The AI Tools I Actually Use (and What Each One Is Best At)

The question I get more than any other is “Which AI should I use?” My answer: it depends on the job. I work in tech, and even I don't rely on just one. Here's every AI I'm using or testing right now and what each one is best at, tested on my own life. If you can send a text, you can use any of them.

THE QUICK ANSWER

• Brand new and want free? ChatGPT or Muse.

• Inbox and life admin? Muse.

• Meals, planning, my glow-up, the mental load? ChatGPT.

• Want AI to fill your grocery cart or click around a website for you? Claude.

• Your family runs on Gmail and Google Calendar? Gemini is worth a look.

• Grok? Still on my testing list.

1. CHATGPT (“CHAT”)

What it is: The one most people have heard of, and the one I use most. It's behind almost every prompt on this site.

Cost: Free to start. Paid plans give you more usage and the extras.

Best at: Being my everyday home base: meal planning, holidays, turning my messy Notes app into a plan, and my whole Get Hotter series. The features I lean on are Projects (a folder where Chat remembers everything about one topic), memory (it remembers me between chats), photos, connecting my Gmail and calendar, and agent mode (Chat goes onto websites and does a task while I do something else). If you only use one, start here.

Start with: The Get Hotter Guide, AI Meal Planning System or Turn Your Notes + Screenshots Into a Plan.

2. MUSE

What it is: An AI assistant made for life admin. You connect your email and calendar, and it helps you get them under control.

Cost: There's a free option, with limits.

Best at: Email. It helped me clear about 15,000 emails in a few minutes, a cleanup ChatGPT couldn't take on for me. It's my favorite free AI for that kind of tedious job.

3. CLAUDE

What it is: An AI assistant like ChatGPT, made by a different company. It can also work inside your web browser, so it can click around a website for you.

Cost: Free to start, with paid plans for more usage.

Best at: Online errands. I gave Claude my grocery list, opened my store's website, and it filled my cart while I moved on to other things.

Start with: The Mom's Beginner Guide to Browser AI and the AI Grocery Shopping Prompt.

4. GEMINI

What it is: Google's AI. It's built into Gmail, Calendar, Docs and Drive.

Cost: Free to start, plus paid Google plans.

Best at: It's next on my testing list. If your family already runs on Google, it's worth a try, and I'll add my verdict here once I've used it on my real life.

5. GROK

What it is: The AI built into X (the app that used to be Twitter). It also has its own app.

Cost: Free with limits, plus paid plans.

Best at: I haven't tested it enough on my own life to say yet. When I have, it goes here.

The honest truth: they all do the basics well now. The difference is in the extras, like what they can connect to and what they can do for you. Pick based on the job, not the hype.