I've been using Claude as my primary AI tool for almost two years now. It understands what I mean, writes decent code, and doesn't make me want to throw my laptop out the window. That hasn't changed.
But something shifted in December 2025. Google released Gemini 3 Flash, and suddenly AI Studio went from "that thing I check occasionally" to "permanently pinned in my browser."
Here's the thing: I'm not switching to Gemini. I'm using both. For different stuff. And that's actually the point.
What Gemini 3 Flash Actually Does Well
Gemini can process up to 1 million tokens in a single prompt. For context, that's roughly 750,000 words. Most novels are 80,000 words. You could dump 9 novels into a single conversation and ask questions about all of them.
That sounds ridiculous until you need it. Last week I uploaded 47 PDF manuals for a contractor client who needed to answer permit questions quickly. "What's the setback requirement for Zone C-2 in unincorporated areas?" Gemini found it in seconds across 2,000 pages of documentation.
Try that with Claude's 200K context window. You can't. The math doesn't work. (If you're curious about Claude specifically, I wrote about the latest Claude Sonnet 4.5 release recently.)
For summarizing long documents, research synthesis, and finding needles in haystacks of text - Gemini 3 Flash is genuinely better. Not marketing "better." Actually better.
Where Claude Still Wins (And It's Not Close)
So why do I still use Claude for most of my work?
Code.
On coding benchmarks, Claude Sonnet scores 67% compared to Gemini Flash's 50%. That's not a rounding error. In practice, Claude writes code that works the first time more often. It understands project structure better. It catches edge cases I forget about.
Multiple independent analyses confirm Gemini underperforms Claude on coding tasks. Despite all the benchmark hype Google publishes, real-world code generation is still... meh.
When I'm building client websites, writing automation scripts, or debugging something weird at 11pm - Claude. Every time. It just gets what I'm trying to do faster.
But when I need to process a 300-page contract or summarize a year's worth of meeting notes? Gemini. The tools serve different purposes.
The Build Tab Changed Everything
Here's what actually converted me from "occasional user" to "daily driver."
AI Studio's Build mode lets you describe an app idea in plain English and watch it generate working code. Google calls it "vibe coding," which sounds like marketing nonsense until you try it.
I described a simple invoice tracker for a client. "Create an app that lets me enter invoice numbers, amounts, and due dates, then shows me which ones are overdue." Thirty seconds later, I had working React code with a functional UI.
Is it production-ready? No. But it's a functional prototype I can show a client before writing a single line of code myself. That feedback loop used to take days. Now it takes minutes.
The whole thing is free. No credit card. No trial period. Just sign in with your Google account and start building.
The Music Thing Blew My Mind
Okay, this one's a tangent, but I have to mention it.
Google released Lyria RealTime - an AI music generation tool that creates instrumental music in real-time based on text prompts. And it's free.
You type "upbeat jazz with piano and light drums" and it just... starts playing. You can adjust the mood, tempo, instruments - all while it's playing. The music morphs in real-time.
At Google I/O 2025, Toro y Moi performed an entire set using Lyria, creating live beats on stage with AI. Watching that recording was the moment I realized this stuff had crossed from "tech demo" to "actually useful tool."
For background music in videos, podcast intros, or just messing around - it's genuinely fun. Not business-critical, but genuinely fun.
Podcasts Without Recording
Gemini 2.5 has native audio generation that can turn text into podcast-style conversations. Two AI voices discussing whatever topic you feed them.
Is it going to replace actual podcasts with real people? No. But for quickly turning a blog post into an audio summary, or creating explainer content for clients who prefer listening to reading - it's surprisingly useful.
I fed it a technical proposal last week and got back a 5-minute "conversation" explaining the key points in plain English. Sent it to the client. They actually listened to it. That never happens with written proposals.
My Actual Daily Workflow
Here's how this actually plays out:
Morning research/document review: Gemini 3 Flash. Upload whatever I need to read, ask questions, get summaries. The context window handles everything.
Code work: Claude. Building features, debugging, writing scripts. Still the best for anything that involves actual programming.
Quick prototypes for client meetings: AI Studio Build tab. Describe the idea, show the working demo, get feedback before committing to development.
Workflow automation: Gemini actually shines here. When I'm building n8n workflows, Gemini follows instructions more precisely than Claude. It's weirdly good at structured, step-by-step automation tasks.
Creative exploration: AI Studio. The music generation, audio experiments, image tools - when I need to try something weird and see what happens.
The Honest Assessment
Gemini 3 Flash isn't replacing Claude for me. The models have different strengths, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest.
Use Gemini for:
- Massive document processing (anything over 100K tokens)
- Research synthesis across many sources
- Quick app prototyping with Build mode
- Structured workflow automation
- Audio/podcast generation
- Playing with generative music (it's fun, okay?)
Use Claude for:
- Code generation and debugging
- Nuanced writing that needs to sound human
- Complex reasoning about code architecture
- Anything where "almost right" isn't good enough
The fact that AI Studio is free makes it an easy recommendation. You lose nothing by trying it. And for certain tasks - especially long-document work - it's genuinely the better tool.
Both live in my browser now. Different tabs for different jobs. That's the honest workflow of someone who actually uses this stuff daily, not someone trying to pick a winner.
If you're a small business owner trying to figure out which AI tools make sense for your specific situation - or how to automate the repetitive stuff without breaking everything - that's literally what I help people with. No pressure, just practical answers.