https://www.lutz-mueller.com/ Practical AI workflows that help business professionals produce high-quality results in less time. Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.lutz-mueller.com/choose-an-ai-assistant/ https://www.lutz-mueller.com/choose-an-ai-assistant/ Start with an AI assistant your company provides. If you have a choice, compare the options using a task you do often. Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT # How to choose an AI assistant as a business professional Start with an AI assistant your company provides. If you have a choice, compare the options using a task you do often. ## Too many models to choose from You want an AI assistant to help you get through your work faster and produce better results. But new headlines keep naming a different “best” model, and colleagues seem to get more from assistants you haven't tried. So you compare tools and switch between them, hoping the next one will make the difference. The choice becomes overwhelming, the work waits, and you still aren't sure which assistant to use. This guide will help you choose the assistant that fits your situation. We'll use a chart to put model rankings in perspective. Then you'll start with any paid assistant your company provides, compare your options against the work you do most often, and try the same task if you still have a choice. You'll also get a short prompt to use if your chosen assistant gives you a generic answer. ## Models are similar for work The chart shows how the intelligence scores of leading AI models have changed over time. A year ago, the gaps were wider. Now models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are much closer together. For everyday work, such as drafting a report or preparing for a meeting, ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are all reasonable choices.  *[Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index](https://artificialanalysis.ai/?model-creators=anthropic%2Cmeta%2Copenai%2Cgoogle%2Cdeepseek#frontier-language-model-intelligence-over-time-chart), with model releases through October 2026.* One assistant may introduce a feature first, but the others often add similar features soon after. You don't need to keep switching for fear of missing out. Choose an assistant that fits your situation, then focus on how you use it. These three steps will help you find one that works for you. ## Three steps to find your assistant ### Step 1: Start with your company's paid plan If your company provides a paid plan for ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini for day-to-day work, start there. The cost is covered, and you can use the assistant regularly. If your company provides only one paid assistant, choose it. You can skip Steps 2 and 3. > Tip: Before sharing customer notes, sales figures, or internal documents, check your company's AI rules. Paid access doesn't mean every file is okay to upload. If your company doesn't provide one, try an assistant you can access with a task that uses no confidential or restricted information. ### Step 2: Match it to your work If you have access to more than one assistant, use the table to find the work you do most often. Choose the assistant whose column best matches your work. | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | | --- | --- | --- | | • Current web research | • Writing and editing | • Google Workspace | | • Strategy briefs | • Reports and presentations | • Video and audio | | • General knowledge questions | • Long documents | • Images and mixed media | Check which features your work account enables before you decide. Each assistant can also help with work in the other columns. ### Step 3: Try the same task If you still have more than one assistant to choose from, give each the same task and approved source material. For example, ask each assistant to turn your meeting notes into a one-page summary with decisions, open questions, and next steps. Use notes you're allowed to share. Then compare the answers: 1. Which answer needs the least editing? 2. Which answer is easier to use? 3. Which assistant fits your existing tools? Check the factual claims in each answer against your notes. A polished answer is not necessarily a correct one. Choose the assistant that works best for this task. ## If results stay generic Okay, now you have decided on one assistant. Congratulations. But what if its answers are still generic? That doesn't mean you chose the wrong assistant. Often, it needs a clearer goal and more information from you to do the work well. I wrote a short prompt to help with that. It asks your assistant to interview you about what you want to achieve and what information it needs. Copy the prompt into your chosen assistant, replace the goal in brackets with your own, and answer its questions. Once it understands the task, it can do the work. ```prompt I want to [describe what you want to achieve]. Before you start, interview me about the task. Ask one question at a time to understand my goal and the information you need from me. When you have enough information, briefly summarize what you understand, then do the task. If something important is still missing, ask me instead of guessing. ``` 2026-10-26