My British friends, what is the difference between a chap, lad, and a bloke?

Chap is old school English. Almost nobody uses it , except ironically. It's kind of Hugh Grant meets Mary Poppins. A twee version of Britain that only exists in the minds of some Americans.

Bloke is used by posh guys trying to be err... Blokes."He's a top bloke, that one." Imagine Boris saying it and you will get it.

Bloke and lad can kind of have negative connotations.

If someone describes you as a 'bit of a lad,' they are saying you are like a frat boy or a player.

All the same, but i guess 'chap' tends to be a more 'upper crust' term. Not as commonly used as the others.

Interchangeable.... Also lad and chap are used by the older generations. Also maybe more a northern England thing. Also Essex (cockney lot) might use it to describe a Jack the lad type.
Bloke very very rarely used and more of a negative saying.

But they're all used to describe common men.

This reminds me of the time Paul McCartney performed at the White House and was given an award by Barack Obama.

At one point, he jokingly said he was a little nervous about the next song possibly causing trouble. Everyone then laughed as they recognized the intro to "Michelle."

Afterwards he said, "I was afraid I might be the first guy to show up at the White House and get punched by the president!"

I realize now, after reading people's comments here, that he probably went out of his way to use the American term "guy" rather than a more colloquially British term.

Thank you for asking this. I’ve always wanted to know too

Lad =young man or young boy, Bloke = man ,Chap = upper-class

I just say man

I looked it up lol