The AI Landscape Tour: a map of the kinds of AI

Part 1 · Learn it

The kinds of AI

By the end you'll be able to

• Name the main kinds of AI tools by what they make or do.
• Match a real task to the kind of tool that fits it.
• Tell what is available today from what is still on the horizon.

The big idea

"AI" is not one thing. It's a family of tools that make or do different things, and the first skill is matching the job to the right kind.

Your running example

Ingrid's booklet jobs

0 of 6 done

Ingrid, our retired engineer, has the garden's 50th-anniversary booklet to make, and a list of jobs to go with it. Each one needs a different kind of AI. Answer the quick Try it at the end of each episode to tick off an item.

• Draw a map of the kinds of AI (on the back of a seed catalogue)not done yet
• Ask something useful about compostingnot done yet
• Make a cover picture for the bookletnot done yet
• Dig up the garden's history, with sourcesnot done yet
• Turn the volunteer rota into something people can actually readnot done yet
• Fact-check Harold's latest headline about robot gardenersnot done yet

Episode 1 of 6

The map of AI types

There are hundreds of AI tools, and new ones every week. Learning them one by one is a losing game. Learning the kinds is not. A good way to group them is by what they make or do: five regions on a map.

Many products live in more than one region. A chat assistant might also make pictures. That's fine: the map is about the job, not the brand.

Ingrid's seed-catalogue map

Ingrid's item 1: five regions, with example jobs in each.

Episode 2 of 6

Chat, reasoning and assistants

Chat assistants are the all-rounders. You ask in plain language, and they write, explain, suggest, and answer.

Many now also have a slower "thinking" or reasoning mode. Instead of answering straight away, the model works through the problem step by step first. That takes longer, sometimes much longer. It's worth it for tricky, multi-step questions: planning, puzzles, anything with lots of conditions. For a quick question, the normal mode is fine. (Mode names vary between assistants and change often; as of September 2026.)

Ingrid's item 2: "My compost heap smells of ammonia and it's slimy. What's wrong?"

Example answers on this page are written for the lesson. Real assistants will word things differently.

Episode 3 of 6

Making things: image, video, audio

Some AI tools make things other than text. Image tools draw a picture from your description. Audio tools make voices and music, and can also turn speech into text (transcription). Video tools make short clips.

They're wonderful for drafts, mock-ups, and fun. Know their weak spots: text inside an AI image is often garbled, small details like hands or signs go wrong, and keeping a character or place looking the same across pictures is hard. Likeness and copyright questions are in lesson 10.

One idea, three kinds of tool

Ingrid's item 3: the booklet cover, and a little extra.

Episode 4 of 6

Words and knowledge: writing and research

Writing is chat's home turf: drafting, rewording, shortening, explaining.

Facts are different. A plain chat answer comes from patterns it learned, and it usually doesn't show where a fact came from. When you need facts, use a tool that answers with sources, or one that works only from documents you give it. Then do the part that matters most: open the source and check that it really says so.

Ingrid's item 4: "When was our community garden founded?"

Both answers are written for this lesson. Only one of them can be checked.

Episode 5 of 6

Getting things done: productivity, data, design

A lot of AI doesn't live in a separate app at all. It's built into tools you already use. Email programs summarize long threads and draft replies. Documents rewrite and shorten. Spreadsheets turn messy lists into tidy tables. Slide tools suggest layouts. Your phone can search your photos by what's in them. Video-call apps can write up a meeting.

Often, the easiest AI to use is the one that's already in your app.

Ingrid's item 5: the volunteer rota, as it arrived by email.

Episode 6 of 6

The frontier: automation, science, robotics

Then there's the frontier, the part that makes headlines. Agents are tools that take actions for you, like filling in a form or booking a table. They're arriving, but they're early and need supervising. In science, AI has had real breakthroughs: predicting the shapes of proteins earned a Nobel Prize in 2024, and AI weather forecasts now rival traditional ones. Robots move slowest of all, because the physical world is hard. A weed looks a lot like a seedling.

Headlines often blur three things: what you can use today, what's emerging, and what might come someday.

The horizon

Common failure mode

Using a chat assistant for every job. Asking a plain chat for sources or today's facts, or asking an image tool to get the words on a sign right, sets you up for disappointment. Match the job to the kind of tool, and the tool will usually match your expectations.

