Go-To AI Tools (April - 2025)

1. Large language models

These are the chatbots and LLMs I turn to.

2. images

(This section has the biggest shake-up, with many models removed and replaced)

  • Free:
  • Imagen 3 (via Google Labs) a prompt-adherent model that creates high-quality images at no cost.
  • Ideogram 3.0 handles complex prompts and accurately renders longer text sequences inside images. You get 10 generations (40 images) for free every week.
  • Paid:
  • GPT-4o native image generation can render entire pages of text inside an image, handles consistent styles and characters, and more. (Included with ChatGPT Plus.)
  • Midjourney V7 great for exploring different styles, developing a personalized aesthetic, and creating realistic photographic images.

3. video

text-to-video and image-to-video options.

  • Free:
  • Kling 1.6 for text-to-video.
  • Hailuo AI for image-to-video.
  • Wan 2.1 currently the best open-source video model. wan.video gives you free daily credits.
  • Paid:
  • Krea has a fun real-time image editor for iterative experimentation.
  • Runway Gen-4 has dozens of robust tools to work professionally with the resulting video clips.
  • Veo 2 (Google) it’s also expensive at around $0.50 per 1 second of video

4. Research

  • Free:
  • NotebookLM is completely free
  • Learn About Google product that complements NotebookLM nicely.
  • Perplexity its “Pro” search is a good midway point between simple web browsing and the thorough but time-intensive.
  • Paid:
  • Google Deep Research (with Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental)

5. Productivity

  • Free:
  • Napkin [NEW] can automatically turn walls of text into catchy visuals like diagrams, infographics, etc.
  • Paid:
  • Genspark Super Agent [NEW]: You get 200 free monthly credits to try it, but you’ll likely need the paid plan for bigger tasks.

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