Decision Guide

Which AI should I use? A guide for every situation.

There are dozens of AI tools available. You don’t need to try them all. This guide tells you exactly which AI to use for your specific situation — with no jargon and no wasted time.

Decision guide Updated April 2026

Tell me what you want to do

Click your situation — jump straight to the answer.

✍️
Writing
Emails, essays, copy
📊
Presentations
Slides, decks, pitches
🌄
Images
Create, edit, design
🔍
Research
Find facts, summarise
💼
Work tasks
Spreadsheets, reports
🎓
Studying
Learn, revise, explain
💻
Coding
Write, debug, explain
🎤
Voice & Audio
Narration, podcasts
✍️

Writing — emails, essays, copy, articles

Best overall
ChatGPT
Excellent for first drafts. Give it context, tone, and purpose. Free tier sufficient for most writing tasks.
Full guide →
Best quality
Claude
Produces noticeably more nuanced, well-structured writing. Better for long-form content and complex topics.
Full guide →
If you use Google
Gemini in Docs
Built directly into Google Docs. Write, improve, and summarise without leaving your document.
Full guide →
Ready-to-use writing prompt
Write a [type of content] for [audience]. The purpose is [goal]. Tone should be [formal/conversational/warm]. Key points to include: [list]. Length: approximately [word count]. Do not use jargon.
📊

Presentations — slides, decks, pitches

Best overall
Gamma.app
Type your topic, get a full presentation with design, images, and layout. Free tier available. No design skills needed.
If you use PowerPoint
Copilot in PowerPoint
Requires Microsoft 365 subscription. Creates presentations from a Word document or a prompt, directly inside PowerPoint.
Full guide →
Best for content
ChatGPT → then design
Use ChatGPT to create the structure and content, then paste into Canva or PowerPoint. More control over design.
Presentation structure prompt
Create a presentation outline for [topic]. Audience: [who they are]. Purpose: [inform/persuade/sell]. Duration: [X minutes]. Format: [number] slides with a title, 3 key points per slide, and a clear call to action at the end.
🌄

Images — create, edit, design

Best quality
Midjourney
The most powerful image generator available. Stunning artistic quality. Works via Discord. Paid plans from $10/month.
Full guide →
Easiest to use
DALL‑E 3 in ChatGPT
Type your description in ChatGPT and ask it to create an image. No extra app needed. Available on ChatGPT free tier.
Full guide →
For social media
Canva AI
Built into Canva. Generate images, remove backgrounds, and design posts in one place. Free tier available.
🔍

Research — find facts, understand topics, summarise

Best for current info
Perplexity
Searches the web and gives you an answer with sources linked. Best for current events and factual questions. Free to use.
Full guide →
Best for documents
Claude
Upload a long PDF or document and ask questions about it. Best for understanding contracts, reports, and research papers.
Full guide →
For general questions
ChatGPT
Excellent for explaining topics in depth. Note: verify facts independently — AI can confidently state incorrect information.

💻 Coding — write, debug, explain, review

Best overall
Cursor
VS Code-based IDE with Claude/GPT built in. Autocomplete, chat, inline edits. The most popular AI coding environment.
Best for explanation
ChatGPT
Explain unfamiliar code, debug errors, write functions from a description. Strong at all major languages.
Best for large codebases
Claude
200k context window — paste an entire codebase. Best for reviewing, refactoring, and understanding large projects.
If you use VS Code
GitHub Copilot
Inline autocomplete and chat inside VS Code and JetBrains. $10/month. Deep GitHub integration.

🎙️ Voice & Audio — narration, transcription, music

Best for voiceovers
ElevenLabs
Most natural AI voices. Voice cloning from 1 minute of audio. Best for narration, audiobooks, content creation.
Best for transcription
Whisper
OpenAI's open-source speech-to-text. 99 languages. Free to run locally or $0.006/min via API. Industry standard.
Best for music
Suno
Complete songs from a text prompt — lyrics, vocals, production. Free tier (10 songs/day).
Best for e-learning
Murf
Professional TTS for voiceovers. 120+ voices, video sync, team workspace. From $29/month.

🎬 Video — create, edit, generate

Easiest for content creators
InVideo AI
Type a prompt, get a complete video with stock footage, voiceover, and captions. Social and YouTube content.
Best AI footage
Luma Dream Machine
Physically realistic AI video clips (5-10 sec). Text-to-video and image-to-video. Best motion quality.
Best for editing
Runway
AI video generation plus editing tools — remove objects, repaint backgrounds, inpainting. Professional workflow.
Best for avatars
HeyGen
Realistic AI presenter avatars for corporate videos, product demos, and training content.

🤖 Agentic AI — AI that completes projects, not just answers

Most widely used framework
LangChain / LangGraph
Build AI agents and pipelines. 1000+ integrations. LangGraph for complex multi-step workflows.
Easiest to start
CrewAI
Role-based multi-agent teams. Simplest learning curve. Each agent has a role, goal, and backstory.
No-code automation
n8n
Visual workflow automation with AI nodes. Self-hosted option. Connect any app, trigger on events.
Learn more
What is Agentic AI?
Full guide to how AI agents work, the four components, and when to use them.

📊 Data analysis — no coding needed

Best overall
Julius AI
Upload any spreadsheet or CSV, ask questions in plain English. Charts, stats, cleaning — no coding needed.
If you use Google Sheets
Gemini Advanced
Works directly inside Google Sheets. Ask questions about your data without leaving the spreadsheet.

🏗️ Building apps — no coding required

Best for web apps
Lovable
Full-stack web apps from text prompts. React + Supabase backend. Deploy instantly. No code required.
Best for scripts and bots
Replit
Build anything that runs as code — scripts, automations, Telegram bots, APIs. Browser-based. 200+ languages.
New concept
What is Vibe Coding?
Building software by describing it. Full guide to the tools, what you can realistically build, and the limits.

📞 Voice agents — AI that handles phone calls

Most flexible
Vapi
API-first. 400ms latency. Any LLM, any voice, any telephony. Best for teams with developer support.
Easiest to set up
Retell AI
No-code visual builder + analytics dashboard. Get a working agent faster without deep engineering.
Indian languages
Sarvam AI
TTS and STT for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and 7 more Indian languages. Handles code-switching naturally.

New to AI? Read: What is Fine-Tuning? · What is Vibe Coding? · How to Make Money with AI

📱 Meta AI / WhatsApp AI — quick help in your existing apps

If you use WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger — Meta AI is already built in. Type @MetaAI in any chat. Free, no new app, works in 99 languages. Powered by Llama 3.
Full Meta AI guide →

Quick comparison — the main AI tools

AI Tool Made by Best for Free?
ChatGPTOpenAIWriting, coding, general tasksYes
ClaudeAnthropicLong docs, careful analysis, quality writingYes
Gemini AdvancedGoogleGoogle Workspace, 1M context, Deep ResearchNo ($19.99/mo)
CopilotMicrosoftMicrosoft 365, Office, WindowsYes (basic)
Meta AIMetaWhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook — already built inYes
PerplexityPerplexity AIResearch with cited sources, current newsYes
MidjourneyMidjourney Inc.AI image generation (artistic quality)No (from $10/mo)
Flux.1Black Forest LabsAI images — best prompt adherence, open sourceYes (Schnell)
ElevenLabsElevenLabsAI voice cloning and narrationYes (limited)
SunoSuno AIAI music — complete songs from textYes (10/day)
RunwayRunway AIAI video generation and editingYes (limited)
CursorAnysphereAI code editor — best for developersYes (limited)