Choose an assistant for the job

Your outcome

Choose a suitable assistant for a small everyday task and explain what still needs checking.

A helper, not an authority

An AI assistant produces a response using the instructions and information available to it. It can draft, rearrange text and suggest possibilities. It can also invent details, miss a rule or repeat an unfair assumption. Smooth wording is not proof.

ChatGPT, Claude and Grok are examples of general-purpose assistants. Their features, free limits and account rules change. Web search may be available only in some modes. A file-upload button does not mean you have permission to upload a particular document. Start with your task and privacy needs, not the most impressive product name.

A free text conversation is enough here. Optional search can help locate sources, but you must check them. Image generation is not required. If a tool asks for payment, use the sample answers instead. Never enter a card for an exercise.

Worked example

Task: plan a rainy afternoon for two adults at home, without spending money.

Sample A: “Bake cookies, rent a movie and visit an indoor climbing center.”

Sample B: “Play a game you already own, make a playlist or hold a five-minute drawing challenge with scrap paper. Skip anything needing supplies you do not have.”

A violates the no-spend and at-home limits. B follows them better. That does not prove one tool is always better; it tells us which answer fits this task. Neither task needs your address or a card.

Use four checks: Did it follow the brief? Is it useful? Did it invent facts? Did it need information I should not share? Evaluate the result, not the tool's reputation.

Exercise

1. Copy this exact prompt: “Suggest three free indoor activities for two adults at home using common household items. No shopping, travel or sign-ups. Give materials and a first step. Ask if a required material is missing.”
2. Try two assistants you already use. If you have only one or none, use Samples A and B above. Label simulated examples honestly.
3. Score each answer 0–2 for following the rules and 0–2 for usefulness. Give a specific reason for each score.
4. Mark any unverified fact. “You probably have this” is an assumption.
5. Choose an answer and remove anything unsuitable.
6. Save a tool-choice note: task, tool or sample, date, needed feature, no-cost option and remaining checks.

Check

A strong note says “B stayed indoors and avoided purchases,” not “B sounded smarter.” You should not share private household information to complete it. Choose the smallest, lowest-risk use that works. Do not assume an assistant has booked, sent or saved anything without separate confirmation.

Quick check: A tool says it searched but provides no sources. Is the answer verified? No. Ask for sources and check them or label it unverified.