🔎 30 Days of AI — Day 4
Need to Find Information?
Let AI Help You Research
One Job.
One Day. Useful AI.
Have you
ever searched for something online and ended up opening ten different
websites?
You read
one article.
Then
another.
Then you
find a completely different answer somewhere else.
After
half an hour, you're left wondering:
“Okay...
but which information should I actually trust?”
We've all
been there.
Whether
you're comparing a product, planning a trip, learning something new,
researching a company, or simply trying to understand a complicated topic, finding
useful information can take a lot of time.
This is
where AI can be a helpful research partner.
🔎 Imagine This...
Suppose
you're thinking about buying a new laptop.
You could
search:
Best
laptop under ₹50,000
Then open
several websites, compare specifications, read reviews and try to figure out
whether the information is still current.
Or you
could ask an AI research tool something more specific:
“I want
to buy a laptop under ₹50,000 in India. Compare the best current options for
everyday work, browsing and light coding. Consider RAM, storage, processor,
warranty and current prices. Show me the important differences and include your
sources.”
That's a
much better starting point.
The AI
can help you collect and organize the information, instead of making you
jump from website to website.
But
there's an important catch:
Don't blindly believe everything AI tells you.
AI can
make research faster.
It
doesn't make you automatically correct.
What Can AI Help You
Research?
You can
use AI to research things like:
🛒 Products
Compare features, prices and alternatives before buying.
✈️ Travel
Research destinations, things to do and planning options.
💼 Work
Understand industries, companies, competitors or new trends.
📚 Learning
Get a complicated topic explained in simpler language.
💰 Money
Understand financial concepts and compare information—but always verify
important financial decisions with reliable sources.
📰 Current information
Find recent developments and summarize what different sources are saying.
The key
is to give the AI a clear question, rather than simply asking:
“Tell me
about laptops.”
🤔 Which AI Should
You Try?
You may
already have access to some of these tools.
|
If you want to... |
Consider |
|
Research
and create a detailed report |
ChatGPT
Deep Research |
|
Research
using Google's ecosystem |
Gemini
Deep Research |
|
Quickly
find information with sources |
Perplexity |
|
Research
using your own documents |
NotebookLM |
Let's
look at them in simple terms.
🟢 ChatGPT — When You Want More Than a Quick
Answer
ChatGPT
can be useful for both quick web searches and more detailed research.
For a
complicated question, Deep Research can plan a multi-step research
process, search across sources, analyze the information and produce a
structured report with citations.
For
example:
“Research
the electric scooter market in India and explain the important factors a
first-time buyer should consider. Use current information and cite your
sources.”
Instead
of just giving you a few links, the goal is to bring the information together
in a useful format.
Best for: Detailed research, comparisons
and structured reports.
🔵 Gemini — Useful If You Live in
Google's World
Gemini
also has a Deep Research feature.
Google
says Gemini Deep Research can use Google Search as a source and, where
available, can also work with sources such as Gmail, Drive, uploaded files and
NotebookLM notebooks.
That can
be particularly useful if much of your information already lives inside
Google's ecosystem.
Best for: People who already use Google
services and want research connected to them.
🟣 Perplexity — “Show Me Where You Found It”
Perplexity
is built around answering questions with web sources.
Its
research features can search across multiple sources, cross-check information
and produce a more detailed report.
This can
be particularly handy when you're doing a quick investigation and want to see
the sources behind the answer.
Best for: Quick web research and
source-focused answers.
🟠 NotebookLM — When the Information Is
Already Yours
Here's a
slightly different situation.
Imagine
you already have:
- A PDF
- A report
- Several documents
- Meeting notes
- Research papers
- Study material
And you
want AI to help you understand those specific sources.
That's
where a tool such as NotebookLM can be useful.
Instead
of asking:
“What
does the internet say about this?”
you're
effectively asking:
“Help me
understand the information I already have.”
That's a
very different kind of research.
Best for: Understanding and working with
your own collection of documents and sources.
💡 The Question You Ask Matters
One of
the easiest ways to improve your AI research is to ask a better question.
Instead
of:
❌ “Which phone is best?”
Try:
✅ “I want a phone under ₹25,000 in India. My priorities are battery
life, camera quality and everyday performance. Compare five good options
currently available and explain the important differences. Include sources and
mention anything I should verify before buying.”
Now the
AI knows:
Your
budget
Where you are buying
What matters to you
How many options you want
What kind of answer you expect
That
makes the research much more useful.
⚠️ Here's the Part You Should Never Skip
This is
probably the most important lesson of today's article.
AI is your research assistant—not the final
authority.
Before
making an important decision, check the original sources.
Pay
particular attention to:
- Prices
- Dates
- Statistics
- Product specifications
- Government information
- Financial information
- Medical information
- Legal information
Why?
Because
information changes.
A price
from last month may no longer be today's price.
A product
specification may have changed.
And an AI
can misunderstand or incorrectly summarize information.
Even
OpenAI recommends reviewing linked sources when using ChatGPT for search, while
Deep Research provides citations specifically so users can verify the
information.
💰 Do You Need to Pay?
Not
necessarily.
Before
paying for a separate research tool, check what the AI services you already use
can do.
If you
already use ChatGPT, see what search or research features are available to you.
If you're
a Google user, check Gemini.
If you
want a source-focused search experience, try Perplexity.
And if
you're working with your own documents, look at NotebookLM.
FaydaFirst rule:
Use what
you already have before buying something new.
You may
discover that you don't need another subscription at all.
🏆 FaydaFirst Verdict
AI can
save you a lot of time when researching.
But don't
think of it as:
“AI will
do my research for me.”
Think of
it as:
“AI will
help me do my research faster.”
Let AI
help you find information, organize it and explain it.
Then use
your own judgment and check the important facts.
That's
when AI becomes genuinely useful.
You don't
need the most expensive research tool.
You need
the one that fits the kind of research you're doing.
FaydaFirst — Smarter Choices. Better Value.
🤖 30
Days of AI — Day 5
One Job. One
Day. Useful AI.
Have a long video, webinar or tutorial to watch?
Today, let's see how AI can help you find
the important points, create quick notes and save valuable time.
Then start the main article with:
“Have you ever saved a
45-minute video because it looked useful… and then never watched it?”
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