# The AI Loadout
> The best AI setup for a task: tool, model, agent skills and bot persona. Picks are sourced, dated and logged in a public changelog.

Picks are editorial and cite public sources. Dates change only when a pick changes. Every task page has a Markdown twin at {page}index.md.

## Core
- [Methodology](https://theailoadout.com/methodology/): how picks are chosen and refreshed, and how affiliate links and sponsors are disclosed
- [Changelog](https://theailoadout.com/changelog/): every pick change with date and reason
- [All setups](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/): index of task setups by category

## Task setups
- [Best AI setup for coding](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/coding/index.md): Today's best AI loadout for coding: Claude Code with Claude Opus 5.5, plus ready agent skills and a bot persona. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI assistant to pay for](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/ai-assistant-to-pay-for/index.md): Which $20 AI plan is worth it? ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Google AI Pro compared by task, with prices. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI setup for writing](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/writing/index.md): Today's best AI loadout for writing: Claude Pro with Claude Sonnet 5.5, plus a voice-keeping editor persona. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI setup for research](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/research/index.md): Today's best AI loadout for research: Perplexity for cited web answers plus NotebookLM for your own sources. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI model for coding](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/ai-model-for-coding/index.md): Today's best AI model for coding: Claude Opus 5.5, with Sonnet 5.5 and GPT-6.1 Sol as value picks. Benchmarks and prices linked. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI coding agent](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/ai-coding-agent/index.md): Today's best AI coding agent: Claude Code with Opus 5.5. Codex, Cursor and Copilot compared with prices and sources. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI for summarizing PDFs and long documents](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/summarizing-pdfs/index.md): Today's best AI setup for summarizing PDFs: NotebookLM for grounded answers, Claude for long single files. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI for meeting notes](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/meeting-notes/index.md): Today's best AI meeting notes setup: Granola for bot-free notes, with Otter, Fireflies and Fathom compared. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI for Excel and Google Sheets](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/excel-google-sheets/index.md): Today's best AI setup for spreadsheets: Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Sheets, with Claude for complex models. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI for image generation](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/image-generation/index.md): Today's best AI image generator: ChatGPT Images 2.5, with Nano Banana 2.1 for volume and Midjourney V8.2 for style. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI for building an app without coding](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/vibe-coding/index.md): Today's best AI setup for building an app without coding: Lovable, with Bolt and Replit compared. Prices and sources. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI setup for blog posts and SEO content](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/blog-posts-seo-content/index.md): Today's best AI setup for blog posts and SEO content: Perplexity for sourced research plus Claude for drafting. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI setup for marketing](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/marketing/index.md): Today's best AI loadout for marketing: ChatGPT Plus for copy and images, plus a Growth Strategist persona. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI setup for social media posts](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/social-media-posts/index.md): Today's best AI setup for social media posts: ChatGPT for posts and images, with a voice-keeping persona. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI setup for academic research and papers](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/academic-research/index.md): Today's best AI setup for academic research: Elicit to find papers, Consensus and Scite to check evidence, NotebookLM to read. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI setup for data analysis](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/data-analysis/index.md): Today's best AI loadout for data analysis: ChatGPT Plus to run code on your data, with Julius and Claude as alternatives. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI for presentations and slides](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/presentations/index.md): Today's best AI setup for presentations: Gamma for fast decks, Claude with the pptx skill for PowerPoint files. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [How to run AI locally](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/run-ai-locally/index.md): Run AI on your own computer for free with Ollama or LM Studio. Which local model fits 8, 16, 24 or 48 GB, with commands. Updated Oct 15, 2026.
- [Best AI model API for apps and agents](https://theailoadout.com/best-ai-setup/ai-api-model/index.md): Which AI API should you build on? Official per-token prices and context windows for every major lab, from $0.10 to $50 per million tokens. Updated Oct 15, 2026.

## Directories
- [Models](https://theailoadout.com/models/)
- [Tools](https://theailoadout.com/tools/)
- [Skills](https://theailoadout.com/skills/)
- [Personas](https://theailoadout.com/personas/)

## Optional
- [Newsletter archive](https://theailoadout.com/newsletter/)
- [About](https://theailoadout.com/about/)
- [Full text of all setups](https://theailoadout.com/llms-full.txt)