Part 2 · Practice it · optional

Try the kinds for yourself

The map only becomes yours when you've used each region. These exercises get you trying different kinds of AI on real things. Do as many as you like; they never block the quiz. Your progress and notes are saved in this browser.

14 exercises3 warm-ups · 9 real-world tasks · 2 challenges 0 of 14 done Open the exercisesClose exercises▾ Optional. Open whenever you want to practice; your progress is saved.

Free tools you can use

• Chat: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, or Mistral Vibe (formerly Le Chat). Most can also make images.
• Research with sources: Perplexity; answers from your own documents: Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM).
• Some work without an account. If one asks you to sign up, try another. (List checked September 2026; tools change often.)

Stay safe while practicing

• Never paste passwords, ID numbers, health or bank details.
• Don't upload photos of other people without asking them.
• Invent details when in doubt; the skill is the same.
• Your notes stay on this device. Nobody else sees them, and they only sync to your account if you switch that on.

Not sure where to start? Our 3 picksOne quick warm-up, one real task, and one you get to keep. Your picks count toward unlocking the Level 1 exam. Everything else is a bonus, and good exam prep: the exams draw on all the exercises.

1Which kind of AI?Warm-up · ~3 minGo → 5Make a real cover or posterReal task · ~10 minGo → 9Your tool mapReal task · ~10 min · yours to keepGo →

Want more? All 14 are below, grouped by type.

Warm-ups

0 / 3

Quick and auto-checked, right here on the page. A new mix every time you play.

1Drill★ Our pick~3 min

Which kind of AI?

One job at a time. Which region of the map fits best? Get 5 right to complete.

Correct 0/5Streak 0Round 1

Chat Research Making things Getting things done Frontier

2Fill the gaps~2 min

The map in one sentence

Pick the best option for each gap.

For facts, use a tool that shows choose…confidencesourcesemojis; for a poster, use choose…an image toola research toola spreadsheet; to tidy a list you already have, try the AI choose…in a robotinside the app you already useon a website you've never heard of; and tools that act for you, called choose…chatbotspluginsagents, are still early.

Check

3Tool picker~2 min

Set the switches

Describe each of Ingrid's jobs with the switches, and the picker suggests a kind of tool. Match all three jobs to complete.

Needs sources Makes a picture Inside an app I already use

Suggested:

This fits the job

Real-world tasks

0 / 9

Done with real AI tools, on your own things. Tick the checklist honestly, then mark it done.

4Taste test~10 min

Same question, two kinds of tool

Pick a real factual question you're curious about (when something local was built, how a thing works, a statistic). Ask it in a plain chat assistant, then in a research tool that shows sources. Compare.

Tool	Trust	Did it show a source?
Chat assistant		Notes 1
Research tool		Notes 2

Self-check

I asked the same question in both. I opened at least one source the research tool gave. I noted which answer I would trust for print, and why.

Mark as done

5Field mission★ Our pick~10 min

Make a real cover, card, or poster

Make a picture you'll actually use: a card, a poster, a cover, a profile banner. Use any free image tool (most chat assistants can make images too).

1. Describe it: the subject, the style (watercolour, photo, cartoon), the mood, and the shape (square, wide).
2. Try twice, changing one thing the second time.
3. Check the details, especially any text in the image.

What I asked for, and what I changed

Self-check

I made something I will genuinely use. I changed one thing between two tries. I checked the details and any text in the image.

Mark as done

6Lab notebook~10 min

Do the sources really say that?

Ask a research tool a factual question and open two of its sources. Does each source actually say what the answer claims?

Question

Question

Claim

Claim

Source 1

Source 1

Source 2

Source 2

Self-check

I opened two sources, not just looked at the links. I wrote down whether each one really supports the claim.

Mark as done

7Shape swap~10 min

One task, three kinds of tool

Pick one real task (planning an event, learning a topic, sorting a list). Try it in a chat assistant, a research tool, and a feature inside an app you already use. Which kind helped most?

💬Chatwriting, ideas 🔎Researchwith sources 🗂Inside an appwhere the work is

Why that one?

Self-check

I tried the same task with all three kinds. I picked one and wrote why.

