# Choose your first AI tool without overthinking it

Original 5HO practice material. Fictional example. Reviewed 5 October 2026.

## Useful result

You'll finish with a short evidence-based shortlist for your first AI tool.

Pick your first AI app around a job you need done, not a leaderboard you will forget by lunch. Two tools and one fair test are enough to get started.

## Set up

Allow 20 minutes. Use accounts you already have or can try within their stated limits. Check current plan details before paying; this exercise needs only text chat.

## Practice input

Job: turn five rough notes into a 100-word client update. Must retain dates, identify unknowns and use Australian spelling. Try the same fictional notes in two available apps.

## Do the task

1. Write three pass conditions before opening either app.
2. Use the same input and prompt in fresh chats. Record corrections and time spent reviewing.
3. Choose the simpler acceptable option, or record why neither passed.

## Prompt

Create a comparison sheet for two AI tools doing this job. Columns: facts preserved, unknowns labelled, edits needed, minutes reviewing, access limits, decision. Leave untested results blank.

## Refine

Do not recommend a winner from brand reputation. Base the decision on the results I supply and identify missing evidence.

## Expected checks

An empty test sheet should stay empty. The choice should be explained by your actual trials, including correction effort, rather than a made-up quality score.

## Save

Keep tool-choice.md and one checked output from each app. Revisit when the work changes, not whenever a new model name appears.

## Sources

- Projects and reusable context: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10169521-projects-in-chatgpt