An Opinionated Guide to Using AI Right Now

Slides based on Ethan Mollick's Article published on Oct 19, 2025

2 step creation flow

I asked Claude:

read the article. read this web page. What questions does this article answer
write markdown slides based on that page and structure them with respect to these questions. Make sure to cite the original author Ethan Mollick

Welcome

Understanding AI in 2025

10% of humanity now uses AI weekly
Usage is mostly practical: information-seeking & guidance
Time to move beyond hunches to real usage patterns

Source: Ethan Mollick, [An Opinionated Guide to Using AI Right Now](https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/an-opinionated-guide-to-using-ai

Question 1

Which Free AI Tools Should I Use?

The Four Most Advanced AI Systems

Claude (Anthropic)
Gemini (Google)
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Grok (xAI - Elon Musk)

Plus strong open-weight alternatives:

Deepseek, Kimi, Z, Qwen (China)
Mistral (France)

All offer some free access

Free vs Paid: Quick Decision Tree

Use FREE if you:

Do casual chat and information-seeking
Want free image creation (Gemini is best)
Don't need complex features

Consider PAID if you:

Do serious, complex work
Need advanced models consistently
Work on technical/coding tasks

Key Features to Consider When Choosing

Feature	What it Means
Web Search	Some free tools (Gemini, Perplexity) search the web; others cannot
Image Creation	Gemini best for free; ChatGPT & Grok are runners-up
Privacy Policy	Varies significantly across systems
Access Levels	Different restrictions on free tiers
Personality	Each AI has different "vibes"

Quick Recommendation

If using free models:

Pick what you like based on features & personality
Open weights models have higher usage limits
Microsoft Copilot is also a good aggregation service

If considering upgrade:

Start with free accounts from Anthropic, Google, or OpenAI
Test before committing financially

Question 2

Should I Pay for Advanced AI, and Which One?

The Pricing Tiers

$20/month tier

Works for vast majority of people
Includes advanced & agentic models
Voice mode, image/document viewing, code execution
Mobile apps with all features

$200/month tier

For complex technical & coding needs
More usage allowances
Extended thinking capabilities

Three Systems Worth Considering at $20/month

System	Strengths	Notes
Claude (Anthropic)	Excellent documents (PowerPoint, Excel)	No image/video generation
Gemini (Google)	Strongest image generation; video (Veo 3.1)	Emerging capabilities
ChatGPT (OpenAI)	Balanced features; video (Sora 2)	Most established

All three offer:

Advanced & agentic models
Voice mode
Image/document viewing
Code execution
Deep Research
Mobile apps

Special Mention: Grok

Powerful AI models
Rapidly adding features
Caveat: Less transparent about product safety than competitors

For most people: Stick with Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT

Question 3

Which AI Model Should I Select?

Three Types of Models Available

1. Chat Models (Free tier)

Fast responses
Best for conversation
Most personable
"Off the top of its head" thinking

2. Agent Models (Paid tier)

Take longer to answer
Can carry out multiple steps autonomously
Search web, use code, create documents
More capable and consistent
Recommended for real work

3. Wizard Models (Advanced tier)

Very long response times
Handle complex academic tasks
Deepest thinking capability

Bottom line: Use Agent models for real work that matters

ChatGPT Model Selection

The Confusing Reality:

"ChatGPT 5" is actually many models, not one
GPT-5 Mini (weak), GPT-5 Thinking (good), GPT-5 Pro (extremely powerful)
"Auto" mode often picks weaker models

Recommendations:

For complex work: Select GPT-5 Thinking Extended ($20 plan)
For very hard problems: GPT-5 Thinking Heavy ($200 plan)
For maximum power: GPT-5 Pro (highest cost tier only)

Gemini Model Selection

Your Options:

Gemini 2.5 Flash (lighter, faster)
Gemini 2.5 Pro (more powerful)
Gemini Deep Think (powerful thinking, paid Ultra plan)

Current Status:

Gemini 2.5 is weakest of major models (but still capable)
Gemini 3 expected in coming months
Deep Think option very powerful

Claude Model Selection

Simplified Approach:

Use Sonnet 4.5 for everything
Question: Use extended thinking for harder problems?

Current Limitation:

Claude does not yet have equivalent to GPT-5 Pro
But very straightforward model selection

Data Privacy Consideration

If using paid versions and want data never used for training:

System	Can Disable Training?	Cost
ChatGPT	Yes	No loss of functionality
Claude	Yes	No loss of functionality
Gemini	Yes	Loss of some functionality

Question 4

How Do I Get Better Answers?

Key Finding

The biggest uses for AI:

Practical guidance
Information-seeking

Two ways to dramatically improve answer quality:

Strategy 1: Deep Research Mode

What it does:

Conducts extensive web research over 10-15 minutes
Produces high-quality reports
Often impresses information professionals (lawyers, accountants, consultants)

Key advantages:

Far more accurate than quick responses
Citations tend to actually be correct
Not error-free, but significantly better

Important note:

Each system's Deep Research works differently
Different strengths and weaknesses across platforms

Strategy 2: Connect AI to Your Data

What you can connect:

Gmail
Calendars
Google Drive / OneDrive / SharePoint
Other cloud storage

Real example:

Ask Claude: "Give me a detailed briefing for my day" (with connections enabled)

Result: Often impressive, comprehensive overview

Why it matters:

Claude especially good at integrating across multiple data sources
This is area of heavy investment by AI companies
Offerings evolving rapidly

Combining Both Strategies

For maximum results:

Enable data connections
Activate Deep Research mode
Use advanced models (Agent or Wizard)

Result: High-quality, well-researched, personalized output

Question 5

How Do I Use Multimodal Inputs Effectively?

