Chapter 2 — Picking your AI: ChatGPT, Claude, and why you only need one
The sixty-second decision
Don't research. Decide. Right now, answer the tiebreaker — more looking or more reading in your year ahead? — and say your answer out loud. That's your tool. Go to its website (chatgpt.com or claude.ai), sign up with the Google button if you have a Gmail address, and type exactly this as your first message: "I just signed up. Say hello in one sentence, then tell me one useful thing you can do for a retired person this week. Keep it short."
Total elapsed time: about four minutes, including finding your reading glasses. You are now ahead of every person who is still reading rankings. Walt eventually did this on a Tuesday after coffee. His review: "Took longer to find the glasses."
The taste test and the shakedown cruise
1. The taste test
(run this in BOTH tools if you want to see the differences with your own eyes — both are free)
In plain English and under 150 words: I'm retired, I'm skeptical, and I want to know what you're genuinely good at and genuinely bad at for everyday household use. No sales pitch. Be specific.
Read the two answers side by side. One of them will simply sound more like a person you'd want to deal with. That's your answer, and it outranks every listicle Walt ever suffered through.
2. The shakedown cruise
(your second message, in whichever tool you chose)
I want to learn to use you with zero risk. Give me three small, free, can't-break-anything tasks I could try this week to get comfortable. I'm handy around the house, I garden a little, and I have a stack of mail I've been ignoring. One short paragraph each.
3. The off switch
(worth knowing on day one)
How do I delete a conversation with you, and does anything bad happen if I just close the browser window mid-conversation? Answer in three sentences.
Spoiler: nothing bad happens. But hearing the machine explain its own off switch does more for a skeptic's peace of mind than any reassurance from me.
Notice, again, what all these prompts have in common: who you are, what you want, and what shape the answer should take. You're three for three on writing good prompts without being taught. Chapter 3 is where we make it deliberate.
Works in ChatGPT, Claude, or any of their cousins.