How Does AI Work? ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Cursor Compared
Quick Answer: AI works by predicting the next token in a sequence. Models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Cursor use transformer architectures to weigh context and generate output. The main differences come from context window size, training style, and tool-specific features. For writing, start with ChatGPT or Claude. For coding, use Cursor. For Google integration, pick Gemini. You ask an AI to write a paragraph. It returns coherent text in under a second. The process feels like magic. But it is not magic. It is a chain of mathematical operations. Modern AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Cursor share a core idea. They predict what token should come next. A token is a small chunk of text, often a word fragment. The model has seen billions of examples during training. It learned statistical relationships between tokens. When you write a prompt, the model converts your words into numbers. Those numbers flow through layers of neural networks. The output is a probability distribution over the next token. That is how AI works. If you want to see which tools handle this best for writing, start with our best AI writing tools 2026 list. ...