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Utilizing AI has become the 21st century’s “Google.” And because of the increased accessibility, a lot of us treat AI platforms like a one-stop shop. Chat, edit my cover letter. Chat, research this company for me. Chat, help me prep for my interview. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. We just need to use our resources more efficiently.
Using the same platform for meticulous tasks is an oversight and a missed opportunity to optimize your tasks. Think about it, Walmart sells MacBooks, but you’d go straight to Apple if you wanted the full experience – the expertise, the answers and the specialists who know the product inside and out. It’s the same with AI tools.
Relying on a single tool for everything comes with predictable problems: the writing sounds manufactured, the designs look templated, the research is outdated or too vague to be useful. The issue usually isn’t the platform itself. It’s that you’re trying to jam a square peg into a round hole.
Using AI task-by-task instead of platform-by-platform is a much better use of your time.
The 4 AI platforms to know
Anthropic’s Claude: All things written
- Whether you’re refining a cover letter, drafting a follow-up email, or strengthening resume bullet points, Claude is your guy. This platform tends to mimic your voice better than most AI platforms, especially if you have memory settings toggled on. With memory settings enabled, Claude has the capacity to remember all of your chats and pull on that information in new conversations. Final products start to sound less robotic and more like you. Even if you just use Claude for writing templates, it’s a great resource to have in your toolkit.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT: Ideation, banter and brainstorming
Think of this as your digital whiteboard if you will. When you have “concepts of a plan” ChatGPT is a great place to start. It gives you the freedom to throw ideas out there to see if they have legs before committing. It’s fairly quick and conversational and will give you qualitative feedback. Chat is great for mock interview questions, talking through difficult job offers, or when you just need to think out loud. Call on Chat for when you’re still figuring out the shape of your ideas.
Adobe’s Firefly: Visuals galore
If you’re building out graphics for your portfolio, curating visuals for a social feed or creating a new banner for your personal website, Firefly is where you want to be. This is where you should go instead of forcing a writing tool to moonlight as a design tool. It’s already embedded in the Adobe creative suite which is known for its hand in the graphic design world. So, you wouldn’t be in uncharted territory if you’re familiar with the existing framework. It might actually feel pretty native to you. Firefly is built for the creatives who want more than just a rotating cast of the same burnt-out templates. It’s the platform to reach for when the visuals need to take the cake.
Google’s Gemini: Research, research, research
This is best when you need information that’s been vetted. Gemini is great when you’re interview prepping and need to do a deep dive on a company. It’s good for trying to find relevant industry trends or need more insight about what a job title actually means in practice. Gemini has Google’s search engine embedded in its framework so at the very least you know whatever is being generated can be fact-checked on Google. The information given is often more accurate and produces timelier results. When the task is analytical and rooted in data, Gemini is best.
Show Me AI: Robust features with safety
Following a successful year-long pilot, Show-Me AI is now available campuswide for faculty and students. Show-Me AI provides a safe, secure and responsible way to use generative AI for teaching and learning, aligning the innovation and opportunity of AI with our institutional values.
Show-Me AI uses several large language models to aid users with course development and guidance for coursework completion. Students can gain real-world experience using generative AI, draft emails, posts or other messages, build custom AI assistants using your own assignments, rubrics and notes. Faculty are also using Show Me AIfor classes where you can access your instructor’s custom assistant to get support on assignments, keep up with conversations and more.
As always, use your discernment and don’t let AI replace your thinking! Use these platforms, if at all, as jumping-off points, not as finished products. It’s also critical that you login to “outside” platforms that are not Show Me AI with a personal, non-university email and enable privacy settings so that your personal information is not stored or used without your permission. Do not to take yourself and your voice out of the process. AI works best alongside your own critical thinking, not in place of it. Students and early career-professionals who reap the most out of these tools aren’t the ones who found “the best AI tools.” They’re often the ones who understand which tool is curated for which task.
By Raigan Clay