AI Provider Signup

The big three services are:

Click on the name above to go to the section on this page that has details on how to subscribe to a free plan.

For all three services, you have choices about signing up with an existing Google, Apple, or Microsoft account, or email, or (sometimes) your phone. I generally favor phone or email over using an existing account, as less linked data means better privacy, so the instructions below are for if you use an email.

Both ChatGPT and Gemini support a “no login” mode, but what you can do is significantly constrained. For example you can’t upload files, which means you won’t be able to do all of the AI for Community training labs. So I’d strongly encourage you to sign up.

ChatGPT

  1. Open a browser and go to https://chatgpt.com/
  2. Click Log in or Sign up (usually in the top-right corner).
  3. On the login page, choose Sign up.
  4. Choose Continue with email (or similar wording).
  5. Enter your email address and click Continue.
  6. Create a password for your account, then continue.
  7. Open your email inbox and find the verification email from OpenAI. Enter the code shown in the email to confirm your account.
  8. You may be asked to provide your full name & date of birth, but you can set those to anything you’d like 🙂
  9. In some regions, you may be asked to verify a phone number via SMS. Enter the code you receive to complete verification.
  10. Once verification is complete, you will be taken to the main ChatGPT chat interface and can start using the free tier.

If you later want to use ChatGPT on mobile, install the official “ChatGPT” app from the iOS App Store or Google Play and log in with the same email and password.

Claude

Unlike ChatGPT and Gemini, there is currently no chat mode for Claude without signing up: you must create an Anthropic/Claude account.

  1. Open a browser and go to https://claude.ai
  2. On the homepage, click Sign up or Get started (wording may vary).
  3. Choose Continue with email (instead of Google/Apple SSO).
  4. Enter your email address and click Continue with email.
  5. Check your inbox for a message from Anthropic / Claude:
    • Either click the login link in the email, or
    • Enter the verification code from the email, depending on the flow.
  6. You will be asked to create a password, confirm your name, and (maybe) confirm your country/region.
  7. In many regions, Anthropic also requires a phone number for verification (used both for free and paid plans in supported locations). Enter your phone number and verify via SMS code if prompted.
  8. After verification, your browser should open the Claude chat interface, and you’ll be on the free plan unless you explicitly upgrade.

Gemini

To sign in to Gemini, you need a Google Account (which means either you have a Gmail address or a Google Workspace account). But you can create a new, only-for-Gemini Gmail account as part of the signup process, if you’d rather not link a “real” email account to Gemini.

  1. Go to https://gemini.google.com/app
  2. Click the Sign in button in the upper-right corner.
  3. Either sign in to an existing Google account, or click the “Create account” link and select the “For my personal use” option in the popup menu, which will let you create a custom Gmail address.
  4. If you select a personal account, you’ll need to enter:
    • First name
    • Last name (optional)
    • A birthday (you decide what to enter here)
    • Gender (Rather not say is an option)
    • And then pick a Gmail address to use
  5. Once you pick an existing Gmail account, or your Google Account is created, go to https://gemini.google.com
  6. Click Sign in, and log in with the new account.