Best AI Tools for School SLPs: ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini
Someone in your SLP Facebook group just posted "what AI tool should I use" for the third time this month, and the comments are all over the place. One person swears by ChatGPT. Another says Claude changed her life. Someone else is convinced you need a $40 a month SLP-specific platform to get anywhere. You close the tab more confused than when you opened it.
My belief? The tool matters a lot less than you think it does.Here's what's actually worth your time, what isn't, and how to pick without falling down a research rabbit hole you don't have time for anyway.
The Big Three AI Tools for SLPs (And You Only Need One)
ChatGPT. The most well known for a reason. It's easy to use and works well once you give it a solid prompt to work from.
Claude. Especially strong with longer, more nuanced writing, like eval report narratives or parent communication that needs a specific tone. A lot of school SLPs find the output sounds more natural right out of the gate.
Gemini. If you're already living inside Google Workspace for your district, Gemini integrates directly into Docs and Gmail, which can save you a step.
You don't need all three. Pick the one that fits how you already work and get good at it before you go shopping for another.
Do You Need a Specialized SLP AI Tool?
You'll see ads for platforms built specifically for speech therapists, and some of them are genuinely useful. Before you add another subscription to your list, ask what it's actually doing that a well-built prompt inside a tool you already have can't.
Most of the time, the answer is not much. A general AI tool with the right prompt can write progress notes, draft IEP goals, and build out eval report sections just as well as a specialized platform, minus the extra cost and the extra login you'll forget the password to by October.
What Determines Whether AI Works For You
Your prompt does almost all the heavy lifting. This is the piece most school SLPs skip, and it's why so many people try AI once, get a stiff and generic result, and give up.
A prompt that just says "write a progress note for a student working on articulation" is going to sound like a robot wrote it, because you gave it nothing to work with. A prompt that includes the student's goals, the session activities, your usual tone, and the format your district requires is going to sound like you wrote it on a good day.
This is the whole reason I put together the 4 AI Prompts Every School SLP Needs. It's free, it covers the four documentation tasks that eat the most hours, IEP goals, eval reports, progress notes, and session notes, and it works in whichever tool from the list above you end up choosing.
FAQ
What is the best AI tool for school SLPs, ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini?
There isn't one universal answer. ChatGPT is the most widely used and reliable for general documentation. Claude tends to produce more natural sounding long-form writing, which helps with eval narratives and parent emails. Gemini is a strong pick if you're already working inside Google Workspace. Try one, get comfortable with it, and only look elsewhere if it genuinely isn't meeting your needs.
Do I need to pay for a premium AI subscription to get good results?
No. Free versions of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can handle the vast majority of school SLP tasks. A paid plan might get you faster responses or higher usage limits, but it isn't a requirement to get your time back.
Are specialized SLP AI platforms worth the extra cost?
Some are helpful, but most of what they offer, prompts built for documentation, can be replicated with a general AI tool and a well-built prompt template. Before subscribing to anything new, check whether a free tool with the right prompt gets you the same result.
Is it safe to use AI tools with student information?
Never enter identifiable student information into a general AI tool unless the platform meets your district's data privacy requirements. Use general details and student labels such as “Monday 10am artic group” only, and always check your district's specific AI and technology policies before building this into your workflow.
How do I know if I'm using AI the right way?
If you're reviewing every output, editing it to reflect the actual student in front of you, and staying the clinical decision maker on everything that goes in the file, you're using it the right way. AI should speed up your first draft, not replace your clinical judgment.
Stay in the SLP AI Loop!
If any of this got you thinking about what your own AI setup could look like, I'd love to keep the conversation going. Every month I send out real talk on how I'm actually running things behind the scenes, what's working, what I've scrapped, and the small tweaks that keep saving me time. Join my email list and you'll get all of it straight to your inbox.
With so much love, Daj
