively, it gave an inventory of actionable ideas, together with the most effective time to submit on LinkedIn in accordance with my knowledge — one thing not one of the different instruments did. Different options it made have been to prioritize video and textual content posts and enhance my early engagement technique by responding to the feedback within the first half-hour of posting.
ChatGPT additionally actually shined in delivering hyper-relevant concepts. When requested for distinctive content material concepts, the bot gave me an inventory that performed off my current high-performing matters and codecs. For instance, it beneficial I share a behind-the-scenes of my LinkedIn video course of, an thought I’ll undoubtedly be utilizing.
When requested to show one of many concepts into totally different codecs, it pulled from its reminiscence of our earlier chats, plus the context it had about my most popular voice and tone, to ship well-structured and related outcomes.
The ultimate request for a workflow initially appeared promising, with a clear, structured visible chart mapping out repurpose content material.
However whereas that was good to take a look at, it wasn’t till I requested for a extra sensible model — one thing i might flip right into a Notion web page or Google Doc, that it turned really helpful. That is one thing I repeatedly battle with when utilizing ChatGPT to kickstart a visible reference for what my templates or dashboards may appear like — getting something instantly actionable will be troublesome. And that’s the place the following software on our record excels.
I’ll conclude with a caveat right here: I’ve had a ChatGPT account for some time now — a minimum of a full 12 months — so the bot had plenty of context to drag from as it could retain context from earlier chats. So, that undoubtedly influenced its efficiency and responses. Nonetheless, I’d name {that a} level in its favor because it signifies that it provides you with higher responses with frequent use.
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Last verdict: ChatGPT is a powerful choice for content material creators who want structured insights, detailed engagement methods, and adaptable content material codecs. Nonetheless, its responses usually require further refinement to grow to be actually actionable. Frequent use improves its suggestions, making it a stable selection for the long run.
Claude AI
Finest for producing workflow mockups
Score: 3.5/5
Pricing: Free with restricted use; $20 per 30 days
Developed by Anthropic, Claude AI is designed to be a conversational, long-form assistant with a concentrate on considerate and structured responses. In contrast to among the different chatbots on this experiment, Claude approaches duties with a extra methodical and arranged type, making it a compelling choice for many who prioritize readability of their workflows. However how nicely does that translate to sensible situations?
Properly, as a substitute of going by means of the prompts chronologically, I wish to concentrate on Claude’s visualization capabilities and state, for the file, that they’re the most effective of the bunch.
From the primary immediate, Claude translated the information into one thing tremendous simple to take a look at, together with the suggestions that have been par for the course for each chatbot software. Having the information offered in a bar chart instantly gave me a transparent understanding of my subsequent steps.
It continued this pattern all through the dialog with out being prompted.
My favourite factor about Claude, by far, is its potential to code and create a visible mockup of a workflow or database inside the chat in somewhat preview window on the suitable. This has made it ten instances simpler to create Notion pages that do precisely what I would like, with minimal time spent determining the place to position which factor.
Claude had some fascinating concepts on the content material entrance, together with a “creator instruments revealed” video and a suggestion to ask a neighborhood query every week. Nonetheless, fascinating didn’t at all times translate to related, because it didn’t take into account the precise content material of the posts inside the CSV file it had in its reminiscence. Total, the concepts shared weren’t as related to me and my content material as they might have been.
Nonetheless, I used to be happy by the formatting of the concepts that it did gave me — when requested for a LinkedIn submit and short-form video script based mostly on the primary thought it shared, it delivered one thing that would have been pasted as-is (if not for the completely made-up info).
When it comes to offering a easy evaluation of the information, it returned some fascinating outcomes, together with a suggestion to maintain posts to 600 characters or much less, which I’ll be utilizing going ahead.
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Last verdict: Claude AI stands out as the most effective chatbot for visualization and structured formatting. In case you want clear, data-driven charts and workflow previews, it’s arduous to beat. Nonetheless, its content material era lacks precision and relevance, requiring additional enter and validation to make sure accuracy. It additionally doesn’t have search capabilities, which is necessary to think about earlier than you subscribe.
Perplexity AI
Finest for analysis and discovery
Score: 2.5/5
Pricing: Free with restricted options; $20 per 30 days
Perplexity AI takes a novel strategy in comparison with different chatbots, permitting customers to pick out totally different fashions, together with some already featured on this experiment. This flexibility makes it a powerful analysis software, significantly for content material creators who want AI help in uncovering traits, following up on key insights, and gathering info.
Though the consensus round Perplexity is that it’s an important software for analysis, not essentially for technique, and I’d be inclined to agree after this experiment. To start out with what was nice about it, Perplexity’s potential to ship you down a rabbit gap was a serious plus in my e-book.
Everytime you ask a query, it hyperlinks parts of the message which you could “comply with up” on. Then, it makes use of the context of the message thread to create a good follow-up. I can see this software being helpful within the analysis section of working in your content material technique, particularly when searching for inspiration.
Nonetheless, as a collaborative associate that may ideate alongside you, it didn’t carry out nice. The evaluation it did in each analytical questions was very floor degree, with good however generic suggestions on take motion.
Perplexity additionally returned a fairly normal “AI made this” workflow that was good, however didn’t encourage any deeper thought for me. It did generate a useful every day workflow that may match properly into my present strategy to content material, so I gave it factors for that.
Its content material concepts additionally fell brief, with copy that didn’t take into account my traditional tone and magnificence and felt fairly normal for many AI instruments general. Despite the fact that it is a frequent trait throughout most instruments, I anticipated higher for it having my knowledge and content material in its reminiscence.
