Top 3 AI Models For Individual Use Per Ethan Mollick. We agree
Ethan's blog post has strong opinions on best AI models. We agree. Pick one of the 3 best and work to be come proficient to drive personal productivity gains
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Ethan Mollick, a professor at Wharton, recently published his recommendations for the top AI tools to improve individual productivity. His article is well-reasoned and thoughtfully written, and his insights align closely with our own experiences and those of our 3,000-member GenAI Learning Community. I share a summary here to amplify Ethan’s strong analysis and because we continue to see SO much confusion people who are just starting to learning AI.
For individual use, there are 3 clear leaders:
Three Ways AI Adds Value
First, remember that AI creates value in three ways. This article focuses on individual employee productivity improvement.
Pay $20/mo for One of the Top 3 to Get Access to the Best AI
Ethan recommends selecting the paid ($20/month) version of one of three leading models: ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. We agree. In corporate environments, many companies have adopted Microsoft Copilot variants, but in our experience, the employee experience is far superior with ChatGPT. Hundreds of organizations are now standardizing on ChatGPT, which offers more features, better integration, and more advanced models than Copilot. The key is to pick one and work toward proficiency. All three are excellent tools for employee productivity improvement.
Navigating Different AI Models
Each platform offers a range of AI models, which can be confusing. Broadly, the models fall into two categories:
non-reasoning models: which provide quick responses). ChatGPT 3.5 is an example of this
reasoning or “thinking” models: where responses may take four to fifteen minutes
Ethan provides a helpful chart. For ChatGPT, I typically start with 4o (the non-reasoning model) for basic questions and use o3 pro (the reasoning model) for analysis and complex queries.
Voice Mode and Image Creation
Of the three major platforms, ChatGPT and Gemini have the best voice modes, according to Ethan. I particularly value ChatGPT’s voice mode on my smartphone for use in the car. (Oddly, I have yet to get comfortable “talking to my laptop” even though the feature works well.)
For image creation, Ethan recommends ChatGPT and Google’s Veo 3. I generate many images, and ChatGPT has performed exceptionally well—I’ve moved away from Midjourney. Text-to-video remains a novelty for me. I have used Runway ML in the past, and Veo 3 is a powerful option.
Deep Research: The Killer App
Deep research—combining a reasoning model with web search—is a killer application for knowledge workers. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude all offer this capability. Personally, I use all three, along with Perplexity, Grok, and Deepseek (yes, I’m currently paying for all). If you only have one paid subscription, deep research from ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini is sufficient for 90% of tasks.
Next Step
Be sure to invest in the paid version of one tool and work to become an intermediate user. You can’t go wrong with any of the big 3, as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are investing billions in making these models better. You’ll see your productivity and effectiveness soar as you “ask the robots” and involve your “AI thought partner”—dozens of times each day.
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