Updated May 4, 2026
Which AI models/tools are most appropriate for XYZ task?
The pace of change is fast. Here is an overview from Mignon Fogarty from May 2026 (first item).
- Claude is often considered the best all-purpose model for quality writing. It’s what I use.
- ChatGPT: the Swiss Army knife of AI tools.
- Perplexity is meant for research and delivering answers with sources. (You can specify which sources you want to prioritize or use.) Here’s a primer.
- Sudowrite is the tool most often used by creative writers.
- See Sudowrite’s Muse for fiction writing in particular.
- Google NotebookLM is impressive, easy, and a good place to start if you are new to using AI. https://notebooklm.google/
- ElevenLabs is the leader in AI audio tools.
Using AI for fact-checking and research
- Mike Caulfield is the leading expert I’ve found on how to use AI to research and fact-check claims. Start here (from December 2025).
For AI news & analysis
- AI Sidequest by Mignon Fogarty (also known as The Grammar Girl): AI news slanted toward those in the writing and publishing community
- Pixels and Prose by Julie Trelstad: a publishing professional shows how she integrates AI into her workflow and helps clients with it
- Simon Willison’s newsletter: This may be too technical for writers, but he does accessible posts once in a while that cut through the noise and offer clarity on AI developments. Balanced.
- AI Is Normal Technology by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor: Critically examines the exceptional hype coming from the AI companies. These writers consider AI a transformative technology, similar to electricity or the internet, but they push back on claims related to superintelligence.
Further reading
- Why Smart People Make Weak Arguments About AI (April 2026). Tech CEOs, authors and journalists, and academics can become captive to motivated reasoning.
- Here’s an op-ed about AI disruption by someone I respect. I’ve been reading Paul Ford for a long time, so I could not be more thrilled to see him appear on this topic in the New York Times. Many people ask me about the extreme predictions about what AI will do in the future (and how quickly that future will arrive), and it’s hard for me to offer a qualified opinion because I know so little about the writer or the source (or their motivations). But that is not the case here; I trust what Paul says. So please read Paul Ford (gift link). And then take a look at how engaged and thoughtful he is in the comments.
- AI and the Human Condition by Ben Thompson