What AI Is Everyone Using? Conversations at Hackathons and Workshops

Ever since I started attending AI hackathons and other AI-related events, I've had more opportunities to talk with people about the AI tools they use.

ChatGPT, Claude Code, Gemini, NotebookLM.

Different people use different tools, and they use them in different ways.

And there's something else I'm curious about: money.

Which AI tools are people actually paying for?

And when do they decide it's time to move from a free plan to a paid one?

I actually enjoy conversations like these. Whenever I attend hackathons or workshops, I sometimes end up chatting with people about how they use AI.

So I thought I'd share a few things I've found interesting.

Just to be clear, this isn't a formal survey. These are simply my impressions from conversations I've had and things I've overheard at events.

At My First Hackathon, Claude Code Seemed to Be Everywhere

One of the things that stood out to me at my very first AI hackathon was how many people seemed to be using Claude Code.

I kept hearing its name in conversations around me, and some of the people I spoke with were using it too.

It was also a time when new AI tools were getting a lot of attention.

I remember hearing someone say something along the lines of, "I'm only using this one from now on!"

Wow, they must really love it!

At the time, even building an app with AI still felt pretty new and exciting to me. So I was genuinely curious about which tools everyone else was choosing.

Of course, this was just what I happened to notice around me that day.

It doesn't mean Claude Code was the most popular tool among hackathon participants in general.

A Participant from France Had Exactly the Same AI Subscriptions as Me!

Later, at my third hackathon, an AI Film Hackathon, I worked in a team of four.

Interestingly, all four of us used ChatGPT.

At one point, I started talking with the teammate sitting next to me about our AI subscriptions.

He was visiting Japan from France and had decided to join a hackathon during his trip.

It turned out that he was using ChatGPT Plus and one of Claude's lower-priced paid plans.

Wait, that's exactly what I'm using!

We ended up talking about how we had the same combination of AI subscriptions.

We were from different countries and had different everyday lives, but we'd chosen the same AI tools.

I thought that was pretty funny.

I've also met people who use both ChatGPT and Gemini, and someone who said they no longer use ChatGPT at all because they ask Gemini everything.

Others really like NotebookLM.

Everyone has their own preferences!

Someone Switched AI Subscriptions Because They Wanted to Use Canva More

There's another conversation that really stuck with me.

I met someone who uses Canva a lot.

Originally, they were paying for both ChatGPT and Claude Code, using relatively inexpensive paid plans for each.

But they wanted to do much more with Canva connected to ChatGPT.

So they decided to cancel their paid Claude Code subscription and upgrade to a higher-tier ChatGPT plan instead.

Oh, I see!

That made me think.

For this person, getting more out of Canva and ChatGPT had become more important than continuing to pay for Claude Code.

It wasn't simply a question of which AI was the most powerful.

They changed where they spent their money based on what they wanted to do most.

I hadn't really thought about AI subscriptions that way before.

Some People Use AI for Work. Others Use It to Create Images and Videos.

I've also talked with people who spend a lot of time making images and illustrations.

One person was using ChatGPT to create characters.

I tend to use AI mostly for improving my work processes and building apps.

But other people are more focused on making images, characters, videos, or designs.

Sometimes, hearing about their work makes me wonder whether there are two broad directions in how people use AI.

One is using AI to make work and everyday tasks more efficient.

The other is using AI to create and express things visually.

But then another thought occurred to me.

Wait, what about people who build websites and landing pages? Which group do they belong to?

Web design is often part of someone's business, but it's also creative work.

You might use AI to write copy, plan a website, generate images, design a layout, or write code.

It involves both sides.

And actually, I started out making more business-related apps, but now I'm also building blogs and websites.

So maybe it's not that easy to divide AI users into two neat groups after all.

Still, I do feel that the things people want to do most influence which AI tools and features they need.

That's why I've started finding it just as interesting to ask people what they're creating as to ask which AI they're using.

Some People Are Perfectly Happy with Free ChatGPT

On the other hand, some people don't pay for AI at all.

Sometimes, when I'm talking about ChatGPT, the other person assumes I'm using the free version too.

Then I explain, "Actually, I'm on the Plus plan, and I use Codex as well."

But for some people, the free version is perfectly enough.

There are people who simply don't feel the need to pay a monthly subscription for AI.

Sometimes I even get the impression that there might be more people like that around me.

But again, that's just my personal impression. I haven't researched the actual percentages of free and paid AI users.

And I don't think using a paid plan automatically makes someone an advanced user, or using a free plan makes someone a beginner.

Personally, I switch between ChatGPT, Claude Code, and Gemini depending on what I'm working on.

I've even run into usage limits and considered upgrading my plans so I could keep working.

So I can understand why people start thinking differently about subscriptions as they use AI more often.

So Which AI Is the Best?

After all these conversations, my curiosity has started to change a little.

At first, I just wanted to know, "Which AI is everyone using?"

But now, there's something I find even more interesting.

What does that person want to do, and why did they choose that AI?

Someone wants to build apps.

Someone wants to make everyday work more efficient.

Someone wants to create images or videos.

Someone wants to design websites and landing pages.

Someone wants to use AI alongside Canva.

And someone else is happy using a free plan to ask an occasional question.

Even when people use the same AI, their goals can be completely different.

So how could there be one "best AI" for everyone?

If you're just starting to use AI, I don't think you need to choose the same tool or paid plan as the people around you.

You can start with a free version.

As you discover what you want to do, and which tasks you want to spend more time on, you can decide which tools and plans make sense for you.

I'm still experimenting with different tools myself.

And AI services and features keep changing, so I may not be using the same combination forever.

But every time I talk with someone at a hackathon or workshop, I discover a way of using AI that I hadn't thought of before.

What's becoming more interesting to me isn't just which AI people use. It's what they want to do with it.

And that's something I'd love to keep asking people about.