An opinionated guide to which AI to use to do stuff
The guide by Ethan Mollick has shifted from focusing on chat‑based models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to emphasizing agentic systems that can automate many hours of human work. Gemini has been removed because Google lacks a comparable offering in the Codex/ChatGPT Work/Cowork space. Mollick advises users to grant AI access to their computers via specific modes such as ChatGPT Work or Claude Cowork for the most powerful results.
- ▪A year ago the guide highlighted chat models including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini as the primary tools.
- ▪The current version prioritizes agentic systems capable of performing extensive tasks in a single run, and Gemini was dropped due to Google’s limited offerings.
- ▪Mollick explains that giving AI access to a computer involves selecting modes like ChatGPT Work or Claude Cowork within the respective apps.
- ▪The most powerful approach is to let the AI interact directly with the user’s computer through these modes.
- ▪The distinction between mobile Work mode and the desktop app’s implementation is noted as unintuitive.
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| Publication time | 2026-07-27T21:55:53+00:00 |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
An opinionated guide to which AI to use to do stuff. It's interesting watching the evolution of Ethan Mollick's guide over time. A year ago it was still all about chat - ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini - with o3, Claude 4 Opus, and Gemini 2.5 Pro as the models and Deep Research as a useful alternative mode. Today it's much more about agentic systems - "where the AI is capable of doing the equivalent of many hours of real human work in one go". Gemini has fallen off Ethan's list, since Google still doesn’t have an established entry in the Codex/ChatGPT Work/Cowork category.
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