Quick UI review of some general-purpose AI tools
With so many AI tools available, I’ve been wondering about the UX of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Meta AI, Copilot and Perplexity.
📸 Some snaps of AI tools
I’ve been trying out some popular AI tools, listed below. I’m not an AI expert. I haven’t interviewed anyone or done wider research. This is a personal review, with personal notes, made after a few clicks and prompts!
- ChatGPT (Open AI)
- Claude (Anthropic)
- Gemini (Google)
- Meta AI (Facebook)
- Copilot (Microsoft)
- Perplexity
📝 Some things to note
To keep things simple, I’m accessing tools via the browser. Just prompting in text, generating text. Note that:
- Some of these tools can be accessed via desktop and native mobile apps
- Some provide different features on paid plans
- Some offer multimodal (able to read text, image, video, and sound)
- Features change frequently, some UIs might look different now!
🧵 The general pattern
- Prompt — BIG input box — front and centre. Feels like Google search. Smart, obvious pattern choice. Builds on an existing behaviour.
- Response — back-and-forth chat — above the prompt input. Feels like Slack or WhatsApp. This pattern feels human-to-human.
- History — list of past chats — in the sidebar. Feels like a mix of WhatsApp and Notion. Combines chat history with project management vibes.
ChatGPT
Personal notes:
- Follows the general pattern (prompt, response, history)
- Offers “temporary chat” — feels like Incognito mode in the browser
- Has custom GPTs — and it’s easy to make and publish custom GPTs
- Has a “Canvas” — feels like a simple online doc, with AI-led editing
- Chats can be organised by “Projects” in the sidebar (paid feature)
Claude
Personal notes:
- Follows the general pattern (prompt, response, history)
- Lots of beige tones going on — feels a warmer aesthetic
- Can connect GitHub and Google Drive accounts
- Projects have own chat history and knowledge bases (paid feature)
- Has Artifacts for creating more substantial pieces of content
Gemini
Personal notes:
- Again, uses general pattern (prompt, response, history)
- Super-clean UI — feels Google-like, but tighter
- Canvas is sweet — it’s like a lean Google Doc, integrates well with Drive
- Has Gems, which are similar to Custom GPTs in ChatGPT
Meta
Personal notes:
- Follows the pattern (prompt, response, history)
- Shows three random prompts, to guide and educates users on use cases
- Displays Instagram reels if you want them — kinda makes sense!
- It’s very keen to create images!
Copilot
https://copilot.microsoft.com/
Personal notes:
- Follows the pattern, but history launches from central prompt UI
- Soft pastel-y colours — trying hard to be warmer
- Response comes with a bunch of ads, doesn’t feel helpful!
- Offers some starting points and ideas for prompts
Perplexity
Personal notes:
- Follows the pattern, plus has content to “Discover” in the sidebar
- Other AI tools are about my productivity, this feels more like a news site
- Generally feels cluttered — the response has too much going on!
📦 Um, conclusions!
This was a surface-level review. I need to go deeper.
All these tools have a different feel and user experience. More so than I was expecting. I’m sure they are useful for different people, depending on what they’re trying to achieve.
I use these tools as a co-worker. For me, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini feel most useful, integrating with my workflows.
Meta, Copilot and Perplexity don’t have the features I need, nor do they feel serious enough. They seem to push their own agenda!
I’m sure UX will play a big role in adoption, usage and retention.
UX was a major reason why Google beat other search engines. With its clean, search-focused UI and relevant search results, delivered fast. Google just blew all the other search engines out of the water.
Wondering if one of these tools will have Google-level dominance?
