General purpose AI tools.

ChatGPT – the Swiss Army knife

Price: Free (Basic) | $20/month (Pro)

Vibe: Friendly overachiever who sometimes talks too much

What it's best for:

• When you're stuck and need ideas now

• Creative writing help (without stealing your voice)

• "Explain this like I'm five" moments

• Making personal study guides that help

Watch outs:

• Sometimes makes stuff up with 100% confidence

• Can sound like a robot trying to be cool

• Might lose track in long conversations

Claude – the careful thinker

Price: Free (with daily limits) | $20/month (Pro)

Vibe: Your smart friend who actually reads the whole book before discussing it

What it's best for:

• Deep conversations about complex topics

• Coding help that actually explains WHY things work

• Analyzing long documents without losing track

• Research papers where accuracy matters more than speed

• When you need someone to say "Actually, I'm not sure about that"

Watch outs:

• Daily message limits can be annoying on free version

• Sometimes overthinks simple questions

• Can't make images (words only)

• Might give you a whole essay when you wanted a quick answer

Google Gemini – the connected genius

Price: Free (generous limits) | $19.99/month (Advanced)

Vibe: Your friend who has access to literally everything and loves organizing it

What it's best for:

• Research projects with real-time info from the web

• Working directly in your Google Docs (game-changer!)

• Analyzing data from your spreadsheets

• Understanding images, videos, and text

• Handling massive documents without breaking a sweat

Watch outs:

• Gets nervous about controversial topics

• Sometimes gives Wikipedia-level generic answers

• Be careful around giving access to your files

• Can be like that friend who's too careful about everything

Perplexity – the source detective

Price: Free (5 searches/day) | $20/month (Pro – unlimited)

Vibe: That friend who always says "Actually, according to my research..."

What it's best for:

• Research papers that need citations (lifesaver!)

• Fact-checking wild claims from social media

• Current events and breaking news

• Finding primary sources for history papers

• Settling arguments with actual evidence

Watch outs:     

• Not great for creative writing help

• Free version runs out fast if you're research-heavy

• Less chatty, more "here are the facts"

Meta AI – the instant assistant

Price: Free (no limits!)

Vibe: Your friend who's always around when you’re scrolling

What it's best for:

• Quick homework help

• Making images for presentations on the fly

• Simple explanations while you're doom-scrolling

• Group project help right in your chat

• When you need answers fast

Watch outs:

• No conversation history (goldfish memory)

• Gives pretty basic answers

• Like getting homework help from someone who only skimmed the textbook