Yesterday you learned the difference between using AI as a toy and using it as a business tool. Today, you're going to set up the tools you'll use for the rest of this challenge.
Good news: the best AI tools are either free or very affordable. You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on software to get started. You need the right tools in the right combination.
Think of these as your AI toolkit. Each one has a different strength, and knowing when to use which is what separates beginners from power users.
ChatGPT — The all-rounder. Best for writing, brainstorming, and general tasks. The free tier is solid. The $20/month Plus plan gives you GPT-4o, which is noticeably better at complex tasks. If you're only paying for one tool, this is the one.
Claude — The deep thinker. Made by Anthropic, Claude excels at long, nuanced tasks — analyzing documents, writing detailed reports, working through complex business problems. Its free tier is generous. The $20/month Pro plan is worth it if you handle lots of documents or need long-form output.
Gemini — Google's AI. Its killer feature is integration with Google Workspace — it can read your Gmail, search your Drive, and reference your Calendar. If your business runs on Google tools, Gemini is your secret weapon. Free to start.
Perplexity — The researcher. Unlike the others, Perplexity searches the internet in real-time and cites its sources. When you need current information — market data, competitor analysis, recent news — Perplexity is the fastest path to reliable answers. Free tier works great.
Here's a quick cheat sheet. Save this — you'll reference it all month:
Need to write something? Start with ChatGPT. It's the fastest for emails, social posts, proposals, and outreach.
Need to analyze or think deeply? Use Claude. Long documents, complex strategy questions, detailed reports.
Need current information? Use Perplexity. Market research, competitor intel, recent statistics, fact-checking.
Need to work with your Google data? Use Gemini. Email summaries, calendar analysis, searching your Drive.
The real power move? Use them together. Research with Perplexity, analyze with Claude, write the final draft with ChatGPT. Each tool handles what it's best at.
Here's what to do right now — it takes less than 10 minutes:
1. ChatGPT — Go to chat.openai.com and create a free account. You can upgrade later if you want.
2. Claude — Go to claude.ai and sign up. The free tier gives you plenty to work with.
3. Gemini — Go to gemini.google.com. Sign in with your Google account — that's it.
4. Perplexity — Go to perplexity.ai and create an account. The free version is excellent.
You don't need to pay for any of them today. Start free, learn what each tool does well, and upgrade the ones you use most. Most people find that one paid subscription ($20/month) plus the free tiers of the others covers everything they need.
That's $20/month to potentially save hours every week. If your time is worth $50/hour and AI saves you 5 hours a week, that's $1,000/month in value from a $20 investment.
All four tools work on your phone. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity all have mobile apps.
But here's a practical tip: do your serious work on desktop. Mobile is great for quick questions on the go — "draft a reply to this text" or "what's the capital of Burkina Faso." But when you're writing proposals, analyzing data, or building workflows, the desktop experience is significantly better.
You can paste in documents, upload files, see longer outputs, and copy results into other tools. For this challenge, aim to do your daily lessons and practice on a computer whenever possible.