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146: Which AI is best to use in 2026?
Get AI-Ready with Kyle’s 5-Day Challenge: https://aiwithkyle.com/join
Kyle’s AI Canon — Curated list of AI learning essentials: https://aiwithkyle.com/ai-canon
Subscribe and turn on notifications to catch the next live stream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChlLglbHDASnoGkbjDeHnQg
This video is from the ‘AI with Kyle Live Stream’
First aired: 19 February 2026
Summary: Ethan Mollick just dropped his latest guide on which AI models are actually worth your time in 2026, and for the first time ever he's changed the format — because the game has changed. It's no longer just about which chatbot writes the best email. We're firmly in the agentic era now, where your AI is off doing tasks while you get on with your life. I walked through his breakdown of models, apps, and harnesses live, and it's probably the clearest map of the current AI landscape you'll find anywhere.
On the side, the OpenAI vs Anthropic drama continues to be genuinely funny and genuinely important in equal measure. From refusing to hold hands on stage next to the Prime Minister of India, to the OpenClaw saga where Anthropic managed to look like the villain despite being entirely in the right — it's been a rough few weeks for the Claude crowd. OpenAI, meanwhile, are doing a very good job of positioning themselves as the scrappy, democratic option. Strange times.
—— Time Stamps ——
0:00 OpenAI vs Anthropic: The Rivalry Heating Up
0:43 Sam Altman & Dario Amodei Refuse to Hold Hands at AI Summit
2:23 Why OpenAI and Anthropic Actually Hate Each Other
3:18 Claude vs ChatGPT User Numbers: 30M vs 900M
4:25 Sam Altman Fires Back: Why ChatGPT Needs Ads
5:41 OpenAI Is the More Accessible AI — Here's Why
6:12 ClawBot to Open Claw: The Full Saga
6:51 OpenAI Hires Open Claw Creator for Hundreds of Millions
8:02 Anthropic Bans Claude Usage Inside Open Claw
8:55 Anthropic's PR Nightmare: Crushing a One-Person Dev Team
9:18 OpenAI Outmaneuvers Anthropic — Developers Shift Back
10:48 Q&A: CEO Drama, Heights & Petty Billionaire Fights
11:42 Open Claw vs Claude Code: When to Use Each
12:48 B2B vs B2C: Why Anthropic Doesn't Need Ads
14:43 Why Anthropic Can't Go Viral (No Images, No Video)
15:13 Claude Sonnet 4.6 Review + 1 Million Token Context Window
17:03 All AI Models Are Now Very Good — So What Matters?
18:09 Best AI for Non-Coders? Claude vs ChatGPT Memory Compared
19:49 Pentagon May Label Anthropic a Supply Chain Risk
22:14 Claude Cowork Explained: Claude Code for Non-Techies
22:28 What You Get with $200 vs $20 Claude Subscription
23:12 GPT-4o Was Removed — How to Still Access It via API
25:29 Q&A: Background, Token Limits & Agent Usage
27:20 Ethan Mollick's AI Guide: The Biggest Shift Since ChatGPT
30:02 The Big Three AI Models Explained (GPT, Claude, Gemini)
31:17 Why Grok Isn't Worth Using Unless You Want Twitter Data
31:48 Models vs Apps vs Harnesses — What's the Difference?
32:57 What Are AI Harnesses? The Horse Analogy That Explains Everything
34:17 Open Claw Is a Harness — You Don't Need a Powerful Computer
35:15 Running 5 AI Agents Simultaneously in the Background
36:24 "Which AI Should I Use?" Is Now Harder to Answer
37:24 Why You MUST Pay $20/Month for Serious AI Work
39:06 Stop Using Auto Mode — How to Pick the Right AI Model
41:16 ChatGPT's Hidden Model Problem: 7 Variations You Didn't Know About
42:37 Ethan Mollick's Exact Model Recommendations
44:36 Q&A: Agent Mode in Gemini, ChatGPT & Open Claw Setup
46:57 The AI App Landscape: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini Features
49:10 ChatGPT's Hodgepodge of Features (Most Aren't Good)
50:54 Claude's Focused Approach: No Apps, No Images, Just Intelligence
51:54 Why Harnesses Now Matter More Than the Model You Choose
53:37 Claude Code, Codex & Anti-Gravity: The Real Power Tools
54:08 Using Claude Code for Non-Coding Tasks
54:51 Ethan Mollick Made 80 Books with Claude Code and Sold Out in a Day
56:47 Other Harnesses: Claude for Excel Beats Microsoft Copilot
57:36 Claude Cowork Deep Dive: The Desktop AI Agent
59:29 AI That Does Your Work vs AI That Talks About Your Work
1:00:07 NotebookLM Deep Dive: The Best Free AI Learning Tool
1:02:08 Open Claw: Why You Probably Shouldn't Use It Yet
1:04:09 Ethan Mollick's Final Advice: Just Start Using AI for Real Work
1:05:40 The Future of AI Is Management Skills, Not Technical Skills
1:07:10 Anthropic's Full PR Disaster Recap: From Beloved to Bad Guys
1:08:41 Google Lyria Demo: Free AI Music Generator
1:10:50 AI Writes a 90s Rap About Anthropic's PR Crisis
1:12:04 NotebookLM Multi-Language Support Demo
1:13:22 What Is an API? Explained with NotebookLM
1:16:14 Closing & Where to Get All Resources Free
—— More Useful Resources ——
Find everything else at https://aiwithkyle.com/
View all episodes
By Kyle BalmerGet AI-Ready with Kyle’s 5-Day Challenge: https://aiwithkyle.com/join
Kyle’s AI Canon — Curated list of AI learning essentials: https://aiwithkyle.com/ai-canon
Subscribe and turn on notifications to catch the next live stream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChlLglbHDASnoGkbjDeHnQg
This video is from the ‘AI with Kyle Live Stream’
First aired: 19 February 2026
Summary: Ethan Mollick just dropped his latest guide on which AI models are actually worth your time in 2026, and for the first time ever he's changed the format — because the game has changed. It's no longer just about which chatbot writes the best email. We're firmly in the agentic era now, where your AI is off doing tasks while you get on with your life. I walked through his breakdown of models, apps, and harnesses live, and it's probably the clearest map of the current AI landscape you'll find anywhere.
