Review: How to Choose an AI Assistant That Earns Its Keep
Accuracy, privacy, cost and how well it fits your existing tools — the four dimensions that separate a useful assistant from an expensive novelty.
The Changes in This Part
- 03
Working With AI
Treat AI like a capable junior colleague: give context, check the output, and keep responsibility for the final call yourself.
- 13
Business
Small teams plus AI can now deliver what used to require departments. Redesign work around outcomes rather than job titles.
The Review
Accuracy on your work, not a benchmark
Run the same ten real tasks from your week through any assistant you are considering, then verify the output yourself. A tool that is impressive on demos but wrong on your documents costs more time than it saves.
Where your data goes
Before you paste anything sensitive, find out where the data is stored, whether it trains on your inputs, and how to delete it. For confidential or regulated work, this single question decides the tool.
Cost per useful task
Ignore the sticker price and measure cost per finished task, including your review time. An assistant that halves a two-hour job at a modest subscription is cheaper than a free tool that never quite finishes it.
Fit with your stack
The assistant that already lives inside your notes, email and spreadsheets beats a superior model you forget to open. Integration and habit are the real multiplier.
Ask Yourself Three Questions
From the author's note — run these after every chapter you read.
- 1 What might change in my life?
- 2 What do I need to learn or protect?
- 3 What is one action I can take this week?