“Can I use this for work too?” is the question most people already know the answer to and don’t want to hear. Usually the answer is: not from your employer, or not yet. What fewer people know is that the makers say something about it as well, in the terms of the free or personal account. At three of the five, those terms say the account is for private use.
This is part 5 of 6. On starting at home when work says no, I wrote a separate piece back in July; I won’t repeat it here. This part is about what the five makers say, what a work email address does to your account, and what the business version is, once and briefly.
Three things to know
The first is what the terms say. Claude is the sharpest: its consumer terms state, without a clear regional scope, that you won’t use the service for commercial or business purposes, and that the maker isn’t liable for business losses. ChatGPT’s European terms describe the personal account as “personal, non-commercial use”, with a separate addendum for anyone using it for business anyway. Perplexity says literally the same: personal, non-commercial use only. At Grok and Gemini I found no such line; Gemini handles it through your employer’s licence.
The second is what a work email address does. Claude’s terms say an account on an address owned by your employer can be linked to that employer’s business account, after which the administrator may manage the account and access your material. You get notified if it happens. At Gemini you can see it from a shield icon in the prompt box: if it’s there, you’re working under your employer’s protections, and if not, you aren’t. Anyone who created a personal account on a work address would do well to move it.
The third is the business version, and I mention it once because most readers won’t be the one signing up. The difference comes down to one line that recurs at all five: no training on your data, by default; at Gemini only on the Workspace editions where Gemini is a core service. ChatGPT Business costs 21 euros per user per month billed annually, 26 monthly, for two to two hundred people. Grok Business 30 dollars per user. Google Workspace, which Gemini sits inside, 6.80 to 21.10 euros per user per month. Claude Team 20 dollars per user billed annually, 25 monthly. Perplexity Enterprise Pro 40 dollars. EU storage exists only at ChatGPT Enterprise; Claude says outright that its data sits in the US.
The table
Checked on 6 September 2026, from the makers’ terms and pricing pages.
| Personal account for work | Work email address | Business version | Training there | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | “Personal, non-commercial use”, with an addendum for business | Nothing found | Business, 21 or 26 euros per user; Enterprise on request | Off by default |
| Claude | “Not for commercial or business purposes” | Can be linked to your employer’s business account | Team, 20 or 25 dollars per user; Enterprise | Off by default; data in the US |
| Gemini | No such line; runs through the licence | Shield icon in the prompt box if your employer pays | Google Workspace, 6.80 to 21.10 euros per user | Off on the editions with Gemini as a core service; the employer sets retention |
| Grok | No such line | Nothing found | Business, 30 dollars per user | “No training” on the pricing page |
| Perplexity | “Personal, non-commercial use only” | Nothing found | Enterprise Pro, 40 dollars per user | “Never used for training” |
What I see myself
The series’ standing test, the same question to all five, I skipped here. The question would have been: can I paste a confidential document from my employer in here? Whatever an assistant answers changes nothing about the terms above, and a “yes” from the model is nobody’s permission.
For me nothing has changed since July: it’s still a home account, and it’s still keeping the two apart. What I learn from the terms is that this separation isn’t just my choice but what the makers themselves ask for. Anyone using a personal account for work sits outside the terms at three of the five, and outside the protection the business version does give at all five.
Caveat: the employer is right, and that doesn’t help you
It’s easy to see an employer who blocks AI as slow. After part 4 and the terms above, that’s harder to sustain. On a personal account the training switch, as part 4 showed, is on by default at three of the five, people can read along, and the data sits in the US. An employer who says “not with our customer data” is saying exactly what Google puts on its own privacy page.
At the same time, that solves nothing for someone who just wants to get their work done. The business version costs money and a decision by someone else, and until that decision exists the work happens anyway, on a phone, in a free account. There’s no good switch for that. The only thing you control is what you put in.
What to do tomorrow
Check which email address your account was created with. If it’s your work address, create an account on your own address today and use that for everything that isn’t company business. That’s the one action that respects your employer’s terms and the maker’s terms at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I paste a work document into a free AI?
Probably not as far as your employer is concerned, and the terms of ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity assume private use. On top of that, the training switch is on by default at three of the five, see part 4. Ask your employer, and don’t wait for the answer with confidential documents.
Is there a version my employer could approve?
Yes, at all five: ChatGPT Business, Claude Team, Google Workspace with Gemini, Grok Business and Perplexity Enterprise Pro. The rule they share is no training on your data. Anyone who needs EU storage ends up at ChatGPT Enterprise only.
Sources: ChatGPT European terms, ChatGPT pricing, business, Claude consumer terms, Claude pricing, Claude servers, Gemini with a work account, Google Workspace pricing, Grok FAQ, Grok for Business, Perplexity terms, Perplexity plans. Checked 6 September 2026.