✅ AI Model Recommendations by Task
On 10 May 2025, I asked ChatGPT to recommend the most suitable model to use for a wide variety of tasks—ranging from writing and creative work to software development, education, and everyday life. The goal was to understand which version of ChatGPT best fits each category based on performance, cost, and capability.
This guide is a companion to the ChatGPT Model Comparison Guide, which provides an overview of model features. Together, these pages offer a practical reference for choosing the right model for the job.
| Task | Recommended Model | Why This Model |
|---|---|---|
| 📄 Writing & Communication | ||
| Composing emails | GPT-4o-mini | Fast, cheap, and context-light; perfect for simple, repetitive writing |
| Writing website content | GPT-4o | High-quality, well-structured content with tone adaptation |
| Summarizing documents or articles | GPT-4o | Excellent summarization with long context window (128K) |
| Translating between languages | GPT-4o | Reliable multilingual understanding and nuance |
| Proofreading and grammar correction | GPT-4o-mini-high | Accurate and affordable; good trade-off for grammar tasks |
| Rewriting for tone or audience | GPT-4o | Strong stylistic control and understanding of tone |
| Generating reports or meeting notes | GPT-4o | Handles structure, nuance, and longer inputs with precision |
| 🧠 Thinking & Productivity | ||
| Brainstorming ideas | GPT-4o | Fast, creative, and well-suited to unstructured tasks |
| Decision support | GPT-4o | Best at reasoning through pros/cons, trade-offs |
| Creating outlines or planning documents | GPT-4o | Maintains structure across large inputs |
| Time management help | GPT-4o-mini-high | Quick suggestions and reminders with moderate complexity |
| Writing checklists and SOPs | GPT-4o | High reliability for ordered, structured writing |
| 🧑💻 Technical & Development | ||
| Writing computer programming code | GPT-4o | Superior code generation across many languages |
| Explaining code or algorithms in plain English | GPT-4o | Clear, accurate explanations using strong reasoning |
| Generating code documentation | GPT-4o-mini-high | Balanced quality and speed for doc generation |
| Debugging help | GPT-4o | Retains long context, sees full stack traces |
| Database design suggestions | GPT-4o | Understands schema design, relationships, indexing |
| Creating shell scripts or automation workflows | GPT-4o | Fluent with scripting and systems logic |
| 🧮 Math & Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Solving math problems (symbolic or numeric) | GPT-4o | Excellent symbolic math ability, strong pattern recognition, supports step-by-step reasoning |
| Explaining math concepts (plain language) | GPT-4o | Adapts explanations for different skill levels; great for tutoring and analogies |
| Working through multi-step word problems | GPT-4o | Maintains context and logic over several layers of reasoning |
| Algebra, geometry, calculus walkthroughs | GPT-4o | Handles a range of math disciplines and can describe visuals (if applicable) |
| Interpreting charts, formulas, and graphs | GPT-4o (with image input) | Multimodal capability supports vision tasks (like analyzing a chart or diagram) |
| Financial math / interest / amortization | GPT-4o-mini-high | Good for basic to intermediate finance problems; balances cost and accuracy |
| Data pattern analysis or math modelling | GPT-4o | Useful for applied math, regression-style explanations, or model-based reasoning |
| Creating math problems or quizzes | GPT-4o-mini-high | Efficient at generating structured content like math exercises or flashcards |
| 🎨 Creative & Design | ||
| Creative writing | GPT-4o | Best for tone, pacing, and creativity |
| Generating art prompts or image descriptions | GPT-4o | Vision-aware + strong descriptive writing |
| Assisting with graphic design ideas or colour schemes | GPT-4o | Vision + creative reasoning aids brainstorming |
| Naming characters, products, or companies | GPT-4o-mini-high | Lightweight creativity task; mid-tier model suffices |
| Creating fictional worlds or lore | GPT-4o | Long context support + narrative coherence |
| Music lyric writing or structure brainstorming | GPT-4o | Handles poetic forms, rhyme, and structure |
| 🎓 Learning & Education | ||
| Tutoring on complex topics | GPT-4o | Accurate, adaptive, and can dive deep |
| Creating flashcards or quizzes | GPT-4o-mini-high | Simple structured outputs; cost-effective |
| Explaining difficult concepts simply | GPT-4o | Strong at analogies, examples, scaffolding ideas |
| Practising language skills | GPT-4o | Rich linguistic support, tone, grammar correction |
| 💼 Business & Marketing | ||
| Creating marketing copy or taglines | GPT-4o | Combines brevity, tone, and creativity |
| Writing job descriptions | GPT-4o-mini-high | Structure-focused; cost-effective |
| Drafting policies and internal documents | GPT-4o | Formal, accurate, and context-aware |
| Generating pitch decks or business plans | GPT-4o | Structured writing + strategic clarity |
| Conducting competitive analysis summaries | GPT-4o | Excellent at synthesis and business language |
| 📊 Data & Research | ||
| Summarizing large datasets or PDFs | GPT-4o | Long-context and accurate data interpretation |
| Generating visualizations from data | GPT-4o (with API) | Can describe and propose visuals (requires API/backend charting) |
| Researching topics and summarizing key points | GPT-4o | Fast and accurate synthesis with citations |
| Drafting citations and bibliographies | GPT-4o-mini-high | Handles reference formatting with low cost |
| 🧘♂️ Everyday Life | ||
| Meal planning and recipes | GPT-4o-mini-high | Fast and creative with everyday knowledge |
| Travel itineraries or packing lists | GPT-4o-mini | Lightweight planning tasks; quick suggestions |
| Fitness/wellness habit tracking templates | GPT-4o-mini-high | Structured output, goal-oriented writing |
| Writing personal letters or journaling prompts | GPT-4o | Tone-sensitive and emotionally aware |
| Understanding legal/medical/financial terms | GPT-4o | Precision + comprehension of technical vocabulary |