Picking a tool (they're mostly free)

To use AI, you need an assistant — and the good news is that picking one is easy and mostly free. This lesson gets you set up without overthinking it.

The main assistants. The best-known general-purpose AI assistants include ChatGPT (from OpenAI), Gemini (Google), Claude (Anthropic), Copilot (Microsoft), and Meta AI. For everyday use, they're broadly similar — all can write, explain, plan, and answer questions. You don't need to agonize over which is "best"; pick whichever is convenient.

They have capable free versions. Nearly every major assistant offers a free tier that's plenty for everyday use. You can do a great deal without paying anything. Paid plans (often around $20/month) mostly buy higher usage limits and more capable versions — helpful if you use AI heavily, but not necessary to start, and (worth knowing for later) they don't automatically make your data more private.

How to get started (pick one):

• On the web — go to the assistant's website (e.g., search "ChatGPT," "Gemini," "Claude") and sign up for a free account.
• As a phone app — most have free apps you can download.
• Already built in — you may already have AI in tools you use: AI summaries in search results, AI features in your email, or an assistant in your phone. Look for a "sparkle" icon or an assistant button.

Don't overthink the choice. Because they're similar for everyday tasks and mostly free, the best approach is: pick one that's easy for you to access, and start. Everything you learn in this course works on any of them — the skills transfer. If you later want to try another, you can, at no cost. The goal right now is simply to have one assistant open and ready.

A note on voice and photos. Modern assistants can do more than text — you can often talk to them out loud and show them a photo (of a document, a menu, a math problem). These are genuinely useful, though (like everything) not perfect. You can explore them once you're comfortable with the basics.

The mindset: picking an AI assistant is easy — the main ones (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Meta AI) are broadly similar for everyday tasks and nearly all have capable free versions, so you don't need to pay or agonize over the "best" one. Just pick one that's convenient (web, app, or one already built into tools you use) and start — the skills in this course transfer across all of them. Get one assistant open and ready, and you're set to begin.