How I Use AI Tools Personally
Rather than offering a general introduction about myself (as I did last year), I believe sharing how I practically and pragmatically use AI tools provides a better window into my enthusiasm and approach. This article serves as both a personal benchmark and a more authentic way to showcase my AI preferences (including my taste!).
What's New in October 2025
The way I use AI has dramatically evolved over the past few months. Thanks to CLI (Command Line Interface) tools like Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and especially OpenAI Codex CLI, AI has become more powerful than ever.
After image generation, we finally have usable video generation tools thanks to Sora 2 and Veo 3/3.1.
While tools are rapidly developing, the fundamental principle remains unchanged: The most practical way to use AI is to allow it to help you do things effectively in new ways.
My Current AI Toolkit
Main Tools I Use
OpenAI Codex CLI
GPT-5-Codex is the real GPT-5!
Most powerful CLI tool. Direct file access, automatic context management, multi-hour workflows.
Gemini CLI
Google's CLI powerhouse
Excellent for long-form content. Run alongside Codex for cross-validation.
Claude Code
Anthropic's agentic CLI partner
Great for delivering visually stunning content and solving problems other models can’t.
Cursor
AI‑powered IDE & CLI
I use it as an IDE to view code and experiment with different models, including Claude Sonnet.
Other Tools
ChatGPT
Versatile AI assistant for conversation, coding, and creative tasks
AI Studio
Google's platform for prototyping with generative AI models
Gemini
Google's advanced multimodal AI for complex reasoning
Grok
X's AI with real-time information and unique personality
Claude
Anthropic's AI assistant known for thoughtful responses
Perplexity & Comet
AI-powered search engine with agentic browser
Lovable
Build full-stack web apps from your ideas
v0
Your always-on pair-programmer
Sora
OpenAI's text-to-video generation model
Use Cases: CLI for non-coding work
The very first domain where AI can truly deliver economical benefits is coding. Even if you don't know how to code, AI can do things for you. As long as a task can be finished by coding, you can try it.
Analyzing and Producing Documents
Leverage CLI tools for seamless local file analysis and automated document generation
By using CLI tools, you can allow AI to analyze local folders directly - no more uploading files! These tools provide automatic context management, allowing AI to work continuously for several hours.
Place all your documents and papers in a folder to provide AI as context. For some assignments, it can produce work directly with the best performance.
You need to know what you're doing and always validate the results
How I Use It
I used Codex CLI to analyze the papers I collected and improve my draft.
Run multiple CLI tools at the same time and allow them to evaluate each other's outcomes for the best results.
Building Slide Decks
Transform documents into beautiful presentations with AI-powered slide generation
Once you have the document, for some assignments, you need to present. Nevermind, now, you have powerful tools to do things for you. You can send the documents to allow AI to generate the slide deck for you.
I unlocked this ability 7 months ago after Claude Sonnet 3.7 released. At that time, the final output was still an HTML file since it generated a website. This September, I found a way to turn the HTML file into an exact 16:9 PDF file. So, I built this new product. Welcome to have a try!
JoeSlides Showcase
JoeSlides
AI-Powered Document to Presentation Converter - Transform your documents into professional 16:9 PDF presentations instantly!
Try JoeSlides NowLearn More: You can also try this feature in different AI tools. I shared this in the Cursor Ottawa Meetup this July.
AI-Powered Slide Creation - Cursor Meetup Ottawa v2💡 So, next time when you need a slide deck, try using AI tools rather than PowerPoint.
Direct AI slide generation lacks output control. Instead, use code to generate slides and edit HTML rather than PowerPoint—even powerful AI tools like Claude Code struggle with PPT editing.
Screening Papers
Accelerate your literature review with AI-powered paper screening and analysis
I'm researching AI for better English speaking and collected over 1,000 papers. For title/abstract screening, I used Codex CLI to build a custom tool.
For full paper screening, Codex CLI analyzes local PDFs directly and updates results in CSV files.
This opens a new way to speed up the literature review process.
Literature Screening Assistant in Action
This tool quickly helped me screen 1371 papers and found 189 includes and 21 maybes.
Try My Tool
An intelligent assistant that helps you screen thousands of papers efficiently with AI-powered analysis.
Open Literature Screening AssistantLLMs can't access PDFs directly. Convert to markdown (.md) first. For tables, use .csv format - LLMs prefer these formats.
Generate Diagrams
Create professional diagrams instantly with AI-powered SVG generation
In my research, I need several diagrams. In the past, I opened Figma to draw them manually. Now, I tell AI what I want and it generates Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files using coding abilities.
Then, it converts SVG to PNG/JPEG for immediate use. No more manual diagramming!
Example: PRISMA Flow Diagram
AI-generated PRISMA flow diagram showing systematic review process for 17 papers.
Code-Based Generation
AI writes SVG code to create precise, scalable diagrams
Auto-Conversion
Instantly converts to PNG/JPEG for publications
Say goodbye to hours spent in Figma—let AI handle the diagram creation!
Be specific about diagram requirements—mention exact dimensions, colors, labels, and layout. The more detailed your prompt, the better the AI-generated result!
Personal Website
Build a fully customized website to showcase your portfolio with complete control
You can finally have a fully customized website to showcase portfolios. Previously, I used Notion. This year, I used AI tools to build my new personal website with full control!
If you don't have a use case yet, at least you can build your own website! It's a perfect project to learn how AI tools can help you create something meaningful.
Building Prototypes for Yourself
The Most Exciting Use Case in 2025
Even if you don't know how to code, you can build things for yourself. As mentioned above, I built my literature screening tool because existing tools didn't meet my needs.
If you have a clear idea of what you want, try these tools and build one for yourself. For example, I'm exploring English speaking and building several tools I can use. It's way better than just describing in text.
While you might experience several issues, you'll at least have the experience and learn what to do next.
It's an incredible year for me to code!
You can see the progression in my GitHub commits — from a few scattered commits to consistent daily contributions:
Recommended Reading for Vibe Coding
Video Generation
Finally Usable!
With Sora 2, you can use your own face to generate videos you want. Check out my video where the entire content was generated by Sora 2.
With the Sora 2 API, you can generate and edit whole videos in just a few minutes. The only issue for me was my imagination 😂 (or what I wanted).
You can also use Google Veo 3.1 and Grok to generate videos.
My Sora 2 Video
"Traveled The Anime Multiverse Using Sora 2!" - Entire video generated by Sora 2
My "Jagged AGI Moments"
in 2025
I believe I will experience more in the future!
February
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Deep Research (By OpenAI)
March
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Visualization (By Claude Sonnet 3.7)
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Image Generation (By 4o Image Generation)
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Vibe Coding (By Cursor with Sonnet 3.7)
May
-
Claude Code (By Anthropic)
September
-
gpt-5-codex (By OpenAI)
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Sora 2 (By OpenAI)
What Services I Subscribe To
I Pay For It
ChatGPT Plus
The only product I subscribe. $20 is the most value product with Codex CLI
Openrouter
Access most models through API
OpenAI API
To use voice models by API
Benefits I Get
Claude API
Thanks to Anthropic's benefit. I'd like to subscribe Claude after consuming the credit.
Cursor Pro
1-year free for students → Get it here
Gemini Pro
15 months free for students → Get it here
Perplexity Pro
1-year free for students → Get it here
That's all for October 2025's update.
It's not even the end of 2025! We at least get another model development in 2025.
It's time to build! 🚀
I'm excited to see what's ahead.