Quiz · The 3-second triage

Tool, toy, or trash?

This triage is here to find the AI worth keeping — and clear out what’s quietly costing you. Every AI thing in front of you is one of three things. A tool made your life measurably better — you could justify, out loud, that using it beats not using it. A toy is fun — and toys are allowed to exist. Trash wears the costume of a tool: it produces something, it looks busy, and it takes more than it gives. The market prices all three the same and demos them the same. And the buckets aren’t permanent — the same technology can be a toy this year and a tool next year — so this is a verdict on this thing, for you, right now.

Eight questions, about two minutes, on one specific thing you’re using or paying for. One rule: answer from what actually happened — last week, the last three outputs, the real bill — not from what it’s supposed to do. The gap between those two answers is usually the verdict.

You’ll leave with the call, the specific tells that produced it, what it’s costing you per year, and the one move that follows.

Run the triage

Setup

What are we triaging?

Name it — the app, the workflow, the subscription.

Question 1 · The bill

All-in, what does this thing cost per month — subscription, usage, tokens, the consultant's retainer, all of it?

/month

or pick a range

Question 2 · The last-time test

Without checking anything: name the last specific time this thing's output got used for something real.

Question 3 · The silent-break test

this thing quietly breaks on a Tuesday. When do you find out?

Question 4 · The net week

Honest ledger for a normal week — running it, fixing its output, thinking about it, versus what it hands back:

Question 5 · The last three outputs

Replay the last three things this thing actually produced. What happened to them?

Question 6 · The "then what" test

When this thing produces something, where does it land next?

Question 7 · The 10x test

If this thing got ten times better overnight, what actually changes for you?

Question 8 · The quit test

If you shut this thing down today, what would you actually lose?

Answer the bill and all seven questions to see your verdict.

Questions about this quiz

Is the Tool/Toy/Trash quiz free and private?

Yes. It is completely free, needs no sign-up, and runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored.

What do Tool, Toy, and Trash mean?

A tool made your life measurably better — you could justify out loud that using it beats not using it. A toy is fun, and toys are allowed to exist; the mistake is wiring one into your business and calling it a strategy. Trash wears the costume of a tool — it produces something and looks busy, but it takes more than it gives. The same technology can be a toy this year and a tool next year, so it is a verdict on this thing, for you, right now.

How does it reach a verdict?

Each of the eight questions carries a hidden weight toward tool, toy, or trash; the verdict is the strongest signal. It applies fixed, transparent rules — the same answers always give the same verdict, with no AI call and no randomness. You also get the specific tells from your own answers, what it is costing you per year, and the one move that follows.

Why does it ask what actually happened instead of what the tool is for?

Because impressions inflate and records do not. The questions ask about the last three outputs, the last nameable use, and the real monthly bill — what happened, not what is supposed to happen. The gap between those two answers is usually the verdict.

Where does the framework come from?

Tool / Toy / Trash is the fastest lens in Before You Build. This is the finalized instrument from that chapter.

Glossary

Guides

More tools

The fastest lens in Before You Build. Learn more →