Which AI should I actually use?

Start from what you want done. Don't sign up for everything — master one first.

Everyday chat

🥇ChatGPTMost well-rounded, biggest ecosystem

🥈豆包Easiest start in China, great voice

🥉GeminiFeels built-in for Google users

Total beginner: just pick ChatGPT or Doubao.

🥇ClaudeBest reputation for long writing and reading

🥈ChatGPTVersatile styles

🥉KimiVery long Chinese documents

If you write proposals and contracts all day, try Claude first.

🥇ChatGPTMost mature deep-research mode

🥈GrokFastest on breaking topics

🥉KimiStrong Chinese search

Breaking news: Grok. Systematic research: ChatGPT.

🥇ChatGPTEdit photos and posters by just asking

🥈GeminiSolid generation and editing

🥉豆包Great with Chinese prompts

Start by editing real photos in ChatGPT — more useful than generating from scratch.

🥇Claude CodeSteadiest on real projects and long tasks

🥈CodexOpenAI ecosystem, quick start

🥉CursorIf you dislike terminals

Never coded? Cursor's interface is friendliest.

🥇Claude CodeFiles, installs, environment fixes

🥈CodexSame class, OpenAI flavor

🥉OpenClaw 小龙虾The open-source personal-assistant path

Finish Learn levels 1-4 first.

🥇ChatGPTBest all-rounder for emails, quotes, clients

🥈ClaudeStrong on contracts and multi-file work

🥉GeminiConvenient with Gmail/Sheets

Run one real client email through ChatGPT — instant payoff.

🥇ChatGPTUpload and ask; makes charts too

🥈ClaudeFine-grained on long PDFs

🥉KimiSwallows hundreds of Chinese pages

Just drag the file into the chat — no conversion needed.

🥇Qwen 通义Top-tier open models, 27B runs locally

🥈DeepSeekOpen weights + cheap API

🥉Hermes AgentFlagship open agent

This is the technical path — most people don't need it.