For a small business, an AI tool is rarely a single purchase. It is a seat for each person, a monthly bill that scales with your headcount, a new place where customer and company information can end up, and a habit your team either adopts or ignores. A shortlist built around those realities will serve you better than a ranked list of “best” tools.
This guide gives you a framework for shortlisting, and then sets out documented facts about six products small teams commonly consider: ChatGPT Business, Claude Team, Microsoft Copilot, Notion, Zapier and Perplexity Enterprise Pro. We compare how they charge, how they handle data and what the admin features are, rather than claiming one is best.
How we researched this: we did not run hands-on tests for this article. It is based on the vendor’s own documentation and public sources, checked on 11 November 2026. Features and prices change, so confirm details on the vendor’s site before you buy.
Key takeaways
- Start with the job, not the tool: name two or three tasks that cost your team the most time, then look for a tool that does those.
- Pricing pages we read list per-seat business plans at similar levels: ChatGPT Business at $20 per user per month billed annually (or $25 monthly), and Claude Team Standard seats at $20 per seat per month billed annually (or $25 monthly).
- Data terms differ by plan: OpenAI says its business offerings are excluded from default training use, Anthropic says Team plans include no model training on your content by default, and Perplexity says Enterprise data is never used for training.
- Automation tools such as Zapier charge by task volume rather than by seat, so a busy workflow can cost more than the headline price.
- Run a two-week pilot with a small group, a written use policy and a review date before you roll anything out.
Why shortlist by job and risk
A five-person agency, a restaurant group and a small accountancy practice will all say they “want AI”, but their jobs and risks differ. The agency may care about drafting speed, the accountancy about client confidentiality, the restaurant about scheduling and customer messages. The same tool can be a good fit for one and a poor fit for another.
Two questions before any product
First, what task will this tool take off someone’s plate, and how will you know it worked? Second, what is the worst thing that could happen if confidential information leaves the business? Our starting-point guide, AI for small business owners: a starting plan, covers the first question, and common mistakes when adopting AI at work covers what typically goes wrong.
Quick overview table
Everything in this table comes from vendor pages we read on 11 November 2026.
| Tool | Category | Business plan, as documented |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Business | Team assistant | From 2 users; monthly and annual billing; $20 per user per month billed annually or $25 monthly on the Codex pricing page |
| Claude Team | Team assistant | 2 to 150 users; Standard seats $20 per seat per month billed annually or $25 monthly |
| Microsoft Copilot | Assistant inside Microsoft 365 | Copilot Chat with eligible business licences; a Copilot add-on licence adds work-data features |
| Notion | Workspace with AI | Business at $20 per member per month; full AI features on Business and Enterprise |
| Zapier | Automation | Professional from $19.99 per month; Team from $69 per month for up to 25 users |
| Perplexity Enterprise Pro | Research assistant | Starts at $40 per month or $400 per year per seat |
Criteria that matter
- Fit with a named job. Drafting, summarising, research, automation, meeting notes.
- Seat or usage pricing. What you pay as the team grows or the workload rises.
- Data handling. Training use, retention and admin controls.
- Admin and security features. Single sign-on, seat management, audit logs.
- Where your team already works. Microsoft 365, Google, Slack, Notion.
- Exit cost. What happens to your content and workflows if you leave.
Team assistants: ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot
ChatGPT Business
OpenAI’s pricing page lists Business for teams, monthly and annual billing, from two users, and says Business and Enterprise can purchase credits for more access. The Codex pricing page, which shares pricing with ChatGPT, lists Business at $20 per user per month billed annually (two or more users) or $25 per user per month billed monthly, including SAML single sign-on and multi-factor authentication. Enterprise is annual with pricing through sales.
Claude Team
Anthropic’s pricing page lists Team for 2 to 150 users. Standard seats are $20 per seat per month billed annually or $25 monthly, with more usage than Pro. Premium seats are $100 annually or $125 monthly, with 5x the usage of Standard seats. The page lists Claude Code and Cowork, enterprise search, central billing, single sign-on, admin controls, and no model training on your content by default, plus up to $500 a month in pooled API credits. Its Enterprise plan has a 20-seat minimum and usage charged at API rates.
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft’s support page, dated 9 November 2026, describes Copilot Chat as included with eligible Microsoft 365 business licences, offering web-grounded chat, research, summaries, image creation and pay-as-you-go agents, with some features limited without a Copilot licence. A separate Copilot add-on licence adds chat grounded in work data (files, emails, chats and people), agents such as Researcher and Analyst, Teams meeting recaps where available, and admin security and compliance features. We did not find the add-on price on the page we read.
| Feature | ChatGPT Business | Claude Team | Copilot (business) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single sign-on | SAML SSO listed | SSO listed | Not stated on page read |
| Minimum seats | 2 | 2 | Depends on Microsoft 365 licence |
| Training on your content | Business offerings excluded (OpenAI data page) | Not by default (Anthropic pricing page) | Not confirmed here |
| Work-data search | Not stated on page read | Enterprise search listed | Add-on licence grounds chat in work data |
Workspace and automation: Notion, Zapier
Notion
Notion’s pricing page lists Business at $20 per member per month (“Recommended”), with yearly billing saving up to 20%. It says Notion AI features are fully included only on Business and Enterprise; Free and Plus get trials. Its AI page lists Notion Agent, Custom Agents, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search (beta) and Research Mode, and says Business includes 1,500 Standard credits and 500 Select credits per seat each month. Custom Agents cost $10 per 1,000 monthly Notion credits after the free trial.
