Which tool when
There are dozens of AI tools. Most of them you don't need. Here's the shortlist — what each one is actually for, and when to reach for it.
The core three
These are the tools you'll use every day. Everything else is secondary.
Claude Cowork
Best for: writing, analysis, document processing, working inside your actual files and apps.
Claude is the main event. Cowork is the desktop version that goes beyond a chat window — it reads your files, works inside Excel, Word, Google Docs, Chrome, and more. Instead of copy-pasting between Claude and your tools, Cowork just sits inside them.
You'll also connect it to your apps via Connectors — Gmail, Outlook, Calendar, Slack, Notion, Drive — which often makes it more powerful than using those tools directly. More on this in the Cowork section.
When to use it: writing, analysis, document work, anything requiring context about your business.
Granola
Best for: meeting notes and transcripts, automatically.
Granola runs quietly in the background during any meeting and produces structured notes without you lifting a finger. It captures what was said, who said it, and what was decided — formatted properly.
The key workflow: pull your Granola transcripts into Claude Cowork to give it full context on a specific meeting. Ask Claude to draft follow-ups, extract action items, or summarise decisions — with the actual transcript as its source material, not your memory of it.
When to use it: any meeting you want to remember or act on.
Wispr Flow
Best for: dictating into any app, anywhere on your screen.
Wispr Flow lets you speak and have it appear as typed text — in any field, in any app. It's not just transcription; it's context-aware, so it understands what you're writing and formats accordingly.
Use it to prompt Claude, draft emails, fill in forms, or write anything faster than you'd type it.
When to use it: whenever typing feels slow — prompts, emails, notes, messages.
The supporting cast
Perplexity
Best for: research with sources.
Searches the web in real time and cites everything. Reach for it when you need up-to-date information and want to know where it came from — market research, competitor lookups, fact-checking.
When to use it: any research task where you need sources and current information.
ChatGPT
Best for: quick tasks, image generation, voice conversations, second opinions.
Fast, versatile, and genuinely excellent. Voice mode (Advanced Voice) is the best in the market for a proper back-and-forth conversation. Image generation is built in. Useful when you want a second perspective on something Claude has produced.
When to use it: image creation, voice conversations, quick lookups, tasks where you already have a well-tuned Custom GPT.
Gemini
Best for: Google Workspace integration, long context.
Google's model. If your team lives in Google Docs and Drive, Gemini integrates more natively than Claude. Also worth knowing: its context window is enormous, so it handles very long documents well.
When to use it: heavy Google Workspace users, or when you need to process an unusually large document.
Gamma
Best for: presentation decks, fast.
Generates polished slide decks from a prompt or document. Good for first drafts — you'll still want to refine, but it gets you 80% of the way there in minutes.
When to use it: when you need a deck quickly and don't want to start from a blank slide.
At a glance
| Claude Cowork | Granola | Wispr Flow | Perplexity | ChatGPT | Gemini | Gamma | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily writing & analysis | ✅ Core | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Meeting notes | — | ✅ Core | — | — | — | — | — |
| Voice dictation | — | — | ✅ Core | — | ✓ Voice | — | — |
| Research with sources | ✓ Can | — | — | ✅ Best | ✓ Can | ✓ Can | — |
| Image generation | — | — | — | — | ✅ Yes | ✓ Yes | — |
| App connectors | ✅ Yes | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Presentations | — | — | — | — | — | — | ✅ Yes |
| Price | £90/mo (Max) | £16/mo | £12/mo | £16/mo | £18/mo | Free–£18 | Free–£12 |
The honest answer
Claude Cowork + Granola + Wispr Flow is the core stack. Set those up properly and you'll have covered most of what you do at work.
The others fill specific gaps — Perplexity for research, ChatGPT when you want a second opinion or an image, Gemini if you're deep in Google Workspace, Gamma when you need a deck fast.
Don't subscribe to everything on day one. Get the core three working, then add tools as you hit their limits.
The recommendations on this page reflect Practical AI's current view. This space moves fast — tools change, pricing changes, and what's best today may not be best in six months. Use this as a starting point, not gospel. Ultimately, the right tools are the ones that work for you.