One person, one topic: Gemini Notebook
Summarize these twelve spec sheets on plotter paper
A notebook per topic and answers with citations to your sources, per its help. We compare it in NotebookLM for business.
Comparisons
The best AI for small business? Tell us what for
There's no single best AI for small business: there's one for each job. Here are nine tools and what each does well, sorted by what you need and not by how famous they are. We're the people who make Flipa, so read it with that filter. In several cases the answer is someone else, and for a US team that wants an app in English, it usually is today.
The example on this page is Draftline Supply, a made-up drafting and art supply store with twenty people. Flipa's app interface is in Spanish today.
Start here
Check what you need and see which one lights up
Seven needs, nine tools. On more than one box Flipa goes dark, and says so.
Here are all nine, with what each one does in each case. If your browser allows it, check what you need and they light up.
- ChatGPTGeneral assistant from OpenAI
- PartlyAnswer from our own documents. Accepts files; the Business plan adds shared company context.
- PartlyWe already live in Microsoft 365. It connects to tools: check which ones on its site.
- NoServe our customers on our website. Its plans pages don't mention a chat for your website.
- YesCreate images and a bit of everything. Images, voice and data analysis, per its plans page.
- PartlyAgents for the team, no tech person. Its plans page mentions custom GPTs; OpenAI has changed how they work: check its official help.
- YesLots of integrations working today. The Business plan connects to your team's tools, per its site.
- YesAn app in English. Site and plans page in English.
- Microsoft 365 CopilotAssistant inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams
- PartlyAnswer from our own documents. With its license, it uses the ones stored in Microsoft 365.
- YesWe already live in Microsoft 365. It works inside your apps.
- PartlyServe our customers on our website. Copilot Studio builds agents: check its site to see whether it covers your case.
- PartlyCreate images and a bit of everything. It has a general chat, per Microsoft.
- PartlyAgents for the team, no tech person. With Copilot Studio, with no code, per Microsoft.
- PartlyLots of integrations working today. Its work data is Microsoft 365's: check the rest on its site.
- YesAn app in English. Site and documentation in English.
- ClaudeGeneral assistant from Anthropic
- PartlyAnswer from our own documents. Paid plans list Projects; the Team plan lists search across your organization.
- PartlyWe already live in Microsoft 365. Its pricing page lists Microsoft 365 on paid plans: check the details there.
- NoServe our customers on our website. Its pricing page doesn't mention a chat for your website.
- PartlyCreate images and a bit of everything. Web search and voice on every plan, per its pricing page. Image creation isn't listed there.
- PartlyAgents for the team, no tech person. Its pricing page lists skills and scheduled tasks.
- PartlyLots of integrations working today. Connectors are listed on its plans: check which ones on its site.
- YesAn app in English. Pricing page in English.
- Gemini in Google WorkspaceGoogle's assistant inside Gmail, Docs and Meet
- PartlyAnswer from our own documents. It works inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Meet, per Google: check its help for which files it reads.
- NoWe already live in Microsoft 365. It's built into Google's apps, such as Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Meet.
- NoServe our customers on our website. The Workspace pages we read don't mention a chat for your website.
- PartlyCreate images and a bit of everything. A general assistant inside Google's apps: check its site for image creation.
- PartlyAgents for the team, no tech person. Google's page says you can build custom agents with no coding: check which plan includes them.
- PartlyLots of integrations working today. It works across Google Workspace apps: check the rest on its site.
- YesAn app in English. Google's help pages are available in English.
- Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)Google's research notebook
- YesAnswer from our own documents. Answers from your sources and cites them.
- PartlyWe already live in Microsoft 365. It doesn't work inside Microsoft 365: check its help for which files it accepts.
- NoServe our customers on our website. Its help describes it as a research assistant, not a customer chat.
- NoCreate images and a bit of everything. It answers from the sources you give it, per its help.
- NoAgents for the team, no tech person. The pages we checked don't mention agents.
- NoLots of integrations working today. It works with the sources you add yourself; we saw no connectors in its help.
- YesAn app in English. Help pages in English.
- DustAgents for teams, connected to everything
- YesAnswer from our own documents. Ties together the company's knowledge, per its site.
- PartlyWe already live in Microsoft 365. 70+ connectors: check for yours.
