I noticed that playing in column 2 will drop our piece to row4 (since row5 in col2 is already filled with X), giving us three consecutive O’s horizontally on row4 (columns 2, 3, and 4). This setup not only builds towards a potential win on the next move but also contributes to future opportunities while not opening any easy win for our opponent. Therefore, I choose to drop our piece in column 2.