1. KnowFi: practice questions with your notes
Instead of copying questions into a chat, you press a shortcut in KnowFi. The practice question is recognised on screen, and the answer appears in the Mac menu bar with reasoning from your own notes.
Good for: the practice phase, when answers should match your lecture. Less good for: open conversations about a topic. More in KnowFi vs. ChatGPT.
2. Claude: calm, thorough explanations
Anthropic's Claude is a chat assistant that handles long documents well and explains in depth.
Good for: discussing long notes. Less good for: quick practice without switching windows.
| KnowFi | Claude | Gemini | NotebookLM | Perplexity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | Practising with your notes | Long documents | Google services | Working through your sources | Research |
| Asking a question | Shortcut from the screen | Typing | Typing | Typing | Typing |
| Source of the answer | Your local notes | Model and uploads | Model and Google services | Your sources | Web |
As of November 2026. Details about other providers without guarantee; please check features and prices with each provider.
3. Gemini: closely tied to Google
Google's assistant works well with Google services such as Docs and Drive.
Good for: anyone whose material lives in Google Drive. Less good for: local files on the Mac.
4. NotebookLM: answers only from your sources
Also from Google, but limited to your own sources, with references to the relevant passages.
Good for: working through and summarising material. Less good for: questions right while you practise. More in KnowFi vs. NotebookLM.
5. Perplexity: research with citations
Answers with sources from the web, good for background and essays.
Good for: research. Less good for: explanations based on your notes.
In short
For conversations about the material, Claude and Gemini are real alternatives to ChatGPT. But if you actually want to work through practice questions, KnowFi is the shorter route: no copying, no chat window, reasoning from your notes. What to watch out for when studying with AI is in the guide Studying with AI.
Updated 11 November 2026