- NoServe our customers on our website. Its site talks about internal teams and doesn't mention a chat for your public.
- PartlyCreate images and a bit of everything. Lets you choose among 20+ models.
- YesAgents for the team, no tech person. Shared agents; also created from a conversation.
- YesLots of integrations working today. Advertises 70+ connectors.
- YesAn app in English. Site and documentation in English.
- Sintra AITwelve ready-made helpers
- PartlyAnswer from our own documents. You give it context in its shared knowledge base.
- PartlyWe already live in Microsoft 365. Advertises 1000+ tools: check for yours.
- PartlyServe our customers on our website. It has a customer support helper.
- PartlyCreate images and a bit of everything. Twelve business jobs.
- YesAgents for the team, no tech person. They come ready-made, each with a job.
- YesLots of integrations working today. Advertises 1000+ tools.
- YesAn app in English. Site and help center in English.
- CustomGPT.ai and ChatbaseAgents built from your content
- YesAnswer from our own documents. Built from your content.
- PartlyWe already live in Microsoft 365. Check their integrations on their sites.
- YesServe our customers on our website. Their sites present them for exactly that.
- NoCreate images and a bit of everything. Their sites talk about answering from your content.
- PartlyAgents for the team, no tech person. No-code, mostly for customer service.
- PartlyLots of integrations working today. Service channels and integrations.
- YesAn app in English. Both sites in English.
- FlipaAssistant that knows your company · app in Spanish today
- YesAnswer from our own documents. Searches them and shows the source.
- NoWe already live in Microsoft 365. No link to Microsoft 365.
- NoServe our customers on our website. It doesn't talk to your customers: it drafts for your team.
- NoCreate images and a bit of everything. It's about your company, not about everything.
- YesAgents for the team, no tech person. Created by talking.
- NoLots of integrations working today. Two work today, plus a keyed connection.
- NoAn app in English. The interface is in Spanish only today. It answers in the language you write in.
This is our reading of what each tool publishes on its own site, checked on November 12, 2026. “Partly” means it can be done, with conditions. “No” means we didn't find it on their site, not that it's impossible. Flipa is ours, and its answers are written by Anthropic's Claude models: be a little skeptical and check.
Side by side
Best AI tools for small business? It depends on the column
All nine, with the same questions asked of each. For the others we only report what their own site publishes.
| Tool | What it's for | Who it fits | Language | How it gets to know your company | Public pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | General assistant: per its plans page, it creates images, talks by voice and analyzes data | Anyone who wants one tool for almost everything | Site and plans page in English | Through the files you upload and the tools you connect; the Business plan adds a workspace with shared context | Yes, on its pricing page |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Assistant inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams | Companies that already work in Microsoft 365 | Site and documentation in English | With its license, through the emails, files and meetings you already have in Microsoft 365, within each person's permissions | Yes, on its pricing page |
| Claude | General assistant from Anthropic; its paid plans list projects, research and web search | Individuals, and teams of 2 to 150 on its Team plan | Pricing page in English | Through projects and connectors, per its pricing page; the Team plan lists search across your organization | Yes, on its pricing page |
| Gemini in Google Workspace | Google's assistant, built into Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Meet | Companies that already work in Google Workspace | Help pages in English | Inside the Workspace apps you already use, per Google; its help says which data it reads | Yes, on Google Workspace's pricing page |
| Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) | Research assistant that answers from the sources you give it | One person studying a topic; notebooks can be shared | Help pages in English | With each notebook's sources | Standard tier at no charge with a Gmail account, per its help. Higher tiers come with Google subscriptions |
| Dust | Agents for teams, tied to the company's tools | Teams with someone in charge of building them | Site and documentation in English | Through its connectors: it advertises 70+ | Yes, on its pricing page |
| Sintra AI | Twelve ready-made helpers, each with a job | Small-business owners who want to start right away | Site and help center in English; says its helpers speak 100+ languages | With what you keep in its shared knowledge base: text, pages and files | Yes, on its pricing page |
| CustomGPT.ai | Agents built from your content, for your website or for internal use | Companies that want to field questions from customers or staff | Site in English; says it supports 92+ languages | With the content you load into it | Yes, on its pricing page |
| Flipa | Assistant that knows your company and answers showing the source | Small and midsize teams that can work with a Spanish-language app for now | App interface in Spanish only today. It answers in the language you write in | With your documents, your website and what the team tells it | Yes: From $99/mo per account, with 3 seats and 20,000 credits a month, plus applicable taxes. Bought by card on its site, cancel anytime |
Facts checked on November 12, 2026, on each tool's official website; the links are further down, under “Where the facts come from.” The amounts we could confirm in US dollars are under “What they charge, where we could check.” Flipa's price is per account, with several seats included in each plan, not per person: to compare, multiply the other tool's per-person price by your headcount.
