In 2026, generative AI is no longer a topic for the future – it is part of everyday work, from drafting emails to research and data analysis. I put together a guide that shows how to use AI assistants productively, choose the right tool for the job, and stay on top of data protection and due diligence. It is deliberately vendor-neutral: the strengths and weaknesses of the major tools are named openly, risks are not glossed over, and data protection is not an afterthought but a central chapter.
What’s inside
The guide is aimed at professionals and managers who want to use AI at work or roll it out across a team – no deep technical background required. In compact form it first explains how generative AI actually works: language models, context windows, reasoning models and why hallucinations remain the central risk. It then honestly lays out what the assistants can do today – and where their limits are.
The core is a practical comparison of the 2026 tool landscape: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, DeepSeek and Proton Lumo, each with its particular characteristics, data-protection caveats and a clear “which tool for what?” decision aid. On top of that come modern prompt-engineering techniques, a thorough chapter on data protection, GDPR and governance, and a curated prompt library for typical tasks across writing, research, sales, support, project management and data analysis. A quick-start checklist rounds it off.
One guiding principle runs through the whole text: AI complements human abilities, it does not replace them. Responsibility for the result always stays with the person using it.
Download
The full guide (16 pages, as of June 2026) is available here as a PDF: AI Assistants at Work – The Practical Guide (2026).
Model names and features evolve quickly – please verify critical details before making important decisions.