If you didn't yet notice, we entered the era of AI search โจ
More tools are available (for free). More than a race between tools, I consider them all as assistants, mixing and matching as needed.
There is a place for everyone, here is how I use them ๐
ChatGPT as new search default
No more generic search. For every topic I want to explore I first land on ChatGPT.
This is how and why:
- I can go as specific as I need to, giving the AI all the context necessary for a detailed answer
- I can ask for clarifications or more ideas while keeping the same context
Tip: ChatGPT allows to set a global prompt that specifies context for all chats.
I use this for example to tell ChatGPT to use TypeScript as default programming language for snippets.
ChatGPT is not the best for recent information and providing links to resources. I consider it an exploration tool, just like an open chat with a knowledgeable assistant (but not always accurate).
Keep in mind the possibility of hallucinations.
It's better to ask for general knowledge (research) and be wary of the details (especially if you are not an expert on the topic).
Perplexity for more resources and recent news
For a wider exploration on recent trends I land on Perplexity.
When I am looking for people's experiences and opinions, Perplexity is ideal to link other resources to explore (outside of AI).
Example: "Example of newsletters landing pages that have a high conversion rate"
The goal of this search is specifically to extract links to other websites and resources. That's where Perplexity shines compared to ChatGPT.
Reddit + Hacker News for discussions
Perplexity and ChatGPT are "just" AIs. Not ideal for "real" opinions.
For an open discussion I pick Reddit and Hacker News.
Note that there is no guarantee that those are not just a bunch of AI as well. But that's the best that we get for now.
This is the trick: adding site:
to a Google query allows to restrict the results to a specific domain.
Example: "xstate site:https://news.ycombinator.com/"
You can do the same for all websites. On Reddit instead I usually search under specific communities.
Example: I am looking for "writing" opinions, I go searching inside /r/writing/
.
Context-specific AIs
All else depends on your specific requirements.
For code, Github Copilot is now free. I find it convenient to write repetitive code and functions. Example: "format this Date
to the following format using the standard Web API".
I don't find AI that useful for larger updates. It doesn't work great against abstractions, things like dependency injection, pure functions, composition.
Another example I recently explored is Pixel Art image generation. This is something that "generic" AIs are unable to do.
Curious to see how AI struggles with pixel art Pixel art is all based on small details and precision, something that AI image generation struggles with Admitted by ChatGTP itself ๐
For those usecases, you should opt for specialized AIs (Retro Diffusion).
Some more local-first exploration on Typeonce: released another repository example using DexieJS.
The free beginner course on @EffectTS_ by @SandroMaglione is so delightful. The incremental steps of each chapter based on improving fetch() handling and the way it is presented in such a clear and concise page layout. So good ๐ typeonce.dev/course/effect-โฆ
Also released a new article: Make FormData and input names type-safe in React.
Type safe component props in React ๐ Generic parameter with never as default ๐ NoInfer to enforce never as default Turns a string parameter to a strict union of values ๐งฑ
A lot to explore heading into 2025.
See you next ๐