Wave 110 minbeginner
The AI Tool Landscape
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini — what's different and when to use each.
The AI Tool Landscape
There are now dozens of AI tools, but a few dominate. Here's your field guide.
The Big Three Text Models
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
- •Best for: General tasks, creative writing, coding, image generation (DALL-E built in)
- •Models: GPT-4o (fast + smart), GPT-4 (most capable), GPT-3.5 (fast, less capable)
- •Pricing: Free tier available, Plus at $20/month
- •Standout: Huge plugin ecosystem, custom GPTs, image generation
Claude (Anthropic)
- •Best for: Long documents, analysis, careful reasoning, coding
- •Models: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (fast), Claude 3 Opus (most capable)
- •Pricing: Free tier, Pro at $20/month
- •Standout: 200K token context window, excellent at following complex instructions
Gemini (Google)
- •Best for: Integration with Google Workspace, multimodal tasks
- •Models: Gemini Pro, Gemini Ultra
- •Pricing: Free tier, Advanced at $20/month
- •Standout: Deep Google integration, strong at research tasks
Specialized AI Tools
| Category | Tools | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Image Generation | Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion | Creating images from text |
| Video | Runway, Sora, Kling | AI video generation |
| Music | Suno, Udio | AI music creation |
| Code | GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code | AI-assisted programming |
| Search | Perplexity, Google AI Overview | AI-enhanced search |
| Writing | Jasper, Copy.ai, Grammarly | Content and copywriting |
| Voice | ElevenLabs, Play.ht | Text-to-speech |
How to Choose
- 1.Try all three major models with the same prompt — you'll notice different styles
- 2.Use Claude for analysis, long documents, and careful reasoning
- 3.Use ChatGPT for creative tasks and when you need plugins/image gen
- 4.Use Gemini when you're already in the Google ecosystem
- 5.Don't marry one tool — the landscape changes monthly
Exercises
0/3Quiz+5 XP
Which AI model is known for having the largest context window (ability to process long documents)?
Prompt Challenge+15 XP
Take this prompt and send it to two different AI tools: "Explain quantum computing to a 10-year-old in exactly 3 sentences." Compare the responses. Which felt more natural?
Hint: Notice differences in tone, accuracy, and how well each followed the constraints.
Matching+5 XP
Which category does Midjourney belong to?