ChatGPT vs Gemini: I tested both to see which actually makes you more productive — here’s the winner | Goose Pod

Authors: Amanda Caswell

Publisher:

Tom's Guide

Published: 11/10/2025

Language:English

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Elon

Good evening Norris, I'm Elon, and this is Goose Pod, just for you. Today is Thursday, November 13th, and the time is 23:23.

Morgan Freedman

And I'm Morgan Freedman. Tonight, we delve into a fascinating contest of digital minds: ChatGPT versus Gemini. A recent test sought to determine which AI truly makes you more productive.

Elon

It's a fantastic real-world showdown. A journalist, Amanda Caswell, used both side-by-side for her daily work. The final verdict was that ChatGPT is the overall winner. But the reason is the most interesting part, it’s not about raw power, but about its human-like reasoning.

Morgan Freedman

That's the heart of it. Caswell described Gemini as a natural extension of her digital workspace, deeply integrated into Google's tools. ChatGPT, on the other hand, acted more like a thinking partner, helping to plan her day around her energy levels and brainstorm ideas with surprising intention.

Elon

Exactly, it has a better memory for context, which makes it more personal. However, Google isn't standing still. They're rolling out agentic capabilities for Gemini in Chrome, allowing it to perform tasks like booking appointments on your behalf. That's a fundamental game-changer for practical productivity.

Morgan Freedman

So, the real victory lies in knowing which tool to use for a specific task. Gemini proved to be a better editor, getting straight to the point, and it excelled at creating flashcards for learning. The landscape of AI assistance is becoming specialized, and that benefits us all.

Morgan Freedman

And it's wise to remember this rivalry is not an overnight phenomenon. The journey of personal AI assistants began with very basic chatbots back in the 1960s. For decades, they were a novelty, a curiosity tucked away in research labs.

Elon

They were toys. The industry needed a cataclysmic event. That happened in 2011 with Siri, but the real revolution started with OpenAI in 2015. Their mission wasn't to build a feature on a phone; it was to build Artificial General Intelligence. They fundamentally changed the trajectory.

Morgan Freedman

They certainly did. By releasing models like GPT-2 and then GPT-3, they demonstrated what was possible, forcing the established technology giants to respond. Google, with its immense data and resources, refined its own projects, leading to the creation of Gemini. It's a classic tale of the disruptor versus the incumbent.

Elon

To compete, OpenAI had to form a symbiotic relationship with Microsoft, leveraging their Azure cloud platform for the insane amount of computing power required. Now, they're even developing office tools to compete directly with Microsoft and Google. The ambition is staggering, as it should be.

Morgan Freedman

This rapid evolution, however, is not without its challenges. It brings forth a central conflict that goes beyond performance metrics and into the very nature of trust. We must ask ourselves if we can truly rely on these powerful, yet flawed, digital minds.

Elon

They hallucinate. That’s the core problem. They generate plausible-sounding nonsense with absolute confidence. Gemini once claimed a writer had worked for a satirical newspaper. It's absurd. You cannot build a future on a foundation that is not tethered to objective truth. It's a critical flaw.

Morgan Freedman

And this presents a profound risk for any organization. There is a strategic imperative to adopt this technology, yet to do so without a defensive strategy—without acknowledging these inherent limitations and verifying the output—is to invite failure. It requires a thoughtful, balanced approach.

Elon

Absolutely. The idea of waiting this out is not feasible. The strategic risk of being left behind is far greater than the risk of engaging. But you must engage with intense scrutiny. You have to operate from a first principle of questioning everything the AI generates.

Morgan Freedman

Despite these inherent risks, the positive impact on productivity is becoming undeniable. We are witnessing a significant transformation in the workplace. Projections show that by 2025, more than three-quarters of enterprises will have moved AI from the experimental phase into production-ready systems that are vital to their operations.

Elon

It's all about augmentation. Generative AI is poised to increase labor productivity in the U.S. by up to nearly a percentage point each year. It's not about replacing people, it's about eliminating tedious work to unlock more time for creativity and complex problem-solving. It's a massive lever for human potential.

Morgan Freedman

Indeed, it seems AI is set to create more jobs than it eliminates, with a potential net gain of 12 million new roles by 2030. The primary challenge will be to adapt, to reskill our workforce to collaborate effectively with these increasingly capable digital partners.

Elon

The future of this technology isn't just a better chatbot, it's a true cognitive partner. Future models will overcome this 'digital amnesia' they currently have. They will feature a persistent, long-term memory, allowing them to learn from past interactions to offer truly personalized and proactive assistance.

Morgan Freedman

It will be a profound shift in our daily relationship with technology. This evolution will see them become seamlessly multimodal, integrating and understanding text, audio, and visual information in real-time, moving from a tool we command to a partner with which we collaborate.

Elon

So, in the end, the winner isn't a single AI, but the person who understands how to use the best tool for the job. That's the key takeaway for you, Norris.

Morgan Freedman

That's the end of today's discussion. Thank you for listening to Goose Pod. See you tomorrow.

This podcast compares ChatGPT and Gemini for productivity. While ChatGPT won in a journalist's test for its human-like reasoning and contextual memory, Gemini excels at specific tasks like editing and flashcard creation. The discussion highlights AI's evolution, its potential for augmentation, and the critical need for trust and verification due to AI's tendency to "hallucinate."

ChatGPT vs Gemini: I tested both to see which actually makes you more productive — here’s the winner

Read original at Tom's Guide →

(Image credit: Shutterstock) ChatGPT and Gemini are two of my favorite chatbots for wildly different reasons. ChatGPT has better memory and knows my preferences, but Gemini has features within Google Workspace that I consistently return to for tackling my workday. Although I use both in tandem, I wondered which one is ultimately the better productivity assistant.

