Where AI shows up

The screen is a GUI. Other doors exist.

A GUI is a screen with buttons, menus, and text boxes. That is the easiest door. It is not the only door.

Most people should start in a web or mobile chat. You click, type, attach a file, and read the answer on screen. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, and Perplexity all live here.

The friendly screen does not tell you which data controls or model are active. Check the product and the plan. The same brand can behave differently in a browser, a desktop coding app, a spreadsheet sidebar, and an API.

Lab

Choose each real control

You selected

Web or mobile chat

A graphical user interface, or GUI: you click, type, attach files, and read the answer on screen. Start here unless the file already lives inside another app.

Examples: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, Perplexity

Check

You want the model to edit a spreadsheet that already lives in Excel. What should you try first?

Choose an answer to see why.

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