A citation is a starting point.
Choose a document tool by the source trail you need, as well as the answer it can write.
There are two different first jobs in research: finding useful sources and making sense of a defined collection. A web research tool can help with the first. A notebook grounded in documents you supply can help with the second. Decide which job you have before comparing features.
Google’s NotebookLM source describes answers grounded in uploaded material and citations that lead back to it. For a project brief, the useful question is whether you can trace a statement to the right requirement or meeting note. A polished answer is less helpful if the supporting material is an obsolete specification.
Build a source check into the choice.
Make a small source set for the actual task. Label document dates and versions. Ask one question whose answer you already know, then inspect the cited passage in context. Next ask about a conflict between documents and see whether the tool preserves the uncertainty.
This is a suggested evaluation method, rather than a test we have run. Even a precise citation cannot determine which source your project owner considers authoritative. Keep that decision with the owner and preserve the source trail in the final handoff.
Selection question: Can the next reader follow this answer back to the right version of the evidence?
Give a coding agent a reviewable task.
The unit of delegation should be a change someone can understand and verify.
Choosing coding assistance is partly a question of where work happens. An editor helps when you are exploring code while making decisions. A delegated task is different: another process prepares a change for you to review. Compare the tool’s mode with the amount of context and authority you intend to give it.
GitHub’s coding agent announcement describes assigning a task to Copilot and receiving a pull request for review. That puts a familiar review boundary around the work. The important selection question is whether your team can inspect the change, understand its consequences and verify the intended behaviour.
Write the acceptance check before the assignment.
Describe the trigger, the expected behaviour and the files or systems that are in scope. Include a check that exercises the user-visible outcome. A task such as “improve authentication” leaves too many decisions open; a specific failure with a reproduction gives the reviewer something concrete to assess.
Keep credentials and permissions deliberate. Read the whole diff, including configuration and dependency changes. Passing automated checks is useful evidence, but it does not answer every design or security question. Start with work for which the responsible maintainer can explain the result.
Selection question: Can a maintainer verify this assignment without trusting the agent’s explanation of its own work?
Read the terms behind the image.
A visual workflow needs a rights check alongside a design review.
An image tool can produce a useful direction before it produces a finished asset. Separate those two uses when choosing. A concept for an internal discussion and an image destined for a public campaign carry different questions about permissions, quality and the intended audience.
Adobe’s Firefly FAQ generally permits commercial use of generated output, with exceptions possible for particular beta features. Its generative AI guidelines also require respect for third-party rights. Check the current feature, model and terms you are actually using rather than applying one product statement to every available workflow.
Review the output as an asset.
Compare the result with the brief. Check typography, recognisable people, brands and details that could imply a factual event. Consider where the asset will appear and whether a viewer could mistake it for a photograph of something that happened.
Keep the origin and editing history with the file. Confirm your rights to any supplied source image and the intended publication use. If a permission question remains unresolved, choose a different asset or obtain the permission before publication. A visually convincing result does not settle that question.
Selection question: Can you explain both why this asset fits the brief and why its intended use is permitted?