Case by case
The best AI for business, case by case
Four needs at Draftline Supply and who they'd call for each.
The whole team, company questions: Flipa
Does a small foam-board order ship free?
Everyone asks the same knowledge, and the sources consulted sit under each answer. Here's how it works inside. The app is in Spanish today.
Inside Word and Excel: Copilot
Turn this quote into a presentation
If Draftline worked in Microsoft 365, this would be their pick. It's in Copilot for small business.
Inside Gmail and Docs: Gemini
Draft a reply to this thread
If they worked in Google Workspace, Google's assistant is already built into those apps, per Google.
A bit of everything: ChatGPT or Claude
Make me a poster for the back-to-school sale
Images and voice are on ChatGPT's plans page; Claude's lists projects and research. When a general assistant is enough: ChatGPT and Flipa.
A chat on your website: CustomGPT.ai or Chatbase
Do you carry 36-inch plotter rolls in store?
They answer your customers from your content. Flipa doesn't do that. We explain it in CustomGPT.ai and Chatbase.
Drafts a person sends: Flipa
Reply to this architecture firm asking about lead time
It leaves the text written with your own facts. Someone on the team reads it, edits it and sends it.
Ready-made: Sintra AI
I want to start this afternoon
Twelve helpers with a job each and a price in view. More in Sintra AI.
Hooked up to all your tools: Dust
Have it check the task tracker and the code repository
For teams with many tools and someone to build the agents. More in Dust.
Explained out loud: Flipa
I need something to draft our replies to schools
You describe the job, it asks one to three questions and you test it before saving.
Three questions before any AI tools comparison
Lists of the best AI tools for small business rank by fame. For Draftline Supply, our made-up drafting and art supply store of twenty people, fame fixes nothing. Three questions help them, and they'll help you too.
1. What task, exactly?
“Getting started with AI” isn't a task. “Getting the warehouse to stop calling the office to ask whether a small foam-board order ships free” is. Write yours in one sentence. If you can't, it's too soon to compare anything.
2. What information does it have to answer from?
If the answer is on the internet, a general assistant will do. If it's in your price list, your catalog or the head of whoever has worked the counter for fifteen years, you need one that reads your material and tells you where each thing came from. And if it lives in your email and meetings, the one that's already inside your email.
3. Who's going to use it?
One person studying a topic doesn't need what twenty people asking at once need. With a team, things show up that don't matter solo: who can upload documents, who corrects a bad answer, and what happens when someone leaves.
When Flipa isn't for you
This page is written by the people who make Flipa. The honest thing is to also say when it's not right for you. For a US company today, several tools on this list are the better choice, full stop:
- You want an app in English. Flipa answers in the language you write in, but its screens are in Spanish only today. Every other tool here has an English site.
- You want to serve your customers on your website or over messaging. Flipa doesn't talk to your customers: it drafts for your team, and a person sends. CustomGPT.ai and Chatbase are there for that.
- Everything you have is in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Flipa has no link to Microsoft's apps, and Google Drive is only listed as “coming soon.” Copilot and Gemini work inside those apps.
- You need security certifications. Flipa has none, and no outside audit. Dust, for example, states one on its site.
- You need lots of integrations working now. In Flipa two work today, both switched on by us, plus a keyed connection. The rest are in testing.
- You want something with a track record. Flipa is a young product still being used in testing, and its Chrome extension is installed by hand: it isn't in Google's extension store.
If none of that stops you, and your problem is that what the company knows is scattered across PDFs, the website and two people's heads, keep reading how Flipa works. And if you'd rather understand the terrain first, the guides explain it without selling anything: for example, which ChatGPT plans exist for business.
