STOP GUESSING WHICH AI MODEL TO USE

The AI Model Cheat Sheet by Trust Insights

There are hundreds of generative AI models available right now. New ones launch every week. Every vendor claims theirs is the best. You don’t have time to test them all — and picking the wrong one wastes hours of work and produces mediocre results.

The AI Model Cheat Sheet cuts through the noise. For each major media type — text, code, video, images, audio, and agentic coworking — we recommend a first choice, a second choice, and the best open-weights alternative. No hype. No affiliate links. Just what works right now, tested by practitioners.

WHAT MODELS & TOOLS TO USE FOR CREATION

Last updated April 2, 2026

Media Type	First Choice	Second Choice	Open Weights
Text	Claude Sonnet 4.6	Gemini 3.1 Pro	GLM 5
Coding & Interactives	Claude Opus 4.6	Claude Sonnet 4.6	Minimax M2.7
Video	Google Veo 3.1	Seedance 2.0	LTX-2.3 Pro
Images	Google Nano Banana 2	ChatGPT Image	Flux 2 Dev
Audio (Text to Speech)	Eleven Labs	Google TTS	Voxtral TTS
Audio (Music)	Suno	Mureka V9	n/a
Audio (Speech Recognition)	NVIDIA Parakeet TDT v2	Cohere Transcribe	NVIDIA Parakeet TDT v2
Agentic Coworking	Claude Cowork	OpenWork	OpenWork

HOW TO USE THIS CHEAT SHEET

FIRST CHOICE

The model or tool that currently produces the best results in its category based on our testing. Start here unless you have a specific reason not to.

SECOND CHOICE

A strong alternative if the first choice doesn’t fit your workflow, budget, or use case. In many categories the gap between first and second is small.

OPEN WEIGHTS

The best open-weights model you can run on your own infrastructure or through third-party hosting. Choose this when data privacy, cost control, or customization matter most.

GO DEEPER

Download the AI Model Cheat Sheet as a PDF. Print it. Pin it to your wall. Share it with your team.

The AI Model Cheat Sheet

Our current top picks for every major media type — first choice, second choice, and open weights. Updated April 2, 2026.

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STAY UP TO DATE

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Got questions about which AI tools are right for your team? Get in touch — we’re happy to help.