B. Suggested AI Tools
- Page ID
- 67080
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)GenAI Tools Reference Guide
Throughout this course, refer to this GenAI Tools Guide, organized by generation modality. We will attempt to update it regularly, but the field moves faster than any resource can keep pace with, so some entries may be out of date by the time you read them. You are not required to pay for a subscription to any AI model — the free tier of many GenAI platforms is remarkably capable, and this course is structured to fit comfortably within their typical rate limits. You may even find it worthwhile to use a few different free platforms rather than relying on just one; we'd strongly encourage that approach.
1. Text Generation (LLMs)
| Tool | Best For | Free Tier (General Capabilities) | Paid Tier (General Capabilities) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (OpenAI) <Chatgpt.com> | Writing, reasoning, multimodal chat | • Access to a lightweight model • Shorter context window • Slower responses • Limited file/image analysis • Basic reasoning and coding | • Access to frontier models • Long context window • Faster responses + higher rate limits • Reliable file/image/audio analysis • Strong reasoning & coding performance |
| Claude (Anthropic) <Claude.ai> | Careful reasoning, long documents | • Smaller model • Short-to-medium context • Limited uploads • Moderate reasoning reliability | • High-accuracy model •Very long context window • Large uploads (PDFs, docs) • Strong analytical & structured writing abilities |
| Gemini (Google) <gemini.google.com> | Web-integrated reasoning, multimodal | • Lightweight model • Basic multimodal features • Basic browsing-style results • Slower, less accurate reasoning | • Advanced model • Long context & faster performance • Strong multimodal understanding • Better factual accuracy & reasoning |
| Perplexity<perplexity.ai> | Research-style answers w/ citations | • Free research mode • Limited depth of citations • Uses smaller models • Basic web access | • Access to premium models (GPT, Claude) • Deeper synthesis + better citations • Faster & more consistent outputs |
| Copilot (Microsoft) <copilot.microsoft.com> | Coding + Office tools | • Basic chat + lightweight model • Limited coding suggestions • No Office integration | • Advanced reasoning model • Integrated into Word/Excel/PowerPoint • Strong coding + debugging support |
| Lmarena<lmarena.ai> | Free, limited comparison between models | Basic interactions with many different models | N/A |
| Notebooklm< https://notebooklm.google.com/> | RAG based chat, audio generation, video, etc. | 50 sources. Limited generations | More sources, faster generation. (Free tier is sufficient for many applications) |
| Duck.ai (DuckDuckGo) | Privacy-focused AI use and quick, anonymous exploration of multiple models | Access to multiple AI models with no account required; chats are not stored or used for training | N/A |
Notes:
- Free tiers = smaller models, shorter memories, limited uploads, slower speeds.
- Paid tiers = better reasoning, longer documents, richer multimodal abilities, and higher reliability.
- These patterns apply across all major tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot).
2. Image Generation
| Tool | Best For | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| DALL·E< https://openai.com/index/dall-e-2/> | Photorealistic images, design | Limited credits | More generations, HD |
| Midjourney< https://www.midjourney.com/home> | Stylized artistic images | None | Subscription |
| Stable Diffusion / SDXL / SD3 | Local/offline generation, open source | Fully free if local. Sites like <openart.ai> offer free trials. | Paid GPU hosting. |
| Frontier models (chatGPT,gemini) | General image generation | Some, limited | More iterations, high limits |
| Adobe Firefly | Photoshop/Illustrator workflows | Limited credits | HD + commercial rights |
3. Audio Generation (Speech, Voice, Music)
| Tool | Best For | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs< https://elevenlabs.io/> | Voice cloning, narration | Limited characters | High-quality cloning + long outputs |
| Suno<suno.com> | Music + vocals from prompts | Free daily credits | Higher quality + longer tracks |
| AudioCraft/MusicGen< https://audiocraft.metademolab.com/ > | Open-source music generation | Free local | — |
4. Video Generation & Editing
| Tool | Best For | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway< https://runwayml.com/ > | Text-to-video, motion style | Low-res | HD + fast rendering |
| Pika Labs<pika.art> | Short stylized video | Low-res | HD |
| Luma Dream Machine<lumalabs.ai> | Cinematic realism | Limited runs | HD + priority |
| Synthesia<synthesia.io> | Talking-head avatars | Limited | Full avatar library |
| Sora (openAI) | High quality, short video clips | Limited | More generations, longer clips |
5. Code Generation
| Tool | Best For | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot< https://github.com/copilot> | Code completion, debugging | Trial. Limited interactions per month | Subscription |
| ReplitGhostwriter<replit.com> | Beginner-friendly coding | Limited | Full IDE integration |
| ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini | Code explanation + debugging | Free models | Better reasoning + long context |
6. Multimodal Models (Text + Image + Audio)
| Tool | Notes |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Unified multimodal input/output |
| Gemini | Massive context window |
| Google AI Studio <https://aistudio.google.com/> | Many different models to try. Generous free tier. |
| Claude | Strong long-context reasoning |
7. Open-Source Models
| Model | Notes |
|---|---|
| LLaMA | Strong general-purpose models |
| Mistral /Mixtral | Efficient, high-quality small models |
| Stable Diffusion (SDXL, SD3) | Open image generation |
| Whisper | Free speech-to-text transcription |
8. Other helpful resources
| Resource | Notes |
|---|---|
| Futuretools.io | A large, regularly updated directory of AI tools across many categories (text, image, audio, productivity, research, etc.). Helpful for discovering new tools, comparing capabilities, and staying current with the quickly changing GenAI ecosystem. |
| Lmarena<lmarena.ai> | A public leaderboard and “battle arena” where you can compare top AI models side-by-side without knowing which model you're testing. Great for observing differences in reasoning, tone, accuracy, and creativity across the most capable frontier and open-source models. “Battle mode” is default, Select ‘Direct Chat’ to choose a model. |
| Huggingface <huggingface.co> and <huggingface.co/chat> | A central hub for open-source AI models, datasets, and demos. You can try models directly in the browser, explore how they’re trained, download them for local use, or examine model cards to understand limitations, capabilities, and licensing. Excellent for transparency and experimentation. |