10 AI Tools You Can Use for Free — Organized by Use Case

This is the list I put together to send whenever someone asks me, "I want to try AI — what should I install?" Everything here is free to start with, and I've only included tools I've actually used myself. (Free tiers can change, so double-check when you sign up. Accurate as of July 2026.)

All-purpose chatbots — start with one of these

• 1. ChatGPT — The safest starting point. Questions, summaries, translation, even image generation. Full review
• 2. Claude — Go this way if writing and long documents are your main use case. Full review
• 3. Gemini — Best fit for Gmail and Google Docs users. It can summarize YouTube videos too. Full review

Search and research

• 4. Perplexity — A "search-first AI." Ask a question and it reads multiple web pages and answers with source links. For research work and fact-checking, it's more trustworthy than a plain chatbot.

Meetings and voice

• 5. CLOVA Note (by Naver, excellent Korean speech recognition) — A voice transcription service. Record a meeting or interview and it separates speakers, transcribes everything, and even summarizes. Especially worth it if you work in Korean.

Images and design

• 6. DALL·E (built into ChatGPT) — Generate images right in the ChatGPT chat window, no separate signup needed. Plenty for beginners. Comparison review
• 7. Canva's AI features — Background removal, image generation, and copy suggestions all in one place when you're making presentations or social graphics. A lifesaver for anyone without a design background.

Writing helpers

• 8. DeepL — Renowned for translation quality, with output that reads remarkably naturally. The free tier is plenty for everyday use.
• 9. wrtn (a Korean multi-model service) — Lets you try multiple AI models for free and comes with a rich library of templates (cover letters, blog posts, and more), which makes it beginner-friendly.

Getting into coding

• 10. GitHub Copilot (free plan) — The standard for code autocomplete. Pro is free with student verification, too. If you're learning to code, it also makes a great tutor for questions like "why is this code wrong?"

Recommended starter combos