On the side, the OpenAI vs Anthropic drama continues to be genuinely funny and genuinely important in equal measure. From refusing to hold hands on stage next to the Prime Minister of India, to the OpenClaw saga where Anthropic managed to look like the villain despite being entirely in the right — it's been a rough few weeks for the Claude crowd. OpenAI, meanwhile, are doing a very good job of positioning themselves as the scrappy, democratic option. Strange times.
—— Time Stamps ——
0:00 OpenAI vs Anthropic: The Rivalry Heating Up
0:43 Sam Altman & Dario Amodei Refuse to Hold Hands at AI Summit
2:23 Why OpenAI and Anthropic Actually Hate Each Other
3:18 Claude vs ChatGPT User Numbers: 30M vs 900M
4:25 Sam Altman Fires Back: Why ChatGPT Needs Ads
5:41 OpenAI Is the More Accessible AI — Here's Why
6:12 ClawBot to Open Claw: The Full Saga
6:51 OpenAI Hires Open Claw Creator for Hundreds of Millions
8:02 Anthropic Bans Claude Usage Inside Open Claw
8:55 Anthropic's PR Nightmare: Crushing a One-Person Dev Team
9:18 OpenAI Outmaneuvers Anthropic — Developers Shift Back
10:48 Q&A: CEO Drama, Heights & Petty Billionaire Fights
11:42 Open Claw vs Claude Code: When to Use Each
12:48 B2B vs B2C: Why Anthropic Doesn't Need Ads
14:43 Why Anthropic Can't Go Viral (No Images, No Video)
15:13 Claude Sonnet 4.6 Review + 1 Million Token Context Window
17:03 All AI Models Are Now Very Good — So What Matters?
18:09 Best AI for Non-Coders? Claude vs ChatGPT Memory Compared
19:49 Pentagon May Label Anthropic a Supply Chain Risk
22:14 Claude Cowork Explained: Claude Code for Non-Techies
22:28 What You Get with $200 vs $20 Claude Subscription
23:12 GPT-4o Was Removed — How to Still Access It via API
25:29 Q&A: Background, Token Limits & Agent Usage
27:20 Ethan Mollick's AI Guide: The Biggest Shift Since ChatGPT
30:02 The Big Three AI Models Explained (GPT, Claude, Gemini)
31:17 Why Grok Isn't Worth Using Unless You Want Twitter Data
31:48 Models vs Apps vs Harnesses — What's the Difference?
32:57 What Are AI Harnesses? The Horse Analogy That Explains Everything
34:17 Open Claw Is a Harness — You Don't Need a Powerful Computer
35:15 Running 5 AI Agents Simultaneously in the Background
36:24 "Which AI Should I Use?" Is Now Harder to Answer
37:24 Why You MUST Pay $20/Month for Serious AI Work
39:06 Stop Using Auto Mode — How to Pick the Right AI Model
41:16 ChatGPT's Hidden Model Problem: 7 Variations You Didn't Know About
42:37 Ethan Mollick's Exact Model Recommendations
44:36 Q&A: Agent Mode in Gemini, ChatGPT & Open Claw Setup
46:57 The AI App Landscape: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini Features
49:10 ChatGPT's Hodgepodge of Features (Most Aren't Good)
50:54 Claude's Focused Approach: No Apps, No Images, Just Intelligence
51:54 Why Harnesses Now Matter More Than the Model You Choose
53:37 Claude Code, Codex & Anti-Gravity: The Real Power Tools
54:08 Using Claude Code for Non-Coding Tasks
54:51 Ethan Mollick Made 80 Books with Claude Code and Sold Out in a Day
56:47 Other Harnesses: Claude for Excel Beats Microsoft Copilot
57:36 Claude Cowork Deep Dive: The Desktop AI Agent
59:29 AI That Does Your Work vs AI That Talks About Your Work
1:00:07 NotebookLM Deep Dive: The Best Free AI Learning Tool
1:02:08 Open Claw: Why You Probably Shouldn't Use It Yet
1:04:09 Ethan Mollick's Final Advice: Just Start Using AI for Real Work
1:05:40 The Future of AI Is Management Skills, Not Technical Skills
1:07:10 Anthropic's Full PR Disaster Recap: From Beloved to Bad Guys
1:08:41 Google Lyria Demo: Free AI Music Generator
1:10:50 AI Writes a 90s Rap About Anthropic's PR Crisis
1:12:04 NotebookLM Multi-Language Support Demo
1:13:22 What Is an API? Explained with NotebookLM
1:16:14 Closing & Where to Get All Resources Free
—— More Useful Resources ——
Find everything else at https://aiwithkyle.com/