Appendix D: Tool Comparison Quick-Reference Cards

These cards reflect the state of major AI tools as of early 2025. The AI tool landscape changes rapidly — always verify current pricing, availability, and features at the provider's official website before making purchasing decisions.

Card 1: General AI Chat Platforms

Best for general-purpose text work, Q&A, analysis, and writing assistance.

Practical Notes: - For most knowledge workers with no existing toolchain: start with Claude or ChatGPT; both offer strong free tiers. - If your team is heavily invested in Google Workspace, Gemini's native integrations provide practical advantages. - For API integration, all three have mature, well-documented APIs. See Appendix B for code examples.

Card 2: AI Coding Assistants

Best for in-editor code completion, generation, and review.

Practical Notes: - For individuals starting out: Codeium's free tier is the most generous starting point. - For teams needing enterprise compliance (code never leaving company infrastructure): Tabnine's self-hosted option is the clearest choice. - For complex architectural work and codebase-wide refactoring: Cursor's composer feature is currently the most capable.

Card 3: Image Generation Tools

Best for creating original images from text descriptions.

Practical Notes: - For most non-technical professionals needing occasional images: DALL-E 3 via ChatGPT is the easiest entry point. - For marketing and creative teams where image quality is important: Midjourney produces the most aesthetically polished results for most styles. - For developers or researchers who need maximum control or privacy: Stable Diffusion running locally.

Card 4: Research and Knowledge Tools

Best for literature review, fact-finding, and synthesizing information from sources.

Practical Notes: - Elicit and Consensus are specialized for academic research. General knowledge workers may find Perplexity more versatile. - NotebookLM is uniquely positioned for working with your own document collections — ideal for professionals who have assembled a library of internal reports or reading material. - For any research task with real-world consequences (medical, legal, financial), verify claims against primary sources regardless of tool.

Card 5: Writing and Content Tools

Best for long-form content production, marketing copy, and content workflows.

Card 6: Decision Tree — When to Use Which General AI Tool

Use this decision tree to quickly choose the right AI for a given task.

Start here: What type of task is this?

Is the task primarily about text?
├── YES → Continue to Text Branch
└── NO → Is it code?
    ├── YES → Go to Code Branch
    └── NO → Is it images?
        ├── YES → Go to Image Branch
        └── NO → Is it research/synthesis from sources?
            └── YES → Go to Research Branch

TEXT BRANCH

Is the document very long (>50 pages or >100K tokens)?
├── YES → Use Claude (largest context window; best at long-document analysis)
└── NO → Is deep Google Workspace integration important?
    ├── YES → Use Gemini Advanced
    └── NO → Does quality of prose and nuanced instruction following matter most?
        ├── YES → Use Claude
        └── NO (general-purpose, speed, or ecosystem features matter more) → Use ChatGPT

CODE BRANCH

Do you need privacy — code must never leave your infrastructure?
├── YES → Use Tabnine (self-hosted)
└── NO → Are you doing large-scale multi-file refactoring or architectural changes?
    ├── YES → Use Cursor
    └── NO → Do you want a generous free tier with no commitment?
        ├── YES → Use Codeium
        └── NO (willing to pay; want best general integration) → Use GitHub Copilot

IMAGE BRANCH

Do you need maximum control, custom style training, or high volume at low cost?
├── YES → Use Stable Diffusion
└── NO → Is ease of use the top priority (no learning curve)?
    ├── YES → Use DALL-E 3 (via ChatGPT)
    └── NO → Do you need the highest aesthetic quality for professional/marketing use?
        └── YES → Use Midjourney

RESEARCH BRANCH

Are the sources your own documents (not public web)?
├── YES → Use NotebookLM
└── NO → Is this academic / peer-reviewed literature?
    ├── YES → Need structured data extraction from many papers?
    │   ├── YES → Use Elicit
    │   └── NO (just need to find consensus on a research question) → Use Consensus
    └── NO (web sources, current events, or mixed sources needed)
        └── Use Perplexity

A Note on Using Multiple Tools

The decision tree above helps you pick the best starting point, but many professionals use more than one tool. A common combination:

• Claude for in-depth writing and analysis
• ChatGPT for quick tasks and ecosystem integrations
• Perplexity for web research and current events
• GitHub Copilot or Cursor in the code editor

There is no rule requiring loyalty to a single platform. Experiment with the tools most relevant to your work, build proficiency in your top two or three, and revisit your choices as the landscape evolves.

All prices are approximate and subject to change. Feature descriptions reflect the state of these tools in early 2025. Always check provider websites for current information.