Which Tool for Which Job

Everything on this site happens in one of two desktop apps, on Windows or Mac, and in one part of each:

• The Claude desktop app, in the Code tab. The Code tab is Claude Code. It needs a paid plan (Pro or higher).
• The ChatGPT desktop app, in Codex. Codex works in a local project folder. ChatGPT can also make images. Claude can’t.

Not the regular chat, and not Cowork or ChatGPT’s Work mode. Every example on this site is a folder project: you make a folder, open it in the Code tab or Codex, and say what you want. The AI goes and gets the public sources it needs, saves them in the folder, and saves what it makes there too. You open the results from the folder. Even a quick question about one file works this way: put the file in the folder and ask. Folder Projects walks through it.

Ask your IT staff or contractor before you install either app on a county PC.

Start at the top and follow the answers.

• Chat and Cowork: not used on this site. Anthropic is merging its Cowork feature into regular Claude chat (announced September 16, 2026). As of November 7 it’s still reaching Pro, Max, and Ultra accounts in stages. On Team plans it’s a beta an owner can turn on. On Enterprise it became generally available October 23 and turns on by default November 16 unless an owner keeps it off. Since October 6, new Cowork tasks on Pro, Max, and Ultra run on Anthropic’s computers, not yours, and Anthropic’s own help page says to use the Code tab for work that should stay on your computer. That’s what this site does: every example runs in the Code tab, so the work and its files stay in one folder you control. Anthropic says the Code tab stays where it was. (Anthropic · Team and Enterprise · Enterprise · Cowork in the cloud)
• The Code tab (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise): this is Claude Code, Anthropic’s tool for multi-step work that reads and writes files in a folder. Open the Code tab. In the row under the message box, choose Local, then click the folder control, choose Open folder…, pick your project folder, and say what you want. (+ New in the sidebar, or Ctrl+N, starts each later session. The Code tab got a new layout on October 15, 2026; older versions put these controls above the message box.) It can download public sources, build decks and workbooks, and process batches of files, all inside that folder. It shares one usage limit with everything else in your Claude account. (Anthropic) Read Safe Setup before you start.
• The folder is the project. Claude’s chat also has a feature called Projects (saved files and instructions for a set of chats). For work that builds files, a folder in the Code tab does the same job and keeps everything in one place you control.
• No image generation. Claude can make charts, diagrams, and designed layouts, but it doesn’t create pictures. For a social media graphic, have Claude write an image prompt and use it in Codex. See Graphics: which tool makes the image?

Claude Code also comes as a terminal program and inside code editors. This site sticks to the desktop app’s Code tab, where you don’t type any commands.

• One app, three modes. The new desktop app (Windows and Mac) has Chat, Work, and Codex. Pick ChatGPT or Codex from the menu at the top left, then Chat or Work with the toggle. The older app is now called “ChatGPT Classic,” and OpenAI says new agent features (AI that takes steps on its own) may come only to the new app. (OpenAI)
• Codex, with a local project folder: what this site uses. Codex is OpenAI’s coding and file-building agent, similar to Claude Code. Open Codex, click Add new project (or press Ctrl+O; Cmd+O on a Mac), and pick the folder. To add more folders later, open the project’s menu, choose Edit project, then Add folder. Codex can then read and save files in it.
• Chat and Work: not used on this site. Work is OpenAI’s agent for longer jobs (it replaced “ChatGPT agent”). Every example here runs in Codex instead, so the work and its files stay in your folder. (OpenAI · OpenAI: the Windows app · shortcuts)
• Plans: OpenAI says Codex is included in every ChatGPT plan, from Free and Go up to Business and Enterprise, with lower limits on the cheaper plans. Working in a folder on your computer depends on what’s turned on for your account, and OpenAI is still rolling some of it out. (OpenAI)
• Image generation: built in (with limits on Free), including in Codex. This is one real difference from Claude, which doesn’t make images. Follow the image rules.
• Plugins: what ChatGPT used to call connectors or apps. The same caution applies (see connectors).

• Microsoft Copilot (formerly Microsoft 365 Copilot), if your county already pays for it. It works inside your county’s Microsoft 365 tenant (its own space in Microsoft 365: your email, OneDrive, Teams, and SharePoint), which changes the data conversation: prompts and answers stay inside the tenant under your county’s agreement. The exception is web search: short search queries can go to Microsoft’s Bing, which follows different rules (see Copilot web search). The free Copilot Chat works with what you type or upload. The paid add-on also works across your email, files, and meetings. See Microsoft Copilot.
• Claude for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word: add-ins for paid Claude plans that work inside those programs. (Outlook is in beta.) Handy if you live in Excel, but you don’t need them for anything on this site.
• Gemini: built into Google Workspace plans, for offices on Google instead of Microsoft.
• Claude for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides: a sidebar add-on for paid Claude plans, in beta since October 6, 2026. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner has to turn it on first. Like the Microsoft add-ins, you don’t need it for anything on this site. (Anthropic)

These settings are in each desktop app’s Settings.

Folder projects in Claude need Pro or higher. Prices, usage limits, and a sensible place to start for a small or large office are on Pricing & Plans.