Reading · 6 min · Lesson 4 of 8
Choosing the right tool
General assistants, tools built into office software, and specialised solutions.
Most tasks fall into one of three tool families. General assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini are flexible and good for drafting, brainstorming and analysis. Assistants built into the software you already use, such as Copilot in Microsoft 365, work directly with your mail, documents and meetings. Specialised tools focus on one job, like transcription, translation or image generation.
Before you choose, ask two questions. Where does the data go? A company account with a data processing agreement is a very different thing from a free personal account. And where does the result need to end up? A tool that works inside your documents saves a lot of copying and pasting.
Start with the tool your organisation has approved, learn it well, and add others only when a real task needs them. Ten people using one tool well create more value than ten people each testing a different app.
Key takeaways
- General, built-in and specialised tools suit different kinds of work.
- Check where your data goes before you paste anything in.
- Master the approved tool first and add more only for real needs.