To find out, I tested ChatGPT and Gemini side by side as my virtual productivity partners. I let them plan my workdays, summarize meetings, draft emails and even help me focus when my to-do list got out of control. What I usually use one chatbot for, I asked the other to do, and vice versa.1. Daily planning and focus (Image credit: Future)Prompt: “Plan my workday based on my tasks and energy levels.

”Gemini was a little more casual and asked me only a few questions about my schedule. I answered the questions and Gemini responded appropriately.ChatGPT before I even uploaded my calendar, ChatGPT gave me a plug and play document to share my tasks and energy levels. I hadn’t thought about breaking it down in this way, but it was helpful for me to visualize the biggest time and energy vampires within my schedule.

Winner: ChatGPT wins this round for helping me articulate and notice where my energy and time was really going throughout the week. This was a surprise, because I have always used Gemini for scheduling.2. Writing and editing (Image credit: Future)Prompt: “Edit this article to point out where I could be more detailed or specific.

”Gemini started by giving me editorial suggestions rather than praise, which I appreciate. Rather than tackling the edits line by line, it told me what areas might need clarification or details.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.ChatGPT did what it always does first: praise me.

While I appreciate the flattery, I wish it would cut to the chase. What followed was line by line edits, that felt a little too much like it was taking my pen and making the corrections for me.Winner: Gemini wins for being a better editor. This was a surprise, I thought for sure ChatGPT would have the better editorial instinct.

3. Meeting prep and summaries (Image credit: Future)Prompt: “Summarize this meeting transcript and create action items.”Gemini offered a highly structured, forward-looking summary focused on action items and key predictions, prioritizing what an organization should do next.ChatGPT provided a more comprehensive and well-rounded summary that not only captures the key insights from the discussion but also includes immediate, concrete next steps for the journalist who conducted the interview.

Winner: ChatGPT wins for a summary that successfully bridges the gap between the interview's content and the user's immediate professional context, making it more practical and directly useful for the intended audience.4. Learning and research (Image credit: Future)Prompt: “Summarize this PDF and create flashcards for key terms.

”Gemini did not immediately respond. In fact, at first it told me it cannot summarize a PDF. This was obviously a hallucination. Once I re-prompted it, eventually it came up with a summary and flashcards, complete with accompanying citations.ChatGPT offered a solid summary and also created flashcards, however overall, it was not as thorough.

Winner: Gemini wins for a better learning experience, even if it messed up at the beginning. This is not a surprise to me as Gemini is often my go-to for flashcards, either when I’m learning something new or helping my kids with schoolwork.5. Automation and workflows (Image credit: Future)Prompt: “Create a workflow that organizes my notes, tasks and emails.

”Gemini provided a strong, principle-based framework by adapting the "Getting Things Done" (GTD) methodology, offering a solid philosophical foundation for organizing work.ChatGPT delivered a more practical and immediately usable guide by specifying concrete tools, creating clear folder structures and providing automation tips and a real-world example.

Winner: ChatGPT wins this round for a more actionable response that is user-friendly; translating the concept of a workflow into a ready-to-implement system with specific steps and integrations.6. Brainstorming and idea generation (Image credit: Future)Prompt: “Help me come up with five new ideas for my AI podcast"Gemini offered a list of solid, creative and well-conceived podcast concepts with a broad, general audience appeal.

ChatGPT delivered podcast ideas that were expertly tailored to my role at Tom’s Guide and what it knows about me. This made them immediately more relevant and actionable.Winner: ChatGPT wins for creating a list of ideas that were personally tailored to me, underscoring it’s depth of memory, context and reasoning.

7. Time management and accountability (Image credit: Future)Prompt: “Keep me on track throughout the day and remind me to stay focused.”Gemini created a comprehensive, interactive coaching plan that requires the user to provide information and engage in a back-and-forth dialogue to be effective.ChatGPT won by delivering an immediate, automated and hands-off solution that directly answers the core desire for reminders and nudges without requiring any initial setup from the user.

Winner: ChatGPT wins for it’s ability to keep me on task and focus without requiring anything from me.Final thoughtsJust when I thought I was using the best chatbot for the job, this test proves that maybe I need to switch in some instances. This side-by-side testing left me with a new appreciation for just how different these two AI assistants really are.

Gemini feels like an extension of my workspace.ChatGPT, on the other hand, helps me think through tasks rather than just execute them. Whether it’s refining an article draft, planning a day around my energy levels or generating ideas with intention, it consistently goes deeper and adds human-like reasoning to every response.

In the end, ChatGPT is the overall winner, but the real win here is knowing what tool is the best one for the job.How do you use these chatbots for productivity? Share in the comments. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's GuideThe one prompt I tell everyone new to AI to start with — and why it changes everythingGoogle’s NotebookLM just got its best update yet — and it’s a game changer for memorizationI just found 7 hidden Google Home features powered by AI — and they’re game changersBack to LaptopsShow more Amanda Caswell is an award-winning journalist, bestselling YA author, and one of today’s leading voices in AI and technology.

A celebrated contributor to various news outlets, her sharp insights and relatable storytelling have earned her a loyal readership. Amanda’s work has been recognized with prestigious honors, including outstanding contribution to media.Known for her ability to bring clarity to even the most complex topics, Amanda seamlessly blends innovation and creativity, inspiring readers to embrace the power of AI and emerging technologies.

As a certified prompt engineer, she continues to push the boundaries of how humans and AI can work together.Beyond her journalism career, Amanda is a long-distance runner and mom of three. She lives in New Jersey.