What they charge, where we could check
Per their websites. Checked on November 12, 2026. We only give an amount when the vendor's own page showed it to us in US dollars and it wasn't a promotion; otherwise we send you to the page.
- ChatGPT: see their pricing page. It listed the plans but didn't display amounts when we loaded it.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot: the Copilot Business add-on is $21.00 per user per month paid yearly, or $25.20 paid monthly, on top of an eligible Microsoft 365 Business plan, per Microsoft's pricing page. A first-year promotion was showing that day; we leave it out.
- Claude: the Team plan, for 2 to 150 people, is $20 per standard seat per month billed annually, or $25 billed monthly, per Anthropic's pricing page.
- Gemini in Google Workspace: Business Standard, which includes Gemini, is $14 per user per month with a one-year commitment, per Google's Workspace AI page. Other plans are on Google Workspace's pricing page. Gemini Notebook's standard tier is at no charge with a Gmail account, per Google's help.
- Dust: see their pricing page. Per seat, with credits; it showed amounts in euros when we loaded it.
- Sintra AI: see their pricing page. It sells one plan with all twelve helpers, and every amount on it was a sale price that day, so we don't quote one.
- CustomGPT.ai: the Standard plan is $89 a month billed annually, or $99 billed monthly, per their pricing page. Chatbase: the Hobby plan is $32 a month billed yearly, per their pricing page.
- Flipa: from $99/mo per account (Essential: 3 seats and 20,000 credits a month), plus applicable taxes, per our pricing page. It's per account, not per user, so to compare, multiply a per-person price by your headcount.
Where the facts come from
Everything we say about the other tools is on their official websites, which we read on November 12, 2026. Prices and plans may have changed since: check them there.
- ChatGPT: pricing page and ChatGPT Business. We couldn't open its help center that day.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot: plans and pricing and Microsoft Learn documentation.
- Claude: pricing page.
- Gemini in Google Workspace: Google's Workspace AI page and Workspace pricing.
- Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM: the rename announcement, Google's help and the Google Workspace page.
- Dust: website and pricing.
- Sintra AI: website and pricing.
- CustomGPT.ai: website and pricing. Chatbase: website and pricing.
The names of these tools are trademarks of their respective owners. Flipa is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them. One disclosure: Flipa's answers are written by Anthropic's Claude models, which makes Anthropic a supplier of ours. That is the whole relationship.
One by one
Six comparisons, each with its sources
ChatGPT
It knows a bit about almost everything. When that's enough and when your company's own facts are missing.
Copilot
The question is where what you know is kept.
Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)
A notebook of sources. What changes when a team is asking.
Dust
The same goal as Flipa by the opposite road.
Sintra AI
What it is, where to read reviews and how to test an agent.
CustomGPT.ai and Chatbase
For your customers or for your team? Flipa is for your team.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before choosing
What's the best AI for a small business?
The one that fixes the task that hurts most. For writing and a bit of everything, ChatGPT or Claude. If you work in Microsoft 365, Copilot; in Google Workspace, Gemini. If the trouble is that everyone gives a different answer about your own terms, one that reads your documents, like Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) for one person or Flipa for the team.
What's the best AI for small business owners who already use ChatGPT?
Keep it for general work. What's worth looking at is what you're asking it that nobody ever gave it: your price list, your lead times, how something gets done at your company. That calls for a tool that answers from your documents, and it's what the ChatGPT comparison is about.
Which of these AI tools work in English?
All of the others have English websites: ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Claude, Google's tools, Dust, Sintra AI, CustomGPT.ai and Chatbase. Flipa is the exception. It answers in the language you write in, so questions and answers can be in English, but the app's menus, buttons and messages are in Spanish only today.
Is a general AI better, or one that knows my company?
They don't compete. The general one knows a lot about the world and, unless someone hands it over, nothing about your price list. The one that knows your company knows your price list and doesn't claim to know the world. You can have both, each for its own job.
When is Flipa not right for me?
When your team needs an app in English, or you want it to serve your customers. When everything you have lives in Microsoft 365. Or or security certifications. It's laid out without decoration under “When Flipa isn't for you,” on this page.
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And if what you need is someone to read what's yours?
Then yes, that's us. Start free, no card needed, and try it on your own documents.
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