I test AI tools every day — here’s what they’re amazing at (and what they still can’t do)
AI assistants are having a main character moment. Within the last three years AI has become far more integrated into our lives than ever. They can write emails in seconds, summarize a 40-page PDF like it’s nothing and build a vacation itinerary that looks suspiciously like something your most Type A friend made at 2 a.m. They’re fast, confident, and genuinely useful when you know what to ask.
But after testing chatbots daily, I’ve learned the smartest way to use AI isn’t to treat it like it has all the answers. These tools aren’t geniuses — and between hallucinations and plain old wrong information, they can still lead you off track fast. The goal is to treat AI like a powerful tool that still misses some very human instincts.
Because for every “wow, that saved me 30 minutes,” there’s a moment where AI confidently gives you something that sounds right, but clearly isn’t. Or it gives you a technically correct answer that’s totally wrong for real life.
Here’s what AI is actually great at right now — and where it still falls short (even when it sounds like it knows exactly what it’s doing).
What AI does well
1. Structure
AI shines when your brain is overloaded and you need organization and structure. Computers have always done well with patterns, so using AI to build a better workflow is a no-brainer.
Drop in a messy list of thoughts, a long email thread or a half-baked plan and most chatbots can turn it into something clean and usable — a checklist, an outline, a timeline or a step-by-step plan.
It’s especially good at:
- Breaking big goals into smaller tasks
- Summarizing long documents into key points
- Creating templates you can reuse (emails, plans, schedules)
- Turning scattered notes into organized sections
If you’re someone who struggles with starting, AI can be the push that gets you moving.
2. Drafting fast, decent first versions
AI is a “first draft machine.” It can outline a 20-page thesis paper as easily as it can draft a short email. If you’re looking for ideas to craft a product description or meeting agenda, it’s a great place to start because it can spit out copy in seconds. It’s why so many lean on AI as a default writing partner.
While the outline it gives you isn’t completely useable, it can help get the wheels in motion to help you generate something useable. The secret to leaning on AI for writing support is to remember that it’s generating a very messy draft; not a final masterpiece.
3. Explaining complicated things
One of the most underrated AI skills is translation. And while it can literally translate language, what I really mean here is that it can translate even the most complex topics into something anyone can actually understand.
Ask it to explain:
- a confusing tech concept
- a medical term
- a finance rule
- a legal document
- a weird error message
AI will usually deliver something clear, calm and easier to digest than whatever you found on Google.
Even better: you can ask follow-ups without feeling awkward.
4. Helping you make decisions faster (when the stakes are low)
AI is surprisingly good at quick comparisons — especially when you’re choosing between options that don’t have a “right” answer.
For example:
- “Which laptop is better for my needs?”
- “Give me pros and cons of switching jobs”
- “Help me pick between these two travel itineraries”
- “Compare these two budgeting plans”
When you’re stuck in indecision spirals, AI can help you see the tradeoffs and move forward.
5. Being available, patient and non-judgmental
This one sounds cheesy, but it’s the reason so many people lean on AI for help.
AI doesn’t get annoyed when you ask the same question three times. It doesn’t judge you for not knowing something. It doesn’t rush you.
That makes it uniquely helpful for:
- anxious planners
- people who need reassurance to take action
- anyone who struggles to organize thoughts out loud (it’s me!)
Even when the advice isn’t perfect, the experience of being guided step-by-step can be a game changer.
Where AI still falls short
1. It can sound confident while being wrong
This is the big one. AI often answers like it knows — even when it doesn’t. Even worse? It won’t tell you that it doesn’t know. It will write so confidently that you may not even realize the information is false until it’s too late.
But the truth is, AI regularly gets facts wrong. Sometimes it fills in gaps. Sometimes it invents details. And the scariest part is that it can do it in a polished, believable tone.
If you’re using AI for anything that matters — health, money, legal issues, safety, major purchases — you have to verify. Because AI isn’t designed to be correct. It’s designed to be helpful. And those two things don’t always overlap.
2. It struggles with context and real-world nuance
AI can give a good general answer… and still miss what’s actually happening in your situation.
For example, it might give you advice that sounds reasonable, but ignores:
- your time constraints
- your budget
- your personality
- your job dynamics
- your emotional state
- what you’ve already tried
Keep in mind that it’s guessing based on patterns. That’s why AI can be brilliant at planning and terrible at understanding what you’ll realistically follow through on.
3. It’s not great at originality (even when it looks like it is)
AI can generate creative ideas, sure. But it does not have the mindfulness or scope to be truly creative. A lot of what it produces feels like “the internet’s safest average.”
You’ll see it in:
- generic marketing ideas
- cookie-cutter advice
- predictable jokes
- repeated words and phrases with every ask
AI can be creative to an extent, and you can use it to help spark your own great idea, but you really often have to push it into originality with better prompts, constraints or your own taste guiding the output.
Otherwise, it defaults to what sounds most familiar.
4. It can’t reliably do human judgement
AI can mimic the ‘taste’ that we have as humans. The kind that can read a room, understand an audience or switch gears depending on the situation. This type of ‘taste’ can’t be crafted with patterns because it simply doesn’t actually have judgment the way a human does.
It can recommend things that are technically correct but emotionally wrong — like suggesting a “professional” email that reads cold, or a “funny” caption that feels cringe.
Humans understand vibes. AI approximates them. That’s a huge difference.
5. It’s not a replacement for thinking
This should really go without saying, but the more AI infiltrates into our society, it’s worth remembering, AI cannot replace your human intelligence or your gut instincts and curiosity.
If you ask me, this might be the most important limitation of all. AI can speed you up, but we need to slow down and take a look at what it is actually delivering. In other words, think through the response.
If you use it to avoid thinking, you’ll end up with:
- weaker writing
- shallow ideas
- sloppy decisions
- answers you may not fully understand or are completely wrong for the situation
The best use of AI is extending your own knowledge — like a calculator for words, planning and problem-solving.
Bottom line
After months of testing every chatbot I can get my hands on, here’s the simplest rule I’ve landed on:
Use AI for speed. Use your brain for judgment.
Let it generate drafts, summaries, ideas, lists and options. But when you need accuracy, ethics, taste or truth? That’s still lands on your shoulders. As humans we can’t outsource those principles. And if you treat it like a tool instead of an oracle, it becomes a lot more useful (and a lot less risky).
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