Every AI tool looks incredible in its launch video and mediocre in your actual work. I stopped falling for demos with a thirty minute test. First, I bring my own messiest real input, not the clean sample they suggest. Second, I push it until it breaks, because knowing the failure mode matters more than the happy path. Third, I check what happens to my data and whether I can export what it produces. Most tools fail step one. The ones that survive my ugliest input are the ones worth a real trial. Demos are marketing. Your worst real task is the only benchmark that counts.