ChatGPT 5.1 is out. It’s doing what OpenAI promised 5.0 would do. But here’s the thing: I maintain subscriptions to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini because each is the best at different tasks. About 70% of my work happens in Claude.
Each model has distinct strengths. ChatGPT excels at research and information retrieval. Claude produces the most natural, human-like writing. Gemini integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace for document creation.
What’s New in ChatGPT 5.1
ChatGPT 5.1 delivers the improvements OpenAI promised with 5.0. The model is better at knowing how long to think before responding. It offers two modes: GPT-5.1 Instant for quick answers and GPT-5.1 Thinking for complex tasks.
OpenAI also added user-adjustable personality controls. You can switch between preset personas like Friendly or Professional. The system is designed to be warmer and more conversational by default.
OpenAI is focused on consumers. They want ChatGPT to be your everyday model for common questions. They’re doing a great job at that. It’s the one I use most often as a consumer. Just not for work.
Why Claude Dominates Work Tasks
Claude has always focused on the workplace and enterprise, not consumers. Historically, it was the best coding model. It seems to be losing some ground there.
I use Claude because the writing is the most natural among all the models. It’s also the best at handling large amounts of context without missing details. The latest Claude Sonnet 4 handles up to 1 million tokens of input. That’s far more than GPT’s approximately 128K limit.
Claude adheres to instructions better than the alternatives. Since most of our workflows at TJ Digital involve creating content while keeping large amounts of context in mind, Claude outperforms the other models.
They continue rolling out customization features. Claude recently introduced “Skills”, which are custom, reusable mini-applications. You can build a Skill that fetches data from your company database or sends templated emails via your CRM. This makes Claude more adaptable for business workflows.
ChatGPT for Research and Information Retrieval
ChatGPT is the model I use second most. It’s best at retrieving information.
We use ChatGPT to do deep research when writing blog posts. We collect data points, quotes, and statistics around a topic. Yesterday we gave it a list of 100 domains and asked which were directories we might want to submit our client to.
ChatGPT 5.1’s Deep Research mode is an autonomous, multi-step agent that browses the web and cites sources. The outputs include precise, hyperlinked citations. This makes fact-checking easier.
Anytime you need a model to search across the internet for specific details, ChatGPT does the best job. Gemini should be better at this since they have access to a better search engine. But ChatGPT tries harder.
Google Gemini for Document Creation
Google’s primary focus with Gemini is integrating it into existing products. They already have the distribution advantage. They’re focused on making it cheap enough to offer for free without losing money.
We use Gemini for brainstorming. When we’re looking for keywords to focus on, for instance. Or for creating documents like proposals or contracts.
Gemini’s “Help me create” feature in Google Docs can generate complete draft documents from a single prompt. The AI pulls in Drive content, adds tables and cover images, and styles text automatically.
The tight Google integration (Gmail, Docs, Sheets) means it can summarize meeting notes or combine data from Sheets into readable reports. This makes Gemini ideal for automating document creation within the Google ecosystem.
My Multi-Model Strategy
I subscribe to all three because work clearly demands each model’s specialty.
Here’s how I use them:
- Claude: Content creation, handling complex instructions, working with large documents
- ChatGPT: Research, data collection, web search tasks
- Gemini: Brainstorming, document creation, Google Workspace integration
Some professionals use platforms like Quora’s Poe, which provides access to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini under one subscription. This can be more cost-effective than separate subscriptions.
Market Position and Future Outlook
As of late 2025, ChatGPT dominates the market share at approximately 61%. Gemini sits around 13% and Claude around 4%.
But I think Google is positioned to come out on top. Gemini has approximately 650 million monthly active users and is closing the gap. Google embeds Gemini into search, Workspace, and Android. They offer free tiers. ChatGPT’s growth is slowing under a paid model.
The long-term winner will likely be the one most deeply integrated into our daily tools and workflow. Gemini 3 is supposed to be coming out any day now.
Which Model Should You Use?
Choose based on your primary needs:
Use Claude if you need: High-quality written content, to work with large files or documents, precise adherence to complex instructions, or professional business writing that sounds natural.
Use ChatGPT if you need: Deep research with citations, to gather data from across the web, quick information retrieval, or fact-checking with sources.
Use Gemini if you need: Document creation in Google Workspace, to integrate with Gmail and Google Drive, or brainstorming and keyword research.
For professional work that demands the best of each model, maintaining multiple subscriptions makes sense. For most everyday tasks, a single model or multi-model platform will cover your needs.
Get Help with AI-Powered Content
At TJ Digital, we use Claude as the foundation for our content repurposing system. We combine human input with AI workflows to create high-quality content at scale.
Our AI SEO services help businesses show up in both traditional search engines and AI platforms like ChatGPT. We build custom workflows tailored to your brand voice and business goals.
Schedule a consultation to see how we can help you get more leads through AI-optimized content.