GoKawiilStephen Radochia / Android Authority
It took a while, but more users are turning to AI for advice in their daily lives. That also extends to buying advice (for better or worse). As someone who makes a living reviewing and comparing smartphones, I was curious how well the top large language models would do at my job. I wanted to see if they could take in all the reviews and information to come up with a coherent recommendation that would benefit most users.
It took a bit of effort, and the process wasn’t as clean as I’d hoped — especially with people’s money on the line. However, once the smoke cleared, I was surprised by the results. I asked ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to pick the best smartphone for most people, and here’s what they came up with.
Do you use any AI models for buying advice? 361 votes Absolutely, they can be a great resource. 31 % For research, but not to make any decisions. 47 % No way, I need real advice from real people. 22 %
ChatGPT was the most interesting
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
I use ChatGPT the most among the major AI models. I recently launched my own website, and I have ChatGPT to thank for walking me through the various WordPress and DNS settings needed to make it happen. I’m also having it teach me Linux, one terminal command at a time. It’s a fantastic tool if used correctly, but I never considered AI something I’d ask for buying advice.
I came up with a prompt I thought made sense. I didn’t want the models to pick up any bias from my own conversations, so I made sure to state that up front. I posed the same question to each model: I would like you to pick the best smartphone for most people. I don’t want you factoring in any bias from my personal views or articles. Please take into account price, software support, performance, most users’ usage, consumer reviews, and sentiment. Any data you can pull in. Pick the best with an explanation, and also provide a top three with reasons for each. I figured that covered the bases of what I’m looking for. ChatGPT-5.5 didn’t hesitate, and I was surprised by the answer. It quickly chose the Google Pixel 10 as the best option for most consumers, highlighting a few reasons. It was a remarkably practical pick, which ignored most of the noise I’d expect ChatGPT to pick up on.
The top three reasons for picking the Pixel 10 are its camera, software speed and support, and battery life. It hailed the Pixel 10 for having flagship-level camera performance for novice users. You don’t need to be an expert to get the most out of your photos. It also mentioned the price and how you can save hundreds of dollars on a similarly good flagship experience — something worth focusing on.
The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max and base Galaxy S26 were the honorable mentions, and ChatGPT admitted the iPhone was still the best for the average mainstream buyer, but it favored the Pixel when considering the best overall balance while keeping the price reasonable, which has become way more important in 2026.
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