Is ChatGPT Making You Doubt Yourself? Why I Switched to Claude
"I was using it more and more and not necessarily feeling better for it at the end of those chats."
Have you ever finished a conversation with an AI tool and felt worse than when you started? More uncertain, more overwhelmed, more like you don't actually know what you're doing?
That's exactly what was happening to me. And it took me a while to realise it.
This is the story of why I switched from ChatGPT to Claude, and why it turned out to be about so much more than just choosing a different tool.
How Much I Was Relying on ChatGPT
I want to be honest about this, because I think a lot of people are in the same position.
I was using ChatGPT for almost everything. Podcast show notes, writing, meal planning, working through ideas for my membership. I even used it a lot over the last year to navigate some of the most difficult feelings around grief, after my dad got very poorly and we lost him.
It felt useful. Essential, even.
But around the beginning of this year, I started to notice that something wasn't quite right. My anxiety was creeping up. My stress levels were rising. And I was reaching for ChatGPT more and more, almost like I couldn't trust my own brain to figure things out without talking it through with AI first.
The Self-Doubt Spiral
I have a strong inner critic. I know that about myself. It's actually part of what makes me good at what I do, because I can look at something and tell you what needs improving. But it is not always helpful when it's pointing inwards.
What I found with ChatGPT, particularly with the more recent versions, is that it seemed to be amplifying that inner critic rather than settling it.
Here's a specific example. I was using it to analyse the content in my membership, to look at what could be improved or made more streamlined. I had a Google Doc with all of my modules in it and I imported it to get some analysis. But it wasn't able to properly read through all of the data. It would answer based on the first few lines and then, when I pushed back, it would do that thing AI can do, which is confidently tell you it's doing something when it isn't.
And then, at the end of every response, it would say something like: "I've noticed a simple fix you could make that you might have missed." And then when I followed up on that, there would be something else I'd missed. And then something else.
It put me into a spiral. Do I actually know this stuff? Can I trust my own judgement? Am I missing things that are obvious to everyone else?
I don't think ChatGPT is deliberately doing this. But a tool that keeps you second-guessing yourself, keeps you in the chat, keeps you coming back for more, that is not a tool that is working in your interest.
Stepping Back from Tech
Around the same time, I made some bigger decisions about my relationship with technology.
At the end of January I stepped back from social media. I started finding things to do that didn't involve a screen. Getting back in the garden, crochet, cross stitch. Just finding ways to have some quiet in my brain again.
And I found that stepping back from using AI quite so much, especially just for chatting things through, really helped too.
I also started to think more carefully about what these platforms are actually designed to do, and whether that aligns with what I need from them.
Why the Timing Matters: Ads Are Coming to ChatGPT
This week I heard something that felt significant. OpenAI, who make ChatGPT, are reportedly facing financial pressure because they haven't yet properly monetised the platform. And one of the things coming is paid ads.
If you have an AI tool that already seems designed to keep you engaged and coming back, and then you layer targeted advertising on top of that, using everything you've shared in your conversations to serve you ads, that feels like something worth paying attention to.
We've all bought things because of marketing that leant heavily on our emotions or our insecurities. The idea of an AI platform that knows a huge amount about us being used to do the same thing is not something I'm comfortable with.
Why I Tried Claude
I'd been hearing good things about Claude from a few different directions. Some of my Website Growth Club members had been using it for their website content and finding it really helpful. So I decided to give it a go.
I already had a free account, so I just started using it. And immediately, from my very first conversation, I noticed a difference.
That first chat was about overthinking, which felt quite fitting. And the questions it asked me, the way it responded, it just felt different. At the end of the conversation it actually encouraged me to put my phone down, step away, and call it a day.
It wasn't trying to keep me there.
I immediately could feel the difference.
What I've Noticed So Far
I want to be clear that this isn't a technical deep dive into the differences between the two platforms. I haven't explored everything Claude can do yet. I haven't set up the equivalent of the custom GPT wizards I built for my membership members in ChatGPT, though that is something I plan to do.
What I can tell you is how it feels to use it, and that matters more than I'd realised.
The responses are cleaner, without reams of padding to wade through. The questions it asks feel more considered. And it doesn't seem to be pulling me in or making me feel like I'm always missing something.
I started on the free version for about a week, and then upgraded to the paid plan because I kept running out of daily prompts. It is a similar price to ChatGPT, so once I cancelled my ChatGPT subscription it made sense to switch.
I'm still using ChatGPT for some things. But Claude is where I'm spending most of my time now.
Thinking About Switching? You Don't Have to Start from Scratch
One thing I hear from people is that they don't want to switch AI tools because they've spent so long getting their current one to understand them.
Here's the thing: you can ask your current tool to summarise your chats and your stored memories, and then bring that summary across to Claude or whichever tool you move to. You don't have to start completely from scratch.
I've actually been trying not to import too much, because I quite like the idea of starting with more of a blank slate and seeing what questions come up naturally. But the option is there if you want it.
One More Thing: Try Voice Mode
Whichever AI tool you use, I would strongly recommend trying the voice conversation feature if you haven't already.
It completely changes the experience. Rather than typing everything out, you just have a conversation. It feels far more natural and I find it much more useful than typing, particularly when I'm working through ideas or just thinking something through out loud.
If you've got the app on your phone, look for the button that lets you have a live conversation and give it a try.
Listen to the Full Episode
🎧 Listen to Episode 129: Is ChatGPT Making You Doubt Yourself? Why I Made the Switch to Claude
Episode at a Glance
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Growing anxiety with ChatGPT
03:40 Stepping back from tech
07:45 The self-critic dilemma
10:42 Discovering Claude
11:17 First impressions of Claude
14:06 OpenAI's financial troubles and ads
15:26 Making the switch
16:44 Tips for using AI tools
Mentioned Links and Resources
About Jules White
Jules White is a Website & SEO Marketing Consultant and Founder of The Website Success Hub.
She helps female business owners & entrepreneurs grow without social media - teaching them how to show up on Google, get recommended in AI search, and turn their website into their hardest working team member. So more of the right people find them, book with them, and buy from them - with intention, not constant hustle.
With over 25 years of experience as a beauty and holistic therapist and a passion for tech, Jules built her first website in 2007. That background gave her a deep understanding of the challenges small business owners face. This inspired her to create The Website Success Hub - a business dedicated to helping women use their websites to attract more of the right clients and build sustainable success.
Jules is known for breaking down tech barriers and explaining SEO and web strategy in plain language - no jargon, just clear steps. She believes social media is optional and through her signature framework, The Pathway to Website Success, helps clients make small but powerful changes that get results.