Mark as done

8Timed sprint5 min

AI already in your apps

Start the clock. Find AI features already inside three apps you use (email, documents, photos, maps, keyboard, video calls). Try one of them.

5:00

StartReset

What I found

Self-check

I found AI features in three apps. I actually tried one of them.

Mark as done

9Build a keeper★ Our pick~10 min

Your tool map

Think of the jobs in your own week. Fill in which kind of tool you'll reach for; your map builds itself below.

For writing and ideas, I'll use

For facts I need to trust, I'll use

For pictures, I'll use

AI already in my apps that I'll try

Your map

Copy map

Self-check

I saved my map somewhere I'll see it. Each line names a real tool I have tried or will try this week.

Mark as done

10Before and after~5 min

Describe a photo, then let AI try

Pick a photo of your own with no people in it (a plant, a street, a meal). Describe it yourself in two sentences. Then ask an assistant that accepts images to describe it. Compare.

My description

My description

Detail

The AI's description

The AI's description

Detail

Self-check

I wrote mine before asking the AI. I noticed one thing it saw that I didn't, or one thing it got wrong.

Mark as done

11Habit tracker1 week

A new kind of AI each day

For a week, try one kind of AI you didn't use the day before: chat, research, an image, your voice, a feature in an app. Tick each day you do. Five days out of seven completes it.

Day 1✓ Day 2✓ Day 3✓ Day 4✓ Day 5✓ Day 6✓ Day 7✓

The kind I'll keep using

Mark as done

12Teach it back~5 min

The map in three sentences

Explain the five regions to a friend, or write it here, in three sentences. Then grade yourself.

Your explanation

Grade yourself

I named at least four of the five regions. I gave a real example of a job for two of them. Someone new to AI would understand it.

Mark as done

Challenges

0 / 2

Harder, for when you want to stretch.

13One-shot challenge~15 min

One message, one poster

In an image tool, get a poster for a real event in a single message. No follow-ups: if it misses, open a new chat and rewrite the whole message. The picture must meet all five:

The picture meets every condition

The subject is clearly my event. The style is the one I asked for. It has the shape I need (square, tall, or wide). It leaves space where I can add the text myself. Nothing in it is misleading or looks like a real photo of real people.

Messages it took (new chat each time):−1+

Mark as done

14Reverse engineer~10 min

Which kind of tool made each?

Three outputs, written for this lesson. For each, decide which kind of tool most likely produced it, then reveal.

"The garden's founding year is given as 1976 in the council's heritage report [1] and in a 1996 newspaper article [2]." Kind of tool for output 1which kind?ChatResearchMaking thingsInside an app

"Summary of this thread (14 messages): the plot fees go up in April; Jo is collecting names for the tool shed; nothing needs your reply." Kind of tool for output 2which kind?ChatResearchMaking thingsInside an app

"Here are ten names for your compost club: Heap of Joy, The Rot Squad, Turning Point…" Kind of tool for output 3which kind?ChatResearchMaking thingsInside an app

Reveal the answers

1: Research (numbered sources). 2: Inside an app (an email summary of a thread). 3: Chat (ideas and names).

Self-check

I chose for all three before revealing. I can say what clue gave each one away.

Mark as done

Reset my practice progress and notes

Part 3 · Prove it

Quiz: six ways to show you've got it

Answer all six correctly to finish the lesson. Wrong answers get feedback and another try; only correct answers count.

Answer all six quiz questions correctly to finish this lesson.

Practice is optional, but it's where the skill really grows.

Open the quiz

Lesson complete

You can match a job to the right kind of AI, and tell today from someday.

Keep thisYour cheat card for this lesson

The map

ChatResearchMaking thingsGetting things doneFrontier

Rules of thumb

• Match the job to the kind of tool.
• The AI already inside your app is often the easiest.
• For facts, use a tool that shows sources, then open the source.

Today or someday?

Headlines blur them. Words like "soon" and "will" mean: not here yet.

Never do this

• Present an AI image as a real photo.
• Trust text written inside an AI image without checking it.

Copy-ready prompt

I need to [job]. What kind of AI tool fits this best, and what should I watch out for?

Copy prompt

This card is also collected into the section cheatsheet for First steps with AI, a one-page printable summary of all three lessons.