The four kinds at a glance
| Kind of tool | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Chat tools | Writing, answers, plans, ideas, summaries and help with numbers |
| Image tools | Pictures, posters, logos, product shots and art from a description |
| Video tools | Short clips, a few seconds long, from a description or a photo |
| AI search | Up-to-date facts and answers, with links to where they came from |
The lines can blur. Some chat apps can also make pictures or search the web. Still, the kind of job you are doing tells you how to write the prompt and what to watch out for.
Chat tools
These are where most people start, like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. You type a message and it writes back. You can keep going in the same chat to fix the answer.
- Good at: first drafts, emails, explaining hard ideas, summaries, plans, lists, brainstorming and rewriting in a different tone.
- Not so good at: facts it was not given, since it can make things up and sound sure. Exact math on long lists. Recent news, unless it can search. Your situation, unless you tell it.
Start with the prompt maker: say what you want in plain words and get a prompt that works in any chat tool.
Image tools
You describe a picture and the tool makes it. Some chat apps can make pictures, and some tools are made only for art.
- Good at: styles and moods, quick drafts of an idea, backgrounds, product scenes, posters and art for fun.
- Not so good at: lots of words or exact spelling in the picture, small details like hands, the same character twice in a row, and real people or brands, which most tools block.
Before
Make a flyer for my bake sale with the date, the time, the address and all the prices.
After
A cheerful flat illustration of a table full of cupcakes, cookies and pies under a striped awning, warm sunny colors, lots of empty space at the top for text, no words in the image. Tall, 9:16.
Image tools are weak at lots of words. Make the picture with an image tool, ask a chat tool to write the words, then put them together.
More in how to write image prompts.
Video tools
You describe a short scene, and the tool makes a clip a few seconds long. Some let you start from a photo.
- Good at: one clear shot, smooth camera moves, nature, food and product clips, and short mood pieces.
- Not so good at: long stories, many people doing different things, keeping a face the same from clip to clip, and anything with lots of text.
Each clip takes longer to make than a picture, so a clear prompt saves you waiting. The video prompt maker writes one shot the way a film director would.
AI search
AI search tools look things up on the web, then write an answer with links to their sources. Some chat apps can do this too.
- Good at: recent news, opening hours, comparing products, finding sources, and questions where the answer changed lately.
- Not so good at: telling a good source from a weak one every time. The answer is only as good as the pages it found, and it can still mix them up. Click the links for anything that matters.
How to pick
- Need words? Use a chat tool.
- Need a picture? Use an image tool, and add any text yourself.
- Need a moving clip? Use a video tool, one shot at a time.
- Need facts from this week, or proof? Use AI search, or a chat app that shows its sources.
- Doing the same job every week? Set up a chat tool as your own helper with standing rules. See set up your own AI assistant.
You are a friendly guide who helps beginners pick the right kind of AI tool. Here is what I want to make or do: [your goal, like a birthday video for my mom] Tell me: 1. Which kind of tool fits best: a chat tool, an image tool, a video tool or AI search, and why, in 2 sentences. 2. What that kind of tool does well, and where it may let me down for this job. 3. A first prompt I can paste into it. If you name any apps, remind me to check their current features and prices, since they change often.
You do not have to pick just one. A chat tool can write the words, an image tool can make the picture, and you put them together.