AI RADAR

NAVIGATING THE AI MAZE

Which Model, Version & Effort Setting for Which Work?

Every AI company (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, ByteDance, Figma) has multiple models with different versions and "Reasoning Effort / Thinking" toggles. Here is how to pick the exact right combination for Chat, Cowork, Code, and Design.

Instant Mode & Effort Selector

Pick what you need to accomplish right now to see the exact recommended model, version, and effort slider setting.

Recommended Setup:

Claude 3.7 Sonnet (Thinking) or o3-mini (High)

Tool/Platform: Cursor AI / Windsurf or Claude 3.7

⚙️ Reasoning: HIGH / EXTENDED

15 - 45 seconds

For complex bugs or multi-file architecture, high thinking effort lets the model mentally run test cases and catch subtle race conditions.

The 4 Work Modes Deep Dive

Click each mode to see the sweet-spot models and when to adjust reasoning effort.

Target Mode:

💻 Code Mode (Development, Architecture & Debugging)

For engineering and building software. Accuracy, contextual code understanding, and edge-case reasoning are mandatory. A single logic bug costs hours.

SWEET SPOT SETTING

Reasoning Effort: HIGH for tough bugs & architecture; NONE/LOW for quick boilerplate

Cursor AI / Windsurf

Claude 3.7 Sonnet (Thinking) + o3-mini (High)

⚙️ High for Agent tasks / Medium for edits

Why choose this: The benchmark editor worldwide: reads your whole repo, executes terminal commands, and fixes its own mistakes autonomously.

Avoid: Using older GPT-3.5 or basic models inside Cursor—you will waste time manually correcting syntax.

OpenAI o3-mini

o3-mini (Reasoning Effort: High)

⚙️ High Effort

Why choose this: World-leading score on mathematical coding benchmarks, competitive programming, and complex algorithm optimization at tiny cost.

Avoid: Do not use for UI visual styling or design mockups (it has no visual renderer).

Claude 3.7 Sonnet (Hybrid)

Claude 3.7 Sonnet

⚙️ Thinking ON (8K - 32K budget)

Why choose this: The first hybrid model that can act as a lightning-fast pair programmer or pause to simulate entire software execution graphs in its mind.

Avoid: Avoid passing 0-effort for complex multi-threaded concurrency bugs.

Cheat Sheet: How to Decode Any Model Name & Version

AI companies use confusing suffixes. Here is the universal translation key.

✓ When to pick:

✕ When to skip:

✓ When to pick:

✕ When to skip:

✓ When to pick:

✕ When to skip:

✓ When to pick:

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Company Model Hierarchies & Dropdowns

What is inside the model selector of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, ByteDance, Figma, and Midjourney.

Anthropic

Current Flagship: Claude 3.7 Sonnet (Hybrid)

Claude 3.7 Sonnet v3.7 (Hybrid Architecture) LATEST

Fast in Standard mode; deliberate in Thinking mode

World #1 Coding & Nuanced Reasoning

Reasoning / Effort Setting: Unique Hybrid Toggle: Standard Mode (Instant) OR Extended Thinking ON (Adjustable budget from 1K to 64K tokens)

Best Used For: Full-stack software engineering, architecture, nuanced long-form essays, zero-hallucination analysis.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet v3.5

Fast, Moderate cost

Legacy Coding & Writing Champion

Reasoning / Effort Setting: Fixed standard generation

Best Used For: General professional workflows where 3.7 is not yet deployed.

Claude 3.5 Haiku v3.5 Haiku LATEST

Blazing fast, Low cost

Ultra-fast Lightweight Specialist

Reasoning / Effort Setting: Instantaneous response

Best Used For: Customer support, code autocomplete, quick summaries, lightweight agents.