ISSUE 1
which AI for which job, and when to trust what it tells you.
every one of these tools sounds exactly as confident when it's right as when it's making it up. that is the whole problem. the skill was never prompting. it is knowing which one to reach for, and when to trust what comes back.
all of it works on the free tiers. none of it asks you to become an AI person. keep it by the desk. we'll send a fresh one whenever the tools change enough to matter, which is more often than anyone admits.
the five, and a sixth worth knowing
best at
where it bitesit agrees with you, and invents a tidy source rather than admit it doesn't know.
never forthe final word on a fact, figure or quote.
the rulelovely for getting started, never for getting it right.
best at
where it bitesask for a sentence and it writes three paragraphs and a preamble. the free version runs out fast.
never forquick scrappy jobs where the prose doesn't matter.
the rulegive it a tight brief or it gives you an essay.
best at
where it bitesa citation isn't a guarantee, it can misread its own source. its writing is a memo in a suit.
never foranything you want to sound like a person wrote.
the rulebrilliant for facts, just open the link before you trust the line.
best at
where it bitesyou have to switch it on, it's opt-in, and the part that reads your inbox has been slower to reach the UK and Europe. left alone it over-plans.
never foryour inbox, if you're in the UK or Europe. the inbox reader isn't fully there yet.
the rulepowerful where it's allowed, which might not be where you are.
best at
where it bitesrarely the best at any single job, and shaky on facts.
never foranything you'd want one of the others to do properly.
the rulefine for a nudge, not for the work that matters.
it sits in your meetings, takes the notes, and turns them into actions while you actually listen.
worth more than any of the above if your week is back-to-back calls.
things worth trying that don't occur to people
a letter, a bill, a label, the inside of your fridge. they can read images, and almost nobody tries.
ChatGPT's voice mode is free. think out loud on a walk and let it catch the plan.
paste the baffling letter from the council, the bank, HMRC. they're very good at turning officialese into English.
tell it to play the other person: the difficult client, the boss you're asking for a raise. run it twice before the real one.
before you send, decide, or sign. they're better at spotting the gap than filling it.
a recipe, a setup guide, a process. ask for it as a list you can tick off.
"explain compound interest, then test me on it." a patient tutor for the drive to work.
the cheat sheet: what to use, at a glance
the rules that keep you out of trouble
the one you open out of habit is rarely the one that's right.
bluffing and knowing look identical from the outside.
numbers, names, dates and quotes.
agreement is its default, not its judgement.
its first draft is nobody's best work.
understand, then you decide.
The deeper version
this is the free version, and it's most of what you need.
The kit is the deeper one. your tools set up so they sound like you and stop wasting your time, the habits worth keeping, and the judgement to know when to trust what, for good.
Every other Sunday, one real situation where AI could catch you out, and whether to trust it, check it, or skip it. one judgment call, in your inbox.
see the kitclair