Zapier
Zapier prices by task volume. Its Free plan includes 100 tasks per month and two-step Zaps. Professional starts from $19.99 per month and adds multi-step Zaps, premium apps and AI fields. Team starts from $69 per month, supports up to 25 users and adds shared Zaps and SAML SSO. Paying yearly saves 33%, and if you reach your task limit with pay-per-task billing on, you are billed at a higher per-task rate; otherwise your Zaps pause until the next period. For a decision between automation tools, see Zapier vs Make vs n8n: how to decide.
Research: Perplexity
Perplexity’s help centre lists Enterprise Pro at “starts at $40/month or $400/year/seat” and says it adds a trust centre, data never used for training, seat management, internal knowledge search through shared Projects and File Connectors, increased daily uploads, dedicated support and admin-managed billing. Eligible nonprofits and educational institutions can get Enterprise Pro at $30 per seat per month or $300 annually by contacting support. For more detail, see our Perplexity review.
Pricing models
Checked on 11 November 2026. Confirm on each vendor page.
| Model | Examples | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Per seat, per month | ChatGPT Business, Claude Team, Notion Business, Perplexity Enterprise Pro | Cost grows with headcount; annual billing is cheaper than monthly on the pages we read |
| Seat plus credits or usage | Claude Team (usage per seat), Notion credits | Heavy users may exhaust allowances |
| Task volume | Zapier | Busy workflows can hit limits or higher per-task rates |
| Licence add-on | Microsoft Copilot add-on | Requires the base Microsoft 365 licence |
Our guide on how to read an AI tool’s pricing page explains seat minimums, annual billing and overage terms.
Privacy and data
| Tool | What the vendor page says |
|---|---|
| OpenAI business plans | Business offerings (Team, Enterprise and API) are excluded from the consumer default of using content to train models. |
| Claude Team | No model training on your content by default. |
| Notion | Will not use your data to train models unless you opt in; AI subprocessors are contractually barred from training. Non-Enterprise plans retain data for 30 days; Enterprise adds zero data retention with LLM providers. |
| Perplexity Enterprise | Data never used for training; Enterprise Max lists configurable data retention. |
| Microsoft Copilot | Admin security and compliance features listed with the add-on licence; training terms not confirmed here. |
A vendor’s no-training statement does not replace your own policy. Decide what categories of information staff may enter: customer personal data, financial records, contracts. Our guide on protecting company data when using AI tools has a template. This is general information, not legal advice; if you handle regulated data, take professional advice.
Who each suits
- ChatGPT Business: best for teams that want a general assistant with SSO and a named seat price, if usage limits and credits fit their volume.
- Claude Team: best for teams that work with long documents and want a no-training default, if the per-seat usage allowance is enough.
- Microsoft Copilot: best for teams already on Microsoft 365, if they can justify the add-on for work-data features.
- Notion: best for teams that already keep their knowledge in Notion, if they accept that full AI is on the Business plan.
- Zapier: best for teams automating repetitive handoffs between apps, if task volume stays within the plan.
- Perplexity Enterprise Pro: best for research-heavy roles, if the per-seat price suits and sourced answers still get checked.
How to run your own pilot
- Pick two jobs. For example drafting customer replies and summarising meetings.
- Choose a pilot group. Two to four people, for two weeks.
- Write the rules first. What data is allowed, who reviews outputs and what must never be pasted.
- Measure before and after. Time taken, corrections needed, customer response where relevant.
- Check outputs. Use how to check AI output for mistakes as a routine.
- Review and decide. Keep, change or drop, and record why.
The general method is in how to test an AI tool before you pay for it.
Decision checklist
- I can name the job each tool should do and how I will measure it.
- I have priced the tool for my real headcount and billing period.
- I have read the data and training terms for the plan I will actually buy.
- I know the admin features I need, such as SSO or seat management.
- I have a written use policy and a pilot plan.
- I know how to export my data if I leave.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI tool for a small business?
We cannot name one, because we did not test the tools and businesses differ. Use the criteria above to build a shortlist.
Do I need a business plan, or is a free plan enough?
Business plans list admin controls and different data terms. Free plans can suit a trial, but check data terms before staff use them with company information.
Will AI tools train on my business data?
It depends on the plan. Vendor pages we read say business or enterprise plans are excluded from default training use, but verify the exact terms for your plan.
How much will it cost for my team?
Multiply the seat price by your headcount, then check usage limits and add-ons. The seat prices we read are listed in the table above.
How do I stop staff pasting sensitive data?
Write a short policy, train the team on it and use plans with admin controls. No tool setting replaces clear rules.
Conclusion
For a small business, the best shortlist is the one tied to named jobs, priced for your real headcount and checked against your data rules. On the documentation we read, the seat-priced assistants look similar on price, so the data terms, admin features and where your team already works are likely to decide it. Run a small pilot, then confirm everything on the vendor pages. Our guides on how to choose an AI tool and how to compare AI tools side by side fairly can help.
Sources
- ChatGPT pricing (OpenAI), accessed 11 November 2026
- OpenAI: Codex and ChatGPT Work pricing, accessed 11 November 2026
- OpenAI: How your data is used to improve model performance, accessed 11 November 2026
- Anthropic: Claude pricing, accessed 11 November 2026
- Microsoft Support: Copilot free and Copilot in Microsoft 365, dated 9 November 2026, accessed 11 November 2026
- Notion pricing, accessed 11 November 2026
- Notion AI, accessed 11 November 2026
- Zapier pricing, accessed 11 November 2026
- Perplexity Help Center: Which subscription plan is right for you?, accessed 11 November 2026
- Perplexity Help Center: Data Collection at Perplexity, accessed 11 November 2026
