On this page
There are thousands of AI apps and most of them are wrappers. The good news: you only need a few. Here are the AI tools Zivvi users keep coming back to, grouped by the job.
General AI assistants
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is the default for a reason: it writes, explains, codes, analyzes files, and works across web and mobile. If you only try one assistant, start here.
Claude
Claude shines on long documents, careful writing, and code. People who edit a lot of text or work in big codebases often prefer its tone and judgment.
Gemini
Gemini is Google's assistant and fits naturally if your life runs on Gmail, Docs, and Drive.
Research and answers with sources
Perplexity answers questions with citations, so you can check the source instead of trusting a paragraph. NotebookLM goes the other way: upload your own documents and ask questions grounded only in them — great for studying, research, and long reports.
Images
Midjourney is still the pick for striking, stylized images. For quick social graphics with AI built in, Canva is the more practical choice.
Voice and audio
ElevenLabs generates natural voiceovers and dubs audio into other languages. Suno makes complete songs — vocals included — from a text prompt.
Video
Runway generates and edits video with AI. For talking-head content and podcasts, Descript lets you edit video by editing the transcript.
How to choose
- Start with the job, not the model. "Summarize my PDFs" points to NotebookLM; "find me sources" points to Perplexity.
- Try the free tier first. Almost every app here is freemium.
- Check the alternatives page before paying — ChatGPT alternatives is a good place to start.
Browse the full AI tools category to compare more.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free AI tool?
For most people, the free tier of ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini covers everyday writing and questions. NotebookLM is free and excellent for working with your own documents.
Which AI tool is best for research?
Perplexity is built for research because every answer links to its sources. For research on your own files, use NotebookLM.
What AI tool makes images?
Midjourney is the most popular dedicated image generator. Canva also includes AI image tools inside a full design editor.
Is there an AI that makes music?
Yes. Suno creates full songs with vocals and instruments from a short text description.
Enjoyed this?
Share it with someone who's picking their next app.
