Questions answered
AI assistants for small UK firms: 16 questions on prices, data, rules and mistakes, answered
Short answers with the figures for small UK firms: what ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini cost, what their terms say about your data, and what UK rules ask.
Which is cheapest for a small UK firm: ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini?
On prices read on 1 October 2026, five seats for a year before VAT cost £708 on Google Workspace Business Standard with Gemini, £828 on the Microsoft 365 Copilot Business add-on at its offer price (a Microsoft 365 plan is extra), and £900 on both ChatGPT Business and Claude Team, all on annual billing.
Source: The four vendors' own pricing pages, read 1 October 2026
How much does ChatGPT cost for a small business in the UK?
On 1 October 2026 OpenAI's pricing page listed ChatGPT Business at £15 a seat a month billed annually or £18 billed monthly, for teams of 2 to 200. Five seats cost £900 a year on annual billing. The page does not mention VAT; its price data marks Business prices as before tax, which would make that £1,080.
Source: chatgpt.com/pricing, read 1 October 2026
How much does Claude cost for a five-person business in the UK?
On 1 October 2026 Anthropic's UK pricing page listed a Claude Team standard seat at £18 a month billed annually or £22.50 billed monthly, including 20% VAT. Five seats for a year cost £1,080 on annual billing (5 × £18 × 12), which is £900 before VAT, or £1,350 on monthly billing. Team needs at least two seats.
Source: claude.com/pricing, UK version, read 1 October 2026
How much does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost a five-person UK business for a year?
On 1 October 2026 Microsoft's UK pages priced Business Standard with Copilot at £18.10 a user a month paid yearly, £1,086 a year for five before VAT. Buying Business Standard at £10.80 and the Copilot add-on separately cost £1,476 in the first year at the £13.80 offer price, and £1,614 at £16.10.
Source: Microsoft UK pricing pages, read 1 October 2026
Do ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini train on my business's data?
On their business plans, not by default: OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google each said so on their own pages, read on 1 October 2026. Personal plans differ. OpenAI may train on individuals' content unless they opt out, and Anthropic uses Free, Pro and Max chats if the user allows it. Feedback buttons are an exception on ChatGPT and Claude.
Source: The vendors' own privacy pages, read 1 October 2026
Does Microsoft 365 Copilot train on my business's files and emails?
Microsoft's privacy page, updated 18 August 2026 and read 1 October 2026, says prompts, responses and data reached in your files and email are not used to train its foundation models. Copilot only surfaces what each user already has permission to view. Customers outside the EU may be processed in the US, EU or other regions.
Source: Microsoft Learn, read 1 October 2026
Is it legal to put customer data into ChatGPT in the UK?
Yes, if the firm has a lawful basis, a written contract with the vendor, a lawful transfer route, a privacy notice line and a DPIA where risk is high. The ICO, read 1 October 2026, says every use of a processor needs a written contract; OpenAI lists a data processing addendum only for ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and the API.
Source: ICO guidance; OpenAI enterprise privacy page (8 January 2026)
Does a small UK firm need an AI policy?
No ICO page read on 1 October 2026 requires a document by that name, but a one-page policy records what the law does require: a written supplier contract, a person involved in significant decisions (UK GDPR Articles 22A to 22D, in force 5 February 2026), no fake reviews, and breach reports within 72 hours.
Source: ICO guidance; legislation.gov.uk
Do I have to tell customers that an email or advert was made with AI?
No general UK rule requires it. The ASA said on 29 May 2025 that UK law has no blanket requirement to disclose the use of AI in adverts. The advert must still not mislead, and if customer details went into an AI tool the privacy notice must name the supplier or its category.
Source: ASA, 29 May 2025; ICO guidance on the right to be informed
When must a UK firm tell someone that a decision about them was automated?
When a significant decision is taken with no meaningful human involvement. Articles 22A to 22D of UK GDPR, fully in force since 5 February 2026, require the firm to give information about the decision and let the person make representations, obtain human intervention and contest it.
Source: legislation.gov.uk; ICO draft guidance (31 March 2026)
What is the difference between an AI agent and a chatbot?
A chatbot answers one message and stops. An AI agent is a model given tools, such as files, email or a browser, and allowed to work through a task in several steps. On 1 October 2026 OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google all defined it that way, and each tells users to check or supervise what it does.
Source: The four vendors' own pages, read 1 October 2026
Which office jobs can an AI assistant do for a small business?
In our count of 80 office jobs across ten trades, made on 1 October 2026, an AI assistant can prepare 60 for a person to approve: mostly chasing, replies, documents built from records and date lists. Twenty stay with a person: 12 decisions, advice or sign-offs, and 8 that need a call, a visit or hands.
Source: Our count of the ten admin scorecards on this site
Has anyone in the UK been caught using fake AI-generated cases in court?
Yes. In Harber v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 1007 (TC), decided 4 December 2023, all nine cases a taxpayer cited were AI inventions. In Ayinde [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin), decided 6 June 2025, 18 of 45 citations in one case did not exist; lawyers were referred to regulators and two parties paid £2,000 each in wasted costs.
Source: Both judgments, as published by the National Archives
Do ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini guarantee that their answers are accurate?
No. On 1 October 2026 OpenAI's Europe terms said its output can be inaccurate, Anthropic's consumer terms said not to rely on outputs without independently confirming them, Microsoft's Copilot terms said it can make mistakes, and Google's generative AI terms said not to rely on it for professional advice. Checking is the user's job.
Source: The vendors' own terms pages, read 1 October 2026
Can a UK sole trader claim a ChatGPT or Claude subscription as a business expense?
Yes, if it is used for the business. GOV.UK's claimable office costs include software paid for by regular licence payments. A £20-a-month plan is £240 a year and saves a basic-rate sole trader £62.40 in Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance in 2026 to 2027. Using the £1,000 trading allowance rules out claiming it.
Source: GOV.UK; HMRC Business Income Manual BIM37007
How many messages can you send on a paid ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini business plan?
On 1 October 2026 only OpenAI gave numbers: a ChatGPT Business standard seat has 15 Pro-model messages a month and an estimated 5 to 2,000 messages per five-hour window in Work and Codex. Anthropic says Claude has no fixed message count, Microsoft gives no number for Copilot, and Google counts features, such as 100 slides a month.
Source: The vendors' own help pages, read 1 October 2026
AEO Lookup editorial team
We write practical guides for people who run small UK firms, and we check every fact against its source on the date shown. Read how we review, or tell us if something has changed.