Introduction
AI has taken off since ChatGPT came out. At first, it just felt like a more advanced autocorrect, but things have moved fast since then. Over time, I’ve developed accessible strategies for actually getting the most out of AI. In this article, I’ll cover the software I use and the strategies I rely on for effective use.
Should you pay for the big services like Gemenai, or Chat GPT?
It really depends on your use case. ChatGPT Plus and Pro offer fairly generous usage, so if you do a lot of coding, it’s worth considering a paid plan. If you want AI integration on Apple devices, or want to use Gemini on Android, a subscription might make sense. But honestly, it’s a mixed bag—only pay if you actually need the extra features.
If you’re just looking to use AI occasionally, you can get by with APIs and a small investment—$5 on OpenRouter and OpenAI would go a long way.
Why would you use other AI providers?
There are a few reasons I use alternative providers for AI’s.
NSFW and Jailbreaking: Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI really don’t want you to use their AIs for NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stories or to create NSFW content. They also don’t want you to try to jailbreak the AI to make it do things the company doesn’t approve of. For these kinds of use cases, you may want to use a third party like
OpenRouter
or from web mostly
huggingface.
I have personally been banned for this. It doesn’t happen often, but in my experience, when I contacted OpenAI, they weren’t even aware that my account had been banned. So, just use a third-party service.
Use of Different AI Models: There are over 400 models on OpenRouter or HuggingFace, so you can always find different models to try your queries on.
Non-Chat AI Implementations: There are plenty of interesting approaches to using AI. Services like Eleven labs
, Suno, Udio, and even products like RiverSide use AI to create compelling features that sets them apart.
Saving Money: If you’re not coding, you can save 60-70% by learning how to use different APIs. Even if you are coding, if you know what you’re doing or use smaller outputs, it will be cheaper overall for you.
Better Software: The software I use to access APIs is much more accessible than the official ChatGPT software, for example. You might prefer the available third-party software.
What is the software you use, and where can I go to learn more about using API’s?
When I don’t use the mainstream AI services, I usually use
BasiliskLLM
, on macOS I use
VOLlama
or
Pal Chat
I think PalChat is best on MacOS.
If you want to learn about using the API’s and get a required API key, , you can go
Here for open AI
,
here for openRouter
, and
Here for Huggingface
I’ve only used huggingface from the web myself, but they offer their own API’s if you find software that works with it.
What about other use cases?
There are official features for
using chat gpt inside of an IDE
, but I haven’t used one of those.
I have started however, using a utility called
Shell GPT
which will let you chat with the Open AI API version of chat GPT, e.g.
sgpt “hello”
sgpt –shell “update windows, and applications using powershell.”
After you run the shell version, it will display the command. You must hit E for execute, or D for description, or A to abort. Since it’s in python, it will work on MacOS, and Linux as well as windows. I was able to change the version of GPT it used from 4O to 4.1 in the config file, so I’m sure it will be updated to work with newer models.
What about on Mobile?
On Mobile I use primarily iPhone. I prefer
chat gpt
and
pal chat.
I also have
piccy bot
for describing things, and
be my eyes
Seeing AI
and
ally
if I need a backup. I think ally is good enough if you don’t want to pay for chat GPT plus, but the plus video is faster than ally is at the moment. I’m sure this will change. I don’t yet have Apple inteligence on my phone, but I don’t think it would radically change this stratigy. Sometimes I want video, or I want to do something that those programs don’t let me, so I don’t think that’s enough for me.
Conclusion
Don’t be left behind. There are plenty of accessible options for utalizing AI while saving a bit of cash. We have only scratched the surface here. I hope you learned something useful from this post and can have a little fun with AI at the same time.