Which AI Tool for Which Job: A Task-by-Task Guide From Study to Office Work

Struggling to understand a difficult study topic, wrestling with an office presentation, or spending hours hunting for research material — artificial intelligence can now help with all of these. But for many people AI means only ChatGPT or Gemini, while many other tools exist that are designed to help with specific tasks.

For searching research material, comparing information from different sources, or understanding a summary of a research paper, Perplexity AI can be useful. It answers questions and also cites its sources. Google's NotebookLM can be used to find information inside a specific PDF, research paper or document. Elicit and SciSpace are available for finding, reviewing and analysing research papers. However, references given by AI must be checked against the original paper.

ChatGPT and Claude can be used to organise an email, a report, a business proposal or any long piece of writing. The two tools also help with structuring a text, simplifying language and finding new ideas. Grammarly and QuillBot help correct grammar, spelling and sentence structure in English writing.

Gamma and Genspark can be used to make slides for an office presentation or a class assignment. Given the content, these websites can produce a first draft of the slides. Canva is available for designing posters, infographics and reports, while Napkin AI can turn an idea or a text into diagrams and visual frameworks.

Runway can help present a social media video, an advertisement or a project idea. Google Gemini's video feature can also be used to create short videos from text or images, but the feature is not open to all users, and video quality and length depend on the model and subscription used.

ElevenLabs can be used for a video voiceover or to turn a text into audio. NotebookLM's Audio Overview feature, on the other hand, lets users listen to class notes, research papers or long documents in the form of a discussion instead of reading them.

Motion can be used to prepare daily task lists, fix meeting times and organise schedules. Notion AI can organise notes, prepare work plans and summarise project information, which is also helpful for team work.

For programming, Cursor can help write, revise and debug code. Claude Code can be used to understand, change or test code in large software projects. ChatGPT can also help analyse data in Excel or CSV files and create charts.

ChatGPT and Google Gemini can explain a difficult topic with simple examples, and can be asked to explain the same topic in different ways. They can also be used to prepare for a job interview — for example, by telling ChatGPT, 'You are an employer; question me as if in an interview.' ChatGPT Voice can be used to practise speaking English.

Writing down everything said in a long online meeting is difficult; Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai help save meeting discussions in written form, create summaries and identify important action points. However, participants' consent should be taken before recording.

Midjourney and Adobe Firefly can be used to create images and graphics for Facebook, LinkedIn or a personal website. Jasper and Anyword can help draft captions, advertising copy and marketing content. The website theresanaiforthat.com lists AI tools organised by task.

It should be remembered, however, that not all AI tools are free — many offer some features free but require a subscription for advanced features. AI-generated information can also contain errors, so important information must be verified. Care is also needed when sharing personal or organisational confidential information.