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Last verdict: Perplexity AI excels in analysis and content material discovery, however it falls brief in strategic execution. In case you want a chatbot that helps you discover sources, comply with analysis threads, and discover concepts, Perplexity is among the greatest choices obtainable. Nonetheless, for content material planning, engagement methods, or workflow optimization, it doesn’t provide the depth or creativity wanted to be a powerful collaborative associate.
DeepSeek
Finest for the budget-conscious consumer
Score: 2.5/5
Pricing: Free
DeepSeek is a lesser-known AI mannequin that positions itself as a free various to extra extensively used chatbots. Whereas that makes it an interesting choice for budget-conscious customers, I used to be curious to see whether or not it might maintain its personal when it comes to content material ideation and strategic, data-driven suggestions.
Nonetheless, my expertise with DeepSeek wasn’t the most effective from the beginning, because it saved returning a “The server is busy” message. I spent extra time hopping again in to test if my prompts would undergo, so preserve that in thoughts.
At first, I toggled on DeepSeek R1, the platform’s advanced-level considering characteristic. Nonetheless, the software spent a lot time “considering” that I made a decision to run two chats: one with and one with out.
The outcomes from the chat with out R1 have been fairly generic however not fairly as generic as, say, Gemini. I’d put the expertise with DeepSeek beneath Perplexity and above Gemini.
Whereas it caught sure matters and gave fascinating concepts, it didn’t go as deep or large as I might have favored. With R1, nevertheless (pictured on the suitable), its efficiency elevated considerably because it went past generic observations and proposals. The one drawback is, after all, its velocity.
DeepSeek had some fascinating concepts, however nothing I hadn’t seen earlier than. It beneficial the identical concepts as a few different chatbots, which is extra of an indication that you simply actually can’t outsource your considering to those instruments.
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Last verdict: In case you’re on a price range and simply want an AI for primary brainstorming and content material structuring, DeepSeek in R1 mode is price attempting, however it’s not a software to depend on for strategic content material planning totally. It’s additionally nonetheless so new that it doesn’t fairly really feel truthful to check it to the opposite instruments. For its age and velocity, nevertheless, I’d say it is a stable, free choice.
Google Gemini
Finest for straightforward integration into your current Google equipment
Score: 2/5
Pricing: Free with restricted options; $20 per 30 days
Previously often called Bard, Google’s Gemini is positioned as a real-time AI assistant with deep integration into Google Search and different instruments. Given its entry to dwell info and Google’s huge dataset, I used to be curious to see whether or not it might present a extra data-informed and strategic strategy to content material planning. I additionally took benefit of the Buffer group’s entry to Gemini Superior, the lately launched improve to the software.
Since I hadn’t used Gemini a lot earlier than this experiment, it was the primary software I attempted — however I shortly discovered that its suggestions have been fairly generic and in addition didn’t transcend surface-level analyses.
For instance, within the first response, it failed to acknowledge that although my carousel posts (the Paperwork) acquired extra impressions, they didn’t get as excessive engagement.
Gemini repeated the identical weak evaluation when requested for options based mostly on engagement fee knowledge. Moreover, the recommended methods are broad greatest practices that don’t tie again to the precise knowledge I shared.
Its content material creation and repurposing talents weren’t a lot better, because it solely produced generic concepts that had nothing to do with my content material. Nonetheless, I’ll give it one level for getting the construction of a LinkedIn submit down pat.
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Last verdict: Gemini is a fast and structured AI assistant that works in a pinch however falls brief for duties past surface-level requests. Whereas it could assist with primary formatting and brainstorming, it doesn’t but have the depth and personalization wanted for content material optimization.
Different chatbots to strive
Microsoft Copilot
Together with a devoted web site, Microsoft’s Copilot comes free with Microsoft merchandise and has further AI capabilities with enterprise plans. Nonetheless, I didn’t embrace it in the primary record as a result of it runs on ChatGPT anyway, in order that evaluation provides a way of what to anticipate from Copilot.
Meta AI
Meta AI is a free, conversational chatbot built-in throughout all Meta merchandise. Nonetheless, it didn’t make the record as you may’t add recordsdata to it, putting it out in my e-book. It’s additionally typically much less superior in long-form content material era and is extra of a real chatbot.
Bizi.cx
Bizi is the facet venture of Joe Delgado, a software program engineer right here at Buffer. It is a self-described work in progress with some tough edges, however he shared that it has changed his use of ChatGPT completely. It’s at the moment free to make use of.
Do your personal considering
If there’s one takeaway from this experiment, it’s that no AI chatbot can do your considering for you—however the suitable one can undoubtedly make the method simpler.
Every software on this record had its personal strengths. ChatGPT and Claude dealt with structured insights and content material adaptation nicely, whereas Perplexity excelled in analysis and discovery. DeepSeek confirmed promise, particularly in R1 mode, however wasn’t probably the most dependable. And Gemini? Quick and simple to make use of, an important choice in the event you use Google’s ecosystem closely.
However right here’s the factor: your wants will at all times decide the most effective software for you. Are you searching for a chatbot to refine your content material concepts? To research previous efficiency? To brainstorm in a means that conjures up you? AI might help — however provided that you understand how to immediate it, refine its responses, and information it towards helpful outcomes.
On the finish of the day, AI chatbots are simply assistants, not replacements. The magic nonetheless comes out of your technique, creativity, and skill to execute. So, in the event you carry AI into your workflow, be certain it’s working for you — not the opposite means round.
