AI tools, honestly reviewed

Canva AI

Design

Design anything with AI — from posts to slides.

ChatGPT

Chatbots

The all-round AI assistant for writing, ideas and answers.

Claude

Chatbots

Thoughtful AI that excels at long, careful writing.

Claude Code

Coding

An agentic coding tool that edits files and runs commands, not one that autocompletes lines.

Cursor

Coding

The AI-first code editor developers love.

ElevenLabs

Audio

Ultra-realistic AI voices and voice cloning.

Gemini Notebook

Research

Formerly NotebookLM. Renamed 16 July 2026. Answers only from the sources you give it.

GitHub Copilot

Coding

AI pair-programmer inside your code editor.

Google Gemini

Chatbots

Google’s AI, built into Gmail, Docs and Android.

Grammarly

Writing

Fix grammar, tone and clarity as you type, anywhere.

Midjourney

Image

Stunning, artistic AI images from a text prompt.

Perplexity

Research

AI search that answers with real, cited sources.

Runway

Video

Generate and edit video with AI, frame by frame.

Veo

Video

Google's video model, used through Flow. The quality leader, sold by the credit.

Adobe Firefly

Image

Commercially-safe AI images from Adobe.

Cline

Coding

An open-source coding agent that is free to install — you pay the model provider directly.

DeepSeek

Chatbots

A genuinely free AI assistant with no consumer paid tier at all.

Descript

Audio

Edit audio and podcasts by editing the text.

Devin Desktop

Coding

Formerly Windsurf. Renamed in June 2026 and rebuilt around managing coding agents.

Elicit

Research

AI research assistant for academic papers and evidence.

FLUX

Image

The image model behind other people's tools. No app, no subscription — you pay per image.

Framer AI

Design

Build a real website by describing it.

Gamma

Productivity

Generate polished slide decks from a prompt.

HeyGen

Video

AI spokesperson videos and realistic translations.

Ideogram

Image

AI images that can actually render text well.

Jasper

Writing

AI writing built for marketing teams and brands.

Kimi

Chatbots

Long-context assistant with a generous free tier — and paid plans you currently cannot buy.

Kling AI

Video

Strong AI video at a third of the price, sold through a credit system that rewards planning.

Looka

Design

Generate a brand logo and identity in minutes.

Microsoft Copilot

Chatbots

AI inside Windows, Edge and Microsoft 365.

Notion AI

Productivity

AI notes, docs and task management in one place.

Otter.ai

Productivity

Automatic meeting notes and transcripts.

QuillBot

Writing

Paraphrase, summarise and polish your writing.

Replit

Coding

Build and ship apps with an AI agent in the browser.

Suno

Audio

Generate full songs with vocals from a prompt.

Synthesia

Video

Create talking-avatar videos from plain text.

VEED.IO

Video

Online video editor with AI subtitles and avatars.

Zapier AI

Productivity

Automate your apps with AI-built workflows.