How to find redundant AI subscriptions (and keep the one you need)

AI assistants are the fastest-growing line on most software bills, and the easiest to duplicate: a ChatGPT plan for writing, a Claude plan for coding, Perplexity for research, and an office suite that quietly added its own assistant. Each one was a reasonable decision on its own. Together they often aren't.

Step 1 — List tasks, not tools

Write down the last two weeks of things you actually asked an AI to do. Group them into jobs: drafting, editing, research with citations, data analysis, coding, image generation, meeting notes. This list matters more than any feature comparison, because overlap only counts for jobs you really do.

Step 2 — Check what you already pay for

Before comparing assistants, check what is bundled with things you can't easily drop:

• Google Workspace business plans now include Gemini features in Gmail, and higher tiers add Gemini in Docs and Meet notes. See the Google Workspace profile for which plan includes what, with sources.
• Microsoft 365 business plans include Copilot Chat at no extra cost; the full Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on. See Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot.

If a bundled assistant covers a job well enough, that job doesn't justify a separate subscription.

Step 3 — Run a one-week side-by-side test

Take five real tasks from your list and give the identical prompt to each assistant you pay for. Score each answer 1–5 on correctness, how much editing it needed, and speed. The consolidation workflow includes a ready-made prompt set and scoring sheet.

Step 4 — Decide per job, then per subscription

For each job, note the winner and whether the runner-up was "good enough". A subscription survives only if it wins at least one job you do often and nothing else you keep is good enough at it. Some heavy users legitimately keep two — for example one for coding agents and one for everyday writing. That's a fine outcome if the test justifies it.

Step 5 — Cancel at the right time

Check each renewal date and whether you're on annual billing. Export anything you need (custom instructions, projects, conversation history). Cancel just before renewal rather than immediately, so you keep access while you confirm the decision.

What this usually finds

The most common overlap is a general assistant plus a single-purpose AI writing or grammar tool. The Grammarly workflow shows what you keep and lose. The second most common is two general assistants that are each used for everything. Run the audit with what you use each for and it will flag which one is redundant — without ever counting the same saving twice.