AI tools, curated
The AI tools worth knowing, organized by what they do — with plain-language verdicts.
All tools
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is the commercially-safe AI image generator — trained on licensed content with IP indemnification for businesses. What it does and costs.
AI image generation · Free tier + credits
ChatGPT
What ChatGPT is, what the free vs paid plans actually get you, and the everyday tasks it is genuinely good at — an honest plain-language review.
AI chatbot / assistant · Free + paid tiers
Claude
Claude is Anthropic's AI assistant — known for careful writing, long-document analysis and safety. What it does, limits and pricing in plain words.
AI chatbot / assistant · Free + paid tiers
ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs is the leading AI voice platform — text-to-speech, voice cloning and dubbing. What it does, pricing and the ethics lines to respect.
AI voice / text-to-speech · Free tier + subscription
Gemini
Gemini is Google's AI assistant — built into Gmail, Docs and Android. What it is good at, what it costs, and when it beats ChatGPT or Claude.
AI chatbot / assistant · Free + paid tiers
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is the AI pair-programmer inside your editor — what it does well, what it costs, and how it changes learning to code.
AI coding assistant · Free tier + subscription (free for students/teachers)
Grammarly
Grammarly evolved from spell-checker to AI writing assistant — what it does now, what it costs, and where its suggestions still need a human.
AI writing assistant · Free tier + subscription
Midjourney
Midjourney is the AI image generator known for stunning, artistic results — what it does, how much it costs, and when it beats the alternatives.
AI image generation · Paid only (from $10/mo)
Notion AI
Notion AI adds writing, summarizing and Q&A across your workspace notes — what it does, pricing, and whether it beats a separate chatbot.
AI productivity / workspace assistant · Paid add-on (per user)
Perplexity
Perplexity is an AI answer engine that searches the web and answers with cited sources — what it is for, and when to pick it over ChatGPT or Google.
AI search / answer engine · Free + paid tier