01
Everyday chat
1ChatGPTMost well-rounded, biggest ecosystem
2豆包Easiest start in China, great voice
3GeminiFeels built-in for Google users
Start here: Total beginner: just pick ChatGPT or Doubao.
02
Writing & long documents
1ClaudeBest reputation for long writing and reading
2ChatGPTVersatile styles
3KimiVery long Chinese documents
Start here: If you write proposals and contracts all day, try Claude first.
03
Research & live info
1ChatGPTMost mature deep-research mode
2GrokFastest on breaking topics
3KimiStrong Chinese search
Start here: Breaking news: Grok. Systematic research: ChatGPT.
04
Images
1ChatGPTEdit photos and posters by just asking
2GeminiSolid generation and editing
3豆包Great with Chinese prompts
Start here: Start by editing real photos in ChatGPT — more useful than generating from scratch.
05
Coding
1Claude CodeSteadiest on real projects and long tasks
2CodexOpenAI ecosystem, quick start
3CursorIf you dislike terminals
Start here: Never coded? Cursor's interface is friendliest.
06
AI operating your computer
1Claude CodeFiles, installs, environment fixes
2CodexSame class, OpenAI flavor
3OpenClaw 小龙虾The open-source personal-assistant path
Start here: Finish Learn levels 1-4 first.
07
Trade & business
1ChatGPTBest all-rounder for emails, quotes, clients
2ClaudeStrong on contracts and multi-file work
3GeminiConvenient with Gmail/Sheets
Start here: Run one real client email through ChatGPT — instant payoff.
08
Spreadsheets & PDFs
1ChatGPTUpload and ask; makes charts too
2ClaudeFine-grained on long PDFs
3KimiSwallows hundreds of Chinese pages
Start here: Just drag the file into the chat — no conversion needed.
09
Free AI APIs & compute
1AMD Token FactoryDaily $10 credits, 1M context DeepSeek with direct China routing
2Google AI Studio1,500 daily free requests, built-in search grounding, 1M multimodal context
3OpenCode ZenMeta Muse Spark 1.3 free 1.05M terminal agent, 206 tok/s throughput
Start here: For coding pick OpenCode; for zero-proxy direct API use AMD; for live search and long docs use Google AI Studio.
10
Local models & open source
1Qwen 通义Top-tier open models, 27B runs locally
2DeepSeekOpen weights + cheap API
3Hermes AgentFlagship open agent
Start here: This is the technical path — most people don't need it.