Which AI Door Should I Walk Through?

A few weeks ago, a client was asking if Copilot had Projects capabilities similar to Claude. Yes, they are called Notebooks. After that discussion, it got me thinking a comparison chart might be helpful to you all. I was comparing ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot. I started listing all the different terms they use: projects, notebooks, skills, agents, GPTs, work, cowork, create, design, artifacts, sites, connectors, tools, and automations.

No wonder people are confused.

The platforms offer many of the same capabilities, but they often call them different things. Something called a Project in one platform may feel more like a Notebook in another. One tool says Create, another says Design. One calls a capability Work, while another calls it Cowork.

It feels as though every AI company has built the same hallway but labeled the doors differently.

That led me to a much simpler question:

Which AI door should I walk through?

Most people don’t need another long explanation of AI terminology. They need someone to say, “Tell me what you are trying to accomplish, and I’ll help you choose the right place to start.”

Start with the work, not the feature

Let’s say you have a client with specific goals, preferences, background information, and project details that you want AI to remember whenever you work on that account.

You may think you need to build an agent or create an automation. You probably don’t. A Project or Notebook may be the better door because its purpose is to keep related conversations, files, and instructions together over time.

If you want help thinking through an idea, writing an email, analyzing information, or preparing for a meeting, start with Chat.

If you repeatedly explain how you want something done, you may need a Skill. A skill gives AI a repeatable method to follow, much like giving someone a documented process or playbook.

If you want AI to take on a defined responsibility, such as helping prepare proposals or reviewing grant applications, an Agent or custom GPT may make sense.

If the assignment involves research, files, multiple steps, and a finished deliverable, Work or Cowork may be the right door.

If you want the AI to complete something later, on a schedule, or whenever a particular event occurs, that is when you begin looking at a Scheduled Task or Automation.

The right answer depends on the job.

Here is a simple translation guide:

*Reminder that GPTs are going away and will become Agents in ChatGPT.

You do not need to walk through every door. You only need the one that fits the work in front of you.

More advanced does not always mean more useful

There is a tendency with AI to assume the newest or most advanced feature must be the best choice.

Someone hears about agents and decides the company needs agents. Then the team starts building before anyone has clearly defined the problem the agent is supposed to solve.

I see this frequently in technology. We become fascinated by what the tool can do and skip over what the person actually needs.

An agent may sound more impressive than a project, but it also requires clearer instructions, boundaries, testing, and oversight. If a Project and a good set of instructions solve the problem, that may be the smarter choice.

The same is true for automation. Automating a process that is confusing, inconsistent, or unnecessary does not improve it. It simply allows the confusion to happen faster and more often.

Start with the simplest capability that can do the job well. You can always add more later.

The language will keep changing

The terminology we use today will not stay the same. Platforms will rename features, combine them, add new capabilities, and change where everything lives. On top of that, they keep moving all the buttons. Ugh!

Trying to memorize every term is a losing game.

Instead, help your team understand the underlying capabilities. Do they need AI to remember context? Follow a process? Access another system? Complete multiple steps? Create something? Run work repeatedly?

Once you know the answer, you can translate that need into whatever language your chosen platform uses.

This is also why I encourage leaders to avoid building an AI strategy around one specific tool. Your people need skills that transfer. They need to know how to describe the work, provide context, evaluate the result, protect sensitive information, and keep a human involved in important decisions.

Those abilities matter whether they are using ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or whatever comes next.

The goal is not to make everyone fluent in AI jargon. The goal is to help people feel confident enough to choose the right door and begin.

So, the next time someone on your team says, “Should we build an agent?” pause before answering.

Ask them one question first:

What are you trying to accomplish?

That answer will usually point you toward the right door.

For fun:

https://which-ai-door.kendraramirez.chatgpt.site/ Built with ChatGPT Sites.

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**For those new to my work, I have been in tech my whole career. Over 15 years of running my digital agency (website, social media, and lead generation) and 7 years of helping businesses navigate AI. Over the three years and, I’ve had the privilege of leading over 250 AI sessions and speaking sessions (over 20,000 people), empowering businesses to embrace the transformative potential of AI. My passion lies in simplifying complex technologies to help organizations grow, innovate, and thrive.

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I have been writing weekly about AI here for three years. You can search all of my enewsletters here if you are looking to brush up on a certain topic. kendratech.substack.com