Choosing Platforms
AI Tool Comparison
Original work: "Educators' guide to multimodal learning and Generative AI" — Tünde Varga-Atkins, Samuel Saunders, et al. (2024/25) — CC BY-NC 4.0
Adapted for UK Nursing Education by: Lincoln Gombedza, RN (LD)
This page compares the leading AI platforms, highlighting their specific utility for nursing education. If your organisation provides one of them with a work or university account, start there: its data protection terms have already been checked.
Major Platform Showdown
| Feature | Microsoft 365 Copilot | ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Claude (Anthropic) | Gemini (Google) | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current models | Several OpenAI and Anthropic models, chosen by your organisation | GPT-6 Astra · GPT-6 Sol (paid); GPT-5.6 Luna (free) | Claude Opus 5.5 · Claude Sonnet 5 (free default) | Gemini 3.1 Pro · Gemini 3.8 Flash | Choice of partner models |
| Best For | 🗂️ Work inside Word, Outlook, Teams and PowerPoint | 🎨 Creative tasks, role-play and Voice Mode | 📝 Analytical writing, long documents and agentic tasks | 🔄 Multimodal work and very long documents | 🔎 Research and source finding |
| Why Nursing? | Access: NHS England is giving Microsoft 365 Copilot to about 505,000 NHS staff by October 2026, and many universities provide it to students. | Voice Mode is useful for simulating patient conversations. | Careful tone: strong at following complex, multi-step instructions. | Access: one year of Google AI Plus free for eligible UK university students; huge context for whole guidelines. | Citations: links to its sources (e.g., PubMed), which you still need to check. |
| Multimodal | ✅ Documents, images, meetings | ✅ Image generation ✅ Voice ✅ Vision | ❌ No image generation ✅ Vision (e.g. chart reading) | ✅ Native multimodal (audio, video, image, text) | ✅ Search ✅ Vision |
| Privacy | 🔒 Work/university accounts: enterprise data protection; prompts aren't used to train models. | ⚠️ Consumer plans: may train on chats unless you opt out. ✅ Business/Edu: not used for training. | ⚠️ Free/Pro/Max: chats used for training unless you opt out (since October 2025). ✅ Team/Enterprise/Education: not used for training. | ⚠️ Personal accounts: activity may be used to improve Google's services unless turned off. ✅ Workspace for Education: not used for training. | ⚠️ Consumer focused. ✅ Enterprise plans: private. |
Privacy terms checked September 2026; they change, so check the provider's current policy (Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google).
Current models in detail
| Provider | Model | Best for | Where to get it | Notes for UK educators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | Claude Opus 5.5 | Most capable | Claude.ai paid plans, Claude API, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI; rolling out in Microsoft 365 Copilot | Team and Enterprise plans do not train on your data by default; check your organisation's agreement before entering any identifiable information. |
| Anthropic | Claude Fable 5.1 | Frontier (premium) | Claude.ai, Claude API, AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure; Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio | Anthropic's premium general-release model; Opus 5.5 gives similar results on most tasks at lower cost. |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 5 | Everyday work | Default model on Claude.ai Free and Pro; Claude API and cloud platforms | Sonnet 5.5 has been announced for the coming weeks. |
| Anthropic | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Fast and low-cost | Claude API and cloud platforms | Low-cost model for high-volume tasks; Haiku 5.5 has been announced. |
| OpenAI | GPT-6 Astra | Most capable | ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise; OpenAI API; AWS; Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio | Its most advanced cyber-security capabilities are restricted to a vetted access programme. |
| OpenAI | GPT-6 Sol | Everyday work | ChatGPT paid plans, OpenAI API; rolling out in Microsoft 365 Copilot | |
| OpenAI | GPT-6 Luna | Fast and low-cost | OpenAI API; ChatGPT Free and Go users in the desktop app only | |
| OpenAI | GPT-5.6 Luna | Workplace assistant | Default model for ChatGPT Free and Go users in the chat window | Most students using free ChatGPT meet this model, not GPT-6. |
| OpenAI | GPT Image 2.5 | Image generation | ChatGPT and OpenAI API | Never upload identifiable patient images, or photographs of real people without consent. |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro | Most capable | Gemini app (Google AI Pro and Ultra), Google AI Studio, Vertex AI, Google Workspace | Google's newest Pro model; there was no Gemini 3.5 Pro. Gemini 4 Pro is expected but not yet released. | |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | Everyday work | Gemini app with Google AI Pro or Ultra; free in Google AI Studio; Gemini API | Eligible students in 140+ countries, including the UK, can claim Google AI Plus free until 31 December 2026. | |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Fast and low-cost | Gemini API, Vertex AI | ||
| Gemini 3 Deep Think | Deep reasoning | Gemini app with Google AI Ultra | ||
| Microsoft | Microsoft 365 Copilot | Workplace assistant | Microsoft 365 work and education accounts, including many NHS and university tenants | Uses several models: GPT-5.6 is the preferred model, with Claude Opus 5, Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Sol and Astra in some features. Which ones you can use depends on your organisation's admin settings. |
| Gemma 4 | Open weights | Downloadable weights (Apache 2.0); smaller sizes run locally on a laptop |
Feature Matrix: Which Tool for Which Task?
Don't use a hammer to drive a screw. Select the right tool for the job:
📝 Drafting Care Plans
Winner: Claude (Claude Sonnet 5 or Claude Opus 5.5)
Claude is excellent at following complex, multi-step instructions without deviating. It writes in a very professional, clinical tone.
🔎 Verifying Clinical Data
Winner: Perplexity / Consensus
Never rely on a standard chatbot for facts. Use Perplexity to find the primary source (NICE Guideline, BMJ article) first.
🗣️ Patient Simulation (Voice)
Winner: ChatGPT (Voice Mode)
The low-latency voice mode allows for realistic "interruptible" conversations, perfect for practicing history taking.
📚 Analysing Research Papers
Winner: Google NotebookLM
Upload 50 PDFs and "chat" with them. It grounds answers only in your provided documents, which greatly reduces, but does not eliminate, hallucinations. Still check anything you will teach.
Specialized Nursing Tools
While general models are powerful, these are specific to healthcare:
1. PubMed / Research-Specific AI
- Consensus / Elicit: These tools search peer-reviewed journals to answer medical questions with direct citations.
- Nursing Utility: Essential for Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) modules.
2. Clinical Simulation Tools
- Virtual Patient Simulators: Many (like Oxford Medical Simulation) now integrate LLMs for dynamic conversations.
- Nursing Utility: Developing clinical judgment in a safe environment.
Important Caveat: "Hallucinations"
No matter which tool you choose, all Generative AI models can hallucinate.
In a nursing context, this means they may invent medication dosages, clinical symptoms, or nursing guidelines that sound plausible but are incorrect.
NEVER use AI-generated clinical information without verifying it against an authoritative source (e.g., NICE, BNF, Royal Marsden).
Next: Understand the specific Selection Criteria you should use when evaluating these tools for your institution.