1) What job does it do better than my current stack? 2) What does the free tier actually limit? 3) Who owns my uploads and outputs? 4) Does it export in open formats? 5) Will it exist in a year? Five questions, thirty seconds, no more FOMO.
Categories, not brands
Chat/reasoning assistants; grounded note AIs; image generators; video editors; audio/TTS; coding assistants; automation glue. Learn the category capability once and brands become interchangeable - which protects you when tools change or get priced.
The churn trap
Tool-hopping destroys depth. Rule for this course: one tool per category for four weeks. Depth in three tools beats tourism in twelve, and your portfolio shows depth.
Key terms
Free tier limits
Usage caps, watermarks, export restrictions.
Data ownership
Who may use your uploads/outputs.
Open formats
Exportable standards like .docx, .csv, .mp4.
Tool churn
Constant switching that prevents mastery.
🛠 Hands-on task: Stack audit card
Tools: Your notes
Score your current 3 tools against the five questions.
Write one line per tool: keep / replace / watch.
Commit to your 4-week stack in writing.
Key takeaways: Before you go, three takeaways from this lesson. One: Evaluate any AI tool with five questions. Two: Match tool categories to job types. Three: Avoid subscription traps and shiny-object churn. And your hands-on task: stack audit card. Score your current 3 tools against the five questions. When it is done, mark the lesson complete on your dashboard, keep the artifact for your portfolio, and step into the next lesson. I will see you there.
