Survey reveals you want one simple thing from AI, and it’s not more bells and whistles

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It doesn’t feel that long ago that we first fired up ChatGPT, only to be wowed by how it could respond and answer queries as if it were semi-sentient. But such is the pace of the industry, it’s hard to keep up with all the functionality of each AI tool in 2026. They feel like productivity octopuses now, with tentacles in every app and more integrations and features than you can shake a stick at. Workflows like Gemini Notebooks and apps like NotebookLM are two good examples of how quickly Gemini has evolved. We wanted to know whether all that extra functionality really matters to you, or whether you’d rather the likes of Google and OpenAI should just focus on making sure AI can give you the best possible answers.

We put the question to you in a poll after my colleague Karandeep made the case that Gemini Notebooks — especially with NotebookLM in the mix — had made him rethink ChatGPT . His argument was about what could win him over when choosing an AI tool, specifically about Google giving Gemini a more useful workflow with things like Notebooks and custom sources. That’s his personal take, but we all have our own view of how AI tools could up their game. Here’s how you voted.

As the chart shows, the result is pretty decisive. From over 2,000 votes, 53% of readers said better answers matter most to them in an AI tool. Integrations like NotebookLM came next with 22%, followed by organized workflow at 17%. Only 8% said they just use whatever is easiest. To be fair, most people who just don’t want to think much about AI probably weren’t reading Karendeep’s article.

That doesn’t mean Google and its competitors are wasting their time by building out their AI tools this way. If we combine the workflow and integration votes, almost four in ten respondents are interested in the kind of broader productivity setups that Gemini and others offer. It’s just that most readers still seem to see that as the nice-to-have part, whereas accuracy of answers is more of a dealbreaker.

A handful of you jumped into the comments section of Karendeep’s article, and it turned into a debate over which AI tool is doing the best job. Chris Joseph wasn’t sold on Gemini, writing, “As chatbots go, Gemini is the most frustrating to work with. NotebookLM is its only saving grace IMO.” Phillip Warner agreed, saying, “I keep giving Gemini a chance, and it’s just not good.” On the other side, Markthomasbernhardt pointed to a useful workflow, noting that you can put a Google Deep Research paper into NotebookLM as a guidance document.

Crazy Zaza probably summed up the AI race best: “In a week, GPT 5.6 will make you rethink Gemini. It will never end.” Zaza may be crazy, but they make a fair point — like it or not, it seems this is our life now.

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