As of 13 August 2026, AI can choose a printer for your UK office.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open a blank document and record your users, monthly black-and-white and colour page volumes, required paper sizes, print and scan functions, budget in pounds, space limits and support requirements.
   2. Ask your IT administrator or supplier which operating systems, network protocols, Wi-Fi rules, print servers and security controls the office must support.
   3. Paste those requirements into the prompt, along with any printer models or supplier quotations already under consideration.
   4. Ask the model for a shortlist and separate its confirmed facts, estimates and unknowns rather than accepting an unsupported recommendation.
   5. Open the manufacturer product pages, datasheets, warranty terms and consumables pages for each shortlisted model, then compare them with the model's table.
   6. Check current UK purchase prices, availability, cartridge or toner yields, replacement consumables, firmware support and supplier service terms with the intended supplier.
   7. Send the checked comparison to the person responsible for IT security and procurement, then record the chosen model and the evidence supporting compatibility, security and running costs.

   Prompt

   Help me choose a printer for a UK office. Do not invent specifications, prices, availability, running costs or security features. If a fact is missing or may have changed, label it as unknown and tell me what source I should check.
   
   Our requirements:
   - Number of users: [number]
   - Estimated black-and-white pages per month: [number or unknown]
   - Estimated colour pages per month: [number or unknown]
   - Print, scan, copy and fax needs: [requirements]
   - Single-sided or automatic double-sided printing: [requirement]
   - Paper sizes and trays needed: [requirements]
   - Colour quality requirement: [requirement]
   - Network connection: [Ethernet, Wi-Fi, both or unknown]
   - Operating systems and devices: [details]
   - Need for mobile printing: [yes or no]
   - Security requirements, including PIN printing, user authentication and secure release: [details]
   - Physical space and noise limits: [details]
   - Purchase budget in pounds: [amount]
   - Preference for buying or leasing: [preference]
   - Required warranty, support or response time: [requirements]
   - Accessibility requirements: [details]
   - Preferred suppliers or models already being considered: [details]
   
   Create a shortlist of up to five suitable printer models available in the UK. For each model, show the exact model name, confirmed strengths, confirmed limitations, connectivity, paper handling, print speed, automatic duplex capability, security features, warranty or support information, estimated consumables needed, and any facts that still need checking. Separate printer purchase cost from ongoing consumables and service costs, and do not calculate a total unless the necessary figures are verified. Rank the options against my requirements, explain the trade-offs, and give me a verification checklist with links or named manufacturer pages to check before buying. Recommend one option only if the evidence supports it. If the requirements are insufficient, ask concise questions before making the recommendation.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.