There's More Than ChatGPT: Why Different AI Tools Do Different Jobs (And Which One George Used to Plan His Kitchen)

By Vivienne Westwood

George moved to Poundbury last year with his wife.

When they started planning their new kitchen, he had a problem. He knew what appliances he owned - the herbs in his herb garden, the spices on his rack, the size of his family. But he needed help figuring out how to design the space around them.

"I tried ChatGPT first," he told me. "Everyone talks about it. But then I discovered Google's Gemini, and it was perfect for what I needed."

George isn't a tech expert. He's just someone who realised that different AI tools do different things well. And that's what most people don't know.

The "Hoover" Problem

• We often say "Hoover" when we mean vacuum cleaner.

• We say "Google it" when we mean search online.

• And now we say "ChatGPT" when we mean AI chatbot.

But here's the thing: just like there are many brands of vacuum cleaner, each with different strengths, there are many AI chatbots. And they're not all the same.

Some are better at research. Some integrate with tools you already use. Some are more up-to-date than others.

The trick is knowing which one to use when.

The Main Alternatives (And What They're Good At)

Claude (by Anthropic)

Best for: Long, nuanced conversations

Excels at: Understanding context, creative writing, analyzing complex documents

Free version available

When to use it: When you need detailed analysis or are working on something that requires multiple back-and-forth exchanges

Google Gemini

Best for: Research and integration with Google services

Excels at: Finding information, connecting to Gmail/Docs/Drive

Free to use

When to use it: When you need current information or want to work with your Google data

This is what George used for his kitchen planning

Microsoft Copilot

Best for: Microsoft 365 users

Excels at: Working with Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams

Included with some Microsoft subscriptions

When to use it: If you already use Microsoft products for work

Perplexity

Best for: Research with sources

Excels at: Giving citations and references

Free version available

When to use it: When you need to verify information or want to see where answers come from

Why George Chose Gemini

Back to George's kitchen.

"I needed something that could remember what I'd told it across multiple conversations," he explained. "My herb garden, my spice collection, my cooking style. And I wanted suggestions that took all of that into account."

Gemini connected to his Google account, remembered his preferences, and could even look at photos of his space.

"It suggested organising by how I cook rather than by category," George said. "Herbs I use for Italian cooking together, spices I use for Indian dishes together. It sounds obvious now, but I wouldn't have thought of it that way."

That's the power of using the right tool for the job.

The Context You Should Know

George also raised an important point in his email to me.

OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) has faced scrutiny recently, particularly around signing certain US defence contracts.

Now, no tech company is perfect. Google, Microsoft, Anthropic - they all have complex business relationships and ethical questions to navigate.

The point isn't that one company is "good" and another is "bad."

The point is that you should know these things exist when making your choice. Different people will weigh these considerations differently, and that's fine.

Being informed means you can make up your own mind.

How to Choose

Here's a simple list to try:

• For general questions and creative work - ChatGPT or Claude

• For research with sources - Perplexity

• If you use Google services - Gemini

• If you use Microsoft products - Copilot

• For long, detailed projects - Claude

Want to try something new - Pick one you haven't used and spend 10 minutes with it

The good news? You can try all of them for free.

ChatGPT: chat.openai.com

Claude: claude.ai

Gemini: gemini.google.com

Copilot: copilot.microsoft.com

Perplexity: perplexity.ai

No credit card needed. Just sign up and start experimenting.

George's advice? "Try two or three. See which one feels natural to you. It's like finding the right podcast host - sometimes it's just about which voice you prefer."

We're past the point where there's only one AI chatbot to choose from.

That's actually good news. It means you can find the tool that fits your needs, your workflow, and your values.

This week, try one you haven't used before.

You might discover, like George did, that the right tool makes all the difference.

Got a Tech Tuesday question or suggestion? Email tech@lovepoundbury.org

Next week: AI Safety & Privacy - What You Actually Need to Know