Products, models and plans

What you will learn

• The difference between an AI product, a model and a plan
• Why the same product can give different results on different accounts or days
• What to check before you rely on a feature or pay for anything

The idea

When people talk about "an AI", they often mix up three separate things.

The product is the app or website you use: the chat window, the buttons, the file upload, your chat history. The model is the AI system inside the product that writes the answers. A model version is a specific release of that system with its own name, and it can behave differently from an earlier or later one. The plan is your account tier, such as a free tier or a paid one, which decides what you can use and how much.

These three change independently. One product can offer several models, sometimes letting you choose and sometimes choosing for you. A provider can update the model inside a product without the app looking any different. Features such as file upload, image creation, web search or voice can depend on your plan, and sometimes on the country you are in. Plans can also differ in how your data is handled, so look at the privacy options for your plan too.

There is one more split. Some providers sell a subscription for their app and, separately, access for developers through an API, a way for other software to send requests to a model directly. At some providers these are billed separately, so paying for one does not give you the other. Confirm these details on the provider's official pages, not by asking the AI.

Example

Two colleagues say they "use the same AI" but get different results from the same request:

Summarise the attached 20-page report in one page and add a chart of
the monthly figures.

One gets a summary and a chart. The other gets a shorter summary and a note that it cannot create charts. When they compare their accounts, they find:

• They use the same product, but one is on a free plan and one is on a paid plan.
• In their case, the paid plan accepts longer files and includes a chart feature.
• The model menu in each account shows different options.

The product was the same, but the model and the plan were not. Now they note all three when they share results.

Practice now

1. Open the AI tool you use most, or one you want to try.
2. Write down the product name as shown in the app or on the website.
3. Look for a model name or version. It may be in a menu, a settings page or the help pages. Write down what you find, or "not shown".
4. Find your plan name on your account or billing page.
5. Open the provider's own pricing or plans page and note one feature your plan does not include.

At the end you should have three lines, for product, model and plan, plus one note about a limit of your plan. If you want to see other products side by side, browse the tool library or the comparison pages.

Copy this template

I am using [product name] on the [plan name] plan.
I want to use it for [task].

1. Which kinds of features would this task need (for example: file
   upload, web search, long documents, image creation)?
2. Which questions should I check on the provider's own pricing or
   help pages before I rely on it?

Do not guess what my plan includes. If you are not sure about
something, say so.

Asking AI to flag uncertainty does not make its answer correct. Keep checking the parts that matter.

Check the output

• Did it list features by type, rather than claim to know what your plan includes?
• Did it say where it was unsure, instead of stating limits as fact?
• Can you confirm each feature on the provider's own pricing or help page?
• Is the page you checked current? Plans and models change, so look for a date.
• If you are comparing tools, did you note the product, model and plan for each one?

Common mistakes

• Treating the product and the model as the same thing. Results can change when the model changes, even if the app looks the same. Note the model name when you save a result you liked.
• Trusting the AI about its own plan or price. A model may not know its own version or what your account includes. Check the provider's official pages.
• Paying for an app and expecting developer access. At some providers the app subscription and API billing are separate. Read the pricing page for each before you pay.
• Comparing tools without noting plans. A free plan against a paid plan is not a fair test. Note the plan for each tool, or use Help me choose to narrow down options first.