Chapter 13 · 7 lessons · 794 min
The 2026 AI Tool Deep Dive
The full map: what each AI tool is actually for, and when to switch.
Lessons in this chapter
All lessons are free and open — start anywhere, in any order.
- 1Chat & Reasoning Models: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeekThe five families of frontier LLMs in 2026 — strengths, weaknesses, prices, and when to use each.117 min
- 2AI Builders: Lovable, Cursor, v0, Bolt, ReplitThe tools that turn an idea into a working app without a team of engineers.115 min
- 3Image, Video & Audio AI: The Creative StackMidjourney, Sora, Runway, ElevenLabs, Suno, HeyGen and friends. What each does best.116 min
- 4Research & Knowledge AI: Perplexity, NotebookLM, ExaTools that actually cite their sources and turn your documents into a brain you can chat with.113 min
- 5Common Mistakes & How to Avoid ThemThe 5 traps beginners fall into when working on the 2026 ai tool deep dive — and the fix for each.111 min
- 6A Real-World WalkthroughA start-to-finish example of applying the 2026 ai tool deep dive to a real project you can copy.111 min
- 7Mental Models That Actually HelpThe 3 mental models we keep coming back to when things get hard in the 2026 ai tool deep dive.111 min