Thanks to the hype around ChatGPT, we’ve entered a weird new world in which generative AI tools are suddenly everywhere.
But this AI tool boom has just as quickly become a glut, with countless copycat services and ones that demand up-front payment just to see what they’re about. Trying out generative AI tools is a great way to understand their upsides and limitations—and yes, there are many limitations, despite the hype—but it can be hard to know where to start.
Here, then, is a big list of generative AI tools you can check out for free. Use them to explore new knowledge areas, sharpen your prose, summarize lengthy articles, and even come up with fresh images and sounds:
AI chat and search
– ChatGPT: Conversational AI trained on a large set of text from 2021 and earlier. Free, but costs $20 per month to speed up responses and use during peak demand.
– The new Bing: ChatGPT-based conversations and search results inside Bing. Limited beta requires joining a waitlist.
– Perplexity.ai: Ask questions and follow-ups, get direct responses with citations. Free to use with no limitations.
– YouChat: Ask questions and follow-ups, and engage in ChatGPT-style conversations. Free; sign-in required.
– NeevaAI: Get direct, AI-generated responses with citations, followed by standard search results. Free; sign-in required.
– Poe: Conversational AI from Quora that includes multiple assistants with differing strengths. Free; currently iPhone only.
AI artwork generators
– Stable Diffusion Online: Free Stable Diffusion artwork generator; no login required.
– El Pintador: Free Stable Diffusion artwork generator for iOS with a “Learn” section that provides prompt crafting advice.
– DiffusionBee: Stable Diffusion artwork generator for MacOS, works offline with no usage limits.
– Craiyon: Online artwork generator that uses the Dall-E Mini model. Removing watermarks requires a $5-per-month subscription.
– Dall-E: Create up to 15 free images per month with OpenAI’s image-generation tool.
– Nvidia Canvas: Windows software that turns brushstrokes into artwork. Requires an Nvidia RTX graphics card.
– Playform: Online app that turns sketches into artwork. Free to try, but requires paid credits to download watermark-free images.
AI content summarizers
– Eightify: Create text summaries of YouTube videos, with highlights you can click on to jump to the relevant video section. Up to three free summaries per week (on videos less than an hour and with more than 30,000 views), then pay as you go.
– Summarize.tech: Another YouTube summarizer. Less in-depth than Eightify, but with no usage limits.
– Gimme Summary: Chrome extension for summarizing web articles, seemingly works by asking ChatGPT to condense the article content. Free to use, but slow.
– SkimIt.ai: Email an article link to go@skimit.ai, get a summary in 10 minutes.
– WordTune Read: View article and PDF summaries next to the full text, with excerpts highlighted. Three free summaries per month, then $120 per year.
– OtterPilot: Feature of the Otter meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes video calls. Free for up to 30 minutes per call and 300 transcription minutes per month, then $17 per month.
AI speech-to-text transcriptions
– Whisper: Online transcription of audio files using language models from OpenAI. Free.
– Buzz: Offline version of Whisper for Windows, free unlimited use.
– MacWhisper: Offline version of Whisper for Mac. Pay what you want, or $14 for larger language models and translation.
AI audio tools
– Eleven Labs: Generate speech from text, free for up to 10,000 characters of text per month. A $5-per-month subscription lets users clone an existing voice.
– Riffusion: Generate music from text descriptions using Stable Diffusion. Free.
– Boomy: Generate music tracks by specifying the genre, instruments, and production values. Free.
– Beatoven: Create music by specifying the genre and mood. Free to use with up to 15 minutes of monthly downloads, then $20 per month.