Voice Mode

Implementation Quality:

System	Quality	Notes
Gemini app	Excellent	Top implementation
ChatGPT app/website	Excellent	Top implementation
Claude	Weaker	Less optimized than others

Important limitation:

Voice models optimized for chat conversation
You don't get access to more powerful models this way

Visual Input (Screen/Camera Sharing)

Use cases:

Point phone at broken appliance → get troubleshooting help
Show math problem → get step-by-step solution
Follow recipe → get real-time cooking guidance
Foreign language sign → get instant translation
Anything visual → real-time response

Effect:

Makes old assistants (Siri, Alexa) feel very primitive

File & Document Upload

You can now upload:

PDFs
Images
Video (ChatGPT & Gemini)

Mobile apps especially powerful:

Screen sharing
Camera sharing
Real-time interaction

Question 6

What Can AI Create For Me?

Documents

PowerPoint & Excel

Claude leads in high-quality document creation
ChatGPT also capable
Gemini capability available
This may change over time

How to trigger:

Ask for documents directly
Select "Canvas" option in Gemini for reliable code output
Claude has specialized "Artifacts" section for outputs

Code-Based Outputs

All three systems can:

Create custom applications
Generate visualizations
Build interactive tools
Write code that produces outputs

Advanced coding tools available

More powerful but complex for this guide

Images

Capability:

ChatGPT: Can make images
Gemini: Can make images (strongest model currently)
Claude: Cannot make images

Quality:

Modern AI can handle complex, contextual requests Example: Creating otters using Wi-Fi on airplanes in multiple styles

Video

Available from:

Sora 2 (OpenAI) - via ChatGPT
Veo 3.1 (Google) - via Gemini

Capabilities:

Both produce videos with sound
Sora 2: Focused as social media app; put yourself in videos
Veo 3.1: General-purpose video generation

Current state:

Can generate realistic video in multiple styles
Quality has improved dramatically

Reality Check

"You really can't trust anything you see online anymore. Please take all videos with a grain of salt."

What AI could create 4 years ago vs now: Massive difference

The speed of change is accelerating

Question 7

How Do I Avoid Common AI Pitfalls?

Pitfall 1: Hallucinations

Good news:

Hallucinations are far less concerning than before
Newer models are better at avoiding them

Bad news:

All AI models still make errors
They give confident answers even when wrong
They can hallucinate about their own capabilities

When are answers better?

Advanced models more accurate than chat models
Results from models that did web searches
When you verify with external sources

Important:

Asking AI to "explain its logic" won't help—it doesn't know why it did something

Pitfall 2: Sycophancy & Personality

The problem:

AI chatbots have become engaging and likeable
Risk: People form stronger attachments to AI (it's not a person)
Sycophancy: AI agrees with what you say instead of giving honest feedback

How to counter:

When you need real feedback:

Explicitly tell AI: "Act as a critic"
Otherwise you get a very sophisticated yes-man

Pitfall 3: Insufficient Context

The reality:

Most AI models only know what's in current chat
Memory features are being added, but limited
AI doesn't remember or learn about you beyond basic data

Solution:

Provide context actively:

Upload documents
Share images
Paste PowerPoints
Write introductory paragraph about yourself
Use file upload options
Use data connectors we discussed

More context = Better answers

Pitfall 4: Over-thinking Prompting

Old advice (no longer needed):

Chain-of-thought prompting techniques
Careful prompt engineering
Specific formatting requirements
Being "nice" to AI or threatening it

New reality:

As models improve, prompting technique matters less
Models are better at figuring out what you want
Research shows these techniques don't really help anymore

Don't worry about prompting "well"

Question 8

How Should I Learn to Use AI Well?

The Goal

"The goal isn't to become an AI expert. It's to build intuition about what these systems can and can't do, because that intuition is what will matter as these tools keep evolving."

Three-Step Approach

1. Start with Something Real

A report you need to write
A problem you're trying to solve
A project you've been putting off
Something that actually matters to you

2. Experiment & Play

Try something ridiculous just to see what happens
Have fun with capabilities
Learn the boundaries through experience

3. Build Intuition

Discover what AI can and can't do
Understand your own needs
Develop sense for which tools fit which problems

Experiment Ideas

Ask video model to make a cartoon
Turn your report into a game
Deep research on topic you love
AI guess where you're from a photo
Show fridge photo → get recipe ideas
Plan dream trip together

Try things. Learn limits.

The Key Insight

"Users figured out what [AI] should do"

The future of AI isn't just better models—it's people figuring out what to do with them

The Bigger Picture

What Will Change

In a few months:

10% figure will likely be higher
Models will be better
Specific recommendations will be outdated

In two years:

The chart of what people use AI for will look completely different
Not just because AI changed capabilities
But because users figured out better applications

What Won't Change

People who learn to use these systems well will:

Find ways to benefit from them
Build intuition for the future
Be better positioned as tools evolve

Learning to use AI well today = competitive advantage tomorrow

Final Recommendation

Pick a system (Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT)
Start meaningful (work on real problems)
Experiment freely (have fun)
Build intuition (not expertise)

The future isn't about being an AI expert. It's about understanding what's possible.

About This Guide

About the Author

Ethan Mollick

This is an opinionated guide because:

Written entirely by Ethan Mollick
Only receives AI feedback after draft completion
Takes no money from AI companies
Reflects genuine, independent opinions

Commitment to you:

May make mistakes
Your opinion may differ
But these are authentic perspectives, not sponsored content

Source: An Opinionated Guide to Using AI Right Now Available at: oneusefulthing.org

Key Takeaway

The future of AI isn't about better models. It's about people figuring out what to do with them.

Start today. Build intuition. The rest will follow.

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