As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly compare business energy tariffs.
This still needs a person who signs their name to it.
Can you do it?
15 minutesto a draft.
1 hourto something you’d act on.
Cost, all in£0
Skill neededpower-user
Who has to check ityou
What the alternative costsNo comparable human procurement-service price is provided in the supplied data.
If this goes wrong: you select a tariff that looked cheaper but contains missed charges, unsuitable contract terms or an expensive exit condition.
What to actually do
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.
Use a tool built for this
Second choiceDo it yourself
The distant thirdA chat interface, power-user skill, and roughly 1 hour until you can act on the result.
How to actually do it
- Open the latest business energy bills and supplier quotes, including every page of the terms and any appendices.
- Gather the relevant consumption data, meter type, supply address, current contract end date and any available half-hourly or annual usage record.
- Paste or attach the documents and data to a chatbot, then use the comparison prompt exactly as written.
- Ask the model to produce separate comparisons for each site or meter if the business has more than one supply.
- Compare every extracted rate, charge, contract condition and expiry detail against the original bills and quotes, correcting the table where it misread a term.
- Recalculate the annual totals in a spreadsheet using the stated consumption and assumptions, keeping VAT and additional charges separate.
- Send the model's list of missing information and supplier questions to the suppliers, then update the comparison with their written replies before making a procurement decision.
Prompt
Compare the business energy tariffs in the documents and data below. Do not use outside prices, current market assumptions or invented figures. Extract each tariff's unit rate, standing charge, contract length, renewal terms, exit fees, pass-through or additional charges, VAT treatment, quote expiry, payment terms and any conditions that affect the comparison. If a term is missing or unclear, mark it as missing or unclear rather than guessing. Calculate the expected cost only from the consumption data I provide. Show the calculation for each tariff, state every assumption, and keep VAT and non-energy charges separate where the documents do so. If the tariffs use different structures or the data is not sufficient for a fair comparison, explain why and list the exact information needed. Return: 1. A source-backed comparison table. 2. The calculation for each tariff. 3. A list of material differences and risks. 4. Questions to send to each supplier. 5. A cautious shortlist based only on the supplied evidence, without telling me to sign or switch. Business details: - Business type: [business type] - Site or sites: [site details] - Current contract end date, if known: [date or unknown] - Annual consumption and units: [consumption data] - Meter type and supply details: [meter and supply details] Documents and quotes: [Paste or attach the full bills, quotes and terms here]
Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.
What it gets wrong
- AI cannot know whether a quote is still valid or whether a supplier has changed its terms unless you provide current written evidence.
- AI cannot reliably interpret every pass-through charge, renewal condition or liability hidden in commercial energy terms.
- AI cannot negotiate the tariff, confirm supplier credit requirements or obtain a binding offer.
- AI cannot take responsibility for the contract if the comparison misses a charge or the business chooses the wrong term.
- AI cannot replace a specialist review where the contract value, site complexity or exit exposure makes an error material.
What caps this at PARTLY: real time truth, verification cost and stakes of error.
How we scored this
Five axes, each scored nought to two by hand: ten means AI carries the task cleanly, and the thresholds that turn a total into YES, PARTLY or NO are published in the methodology. Each axis name links to its definition.
| Axis | Score (0–2) |
|---|---|
| Output | 2 |
| Inputs | 1 |
| Verification | 1 |
| Liability | 1 |
| Effort delta | 2 |
| Total | 7 / 10 |
The methodology and its thresholds are published in full.
FAQ
- Can ChatGPT compare business energy quotes?
- Yes, it can extract terms and compare supplied quotes, bills and consumption data. It cannot confirm that the quotes are current or that it has understood every commercial charge, so check the result against the source documents.
- What do I need to compare business energy tariffs?
- You need the full supplier quotes, recent bills, consumption data, meter and supply details, contract end date and all available terms. Without these, the model may compare headline rates while missing standing charges, additional charges or exit conditions.
- Can AI find the cheapest business energy tariff?
- It can identify the lowest calculated cost among the tariffs and assumptions you provide. It cannot reliably search the live market or confirm that a cheaper quote is available, and the lowest headline rate may not be the lowest total cost.
- Should I let AI choose my business energy contract?
- No. Use it to organise the evidence, show the calculations and identify questions for suppliers, then make the decision through your normal procurement process. For a high-value or complex contract, ask an energy procurement specialist to check it; this is not professional advice.
Nearby answers
Assessed by gpt-5.6-luna (gpt-5.6-luna) on 2026-08-13, second-checked by an independent model. Wrong somewhere? Email [email protected] and it gets re-checked.
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