Mailbag: When do you switch tools?
Not unless there is a good reason
My default tool is ChatGPT because its memory features provide such an advantage in my work flows. But the edge of AI progress is jagged, and as the tools evolve, their strengths don’t always evolve in sync. That means it sometimes makes sense to switch between them. Today I’m answering three questions from You & AI alumni that are all, in different ways, about navigating that uneven frontier.
How do I get ChatGPT to create great slides? I uploaded a template, and it didn’t work.
ChatGPT and Claude are good at helping with slide content, but they’re still weak on full slide creation. I use ChatGPT for storylining, editing content, and generating charts in our brand colors, but I don’t ask it to build full decks.
If you want more design automation, Gamma and Beautiful.ai are stronger—they’re built for layout and formatting. ChatGPT & Claude, by contrast, are built for structuring ideas and refining language. Both sets of tools have value, but they’re solving different parts of the workflow.
I expect ChatGPT & Claude’s slide workflows will improve—especially since recent feature rollouts (like ChatGPT’s internal knowledge or Claude’s calendar sync) suggest the roadmap is aligned to enterprise needs. But for now, slides are one of those areas where it makes sense to switch tools.
How come when I try to do a Project in ChatGPT some of my options like Deep Research go away?
Not all ChatGPT features are currently supported inside Projects. In particular, Deep Research (live research-level search for sources) and Internal Knowledge (searching connected sources like Google Drive) only work in the main chat.
This is one of those jagged-edge moments: Projects is great for continuity and structure, but some of the most powerful tools—like research or file browsing—don’t follow you in. You can work around this by:
Doing research or document pulls in a regular chat
Then moving the results into your Project manually
It’s not seamless. You lose persistent instructions in chat, and you lose tool access in Projects. But this hybrid workflow still gives you access to the full toolkit—just not all in one place.
Where does Claude fit into your workflow, if at all?
One place where Claude is my first choice is around my calendar. Claude has calendar integration, and ChatGPT doesn’t yet, so I use Claude to help manage scheduling. For example, I recently had to provide two two-hour blocks of availability in May and June, and I could just ask Claude to generate a list of every available slot. It knew to check business hours without me spelling it out. I could easily have skipped certain days of the week too, if I’d wanted to. It’s the kind of task that only takes 10 minutes, but each minute eats away at your soul, so it felt magical to have Claude do it for me.
Right now, I think the right strategy is to have one primary tool and to know where there are substantive complements. Simplicity first, then fill the gaps where they actually exist.
Where do you switch tools? I’d love to hear from you!