What you can really do with free AI tools.
A practical guide to the free AI tools you already know, the ones you might not, and the hidden features almost no one uses.
You've used ChatGPT. Maybe you've tried Gemini in your Gmail or Copilot in Edge. But most people use these tools at maybe 10% of what they can do.
In the next ten minutes, you'll see the hidden features almost no one uses, and four specialist tools (for research, study, meetings, design) you may not know exist.
What AI tools really do
The AI tools we are talking about (Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) are very fast, very well-read writing assistants. You give them text, they give you back text. That is the whole trick.
What makes them surprising is how much they have already read. They have absorbed a substantial fraction of the public internet, so they can summarise, draft, explain, plan, brainstorm, or rewrite almost anything you give them. They sometimes get current facts wrong, so they are not a replacement for a search engine. For everyday writing and thinking, they save real time.
What every AI assistant can do
The four free assistants below (Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) overlap more than they differ. They all do the following well, in the free tier, in your browser:
• Write and edit emails, documents, scripts
• Summarise long articles, transcripts, contracts
• Explain technical or unfamiliar concepts in plain language
• Brainstorm ideas, names, options, headlines
• Translate between languages
• Draft basic code, formulas, or queries
• Plan trips, meals, schedules, lists
• Answer general-knowledge questions
For these everyday tasks, you will not go wrong with any of them. The differences come down to specific features and where each one connects to your existing apps. Pick whichever you can sign in to fastest, and start.
What makes each one different
Microsoft Copilot (free, web version)
Made by Microsoft. Built on OpenAI's models.
Unique: connected to Bing for current information, and includes free image generation. Tightly integrated into the Edge browser as a sidebar.
Hidden feature worth trying: "Notebook" mode. Click Notebook in the side menu and you get a much larger input box for longer, more careful conversations. The chat keeps a tighter, more focused thread.
Paste a long meeting brief or a project description. Ask: "Draft a 600-word memo answering this, with three numbered sections and a one-line recommendation at the top."
Open it at copilot.microsoft.com
If your workplace gives you a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, that one lives inside Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel. We covered that in Six Microsoft Copilot features worth knowing about.
ChatGPT
Made by OpenAI. Launched November 2022. The tool that started this wave.
Unique: free voice mode (talk to it like a phone call) and free image generation (DALL-E) built in. Custom GPTs in the GPT store let other people share specialised assistants.
Hidden feature worth trying: Custom Instructions. Set your role, tone, and preferences once under Settings → Personalization → Customize ChatGPT, and every chat afterwards respects them. No more re-explaining yourself.
I'm a [your role]. Reply in under 150 words. Include one concrete example. Use British English. Don't apologise or hedge.
Open it at chatgpt.com
Claude
Made by Anthropic.
Unique: the largest context window in the free tier, which means you can paste very long documents (book chapters, legal contracts, full transcripts) into a single message and ask questions about them.
Hidden feature worth trying: Artifacts. When Claude writes a document, code, or web page, it appears in a side panel you can edit and download. Cleaner than scrolling through a long chat reply.
Paste a long article. Then ask: "Make me a one-page brief with the 3 main arguments, the 3 strongest counter-arguments not mentioned in the piece, and 5 questions a sceptical reader would ask. Put it in an Artifact."
Open it at claude.ai
Google Gemini
Made by Google.
Unique: connects directly to your Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Calendar (with your permission). It can answer questions about your actual emails and documents, not just general knowledge.
Hidden feature worth trying: Deep Research. Click the "Deep Research" button before sending a question and Gemini does multi-step web research, then writes a long, sourced report. Great for "compare X vs Y vs Z" questions.
Compare the three most-recommended beginner podcast microphones under $150 right now. List pros, cons, and price. Cite sources.
Open it at gemini.google.com
Specialist tools for specific jobs
The four assistants above cover most everyday tasks. These four free tools are built for one job each, and tend to do that job better than a general assistant.
Perplexity, for facts and sources
An AI search engine. Every answer is footnoted with the websites it pulled from, so you can verify before quoting.
Hidden feature worth trying: the "Focus" mode lets you filter the search to academic papers, social posts, video, or Reddit only. Very different answers depending on what you choose.
Switch Focus to Academic. Ask: "What does recent research say about caffeine and sleep quality, in the last 3 years?"
Open it at perplexity.ai
NotebookLM, for studying or reading long documents
Made by Google. Upload PDFs, Word files, YouTube videos, or websites. Ask questions only about those sources. Every answer is footnoted with quoted excerpts.
Hidden feature worth trying: "Audio Overview". NotebookLM turns your uploaded sources into a podcast-style conversation between two AI hosts. Listening to a 12-minute podcast of your own meeting recording on your commute is a strange and useful experience.
Upload a long meeting recording or a 30-page report. Click "Audio Overview". Listen on your phone afterwards while making coffee.
Open it at notebooklm.google.com
Otter.ai, for meetings
Records meetings on Teams, Zoom, or your phone. Writes a real-time transcript with speaker labels. Free up to 300 minutes a month.
Hidden feature worth trying: OtterPilot can auto-join scheduled meetings on your calendar. After every meeting it extracts action items, decisions, and unanswered questions you can copy straight into your tracker.
Connect Otter to your calendar. After your next meeting, open the Otter Chat and ask: "What did we decide, what action items came out, and what was left unresolved?"
Open it at otter.ai
Canva Magic Studio, for visuals
AI inside a real design tool. Type a one-line description, get a finished poster, social post, or presentation slide you can keep editing.
Hidden feature worth trying: Magic Switch automatically resizes one design across different formats (Instagram square, LinkedIn banner, presentation slide) in one click. Saves the "I need to redo this for X" tax.
Type "A friendly poster announcing a Friday team lunch at 12:30, with space for the menu". Then click Magic Switch and resize it for Instagram and LinkedIn.
Open it at canva.com
Five things to try right now
Pick one assistant. Open it. Try any of these. Each one takes about a minute.
1. Have it explain something you don't understand
Paste a confusing email, a contract clause, a lab result, or a textbook paragraph. Then:
Explain this to me like I'm in high school.
If still confusing, type "simpler". It will try again.
2. Turn a messy thought into a polite email
Type out what you actually want to say. Bullet points, half-sentences, frustration and all. Then:
Turn this into a polite, professional email. Two paragraphs. Friendly tone.
3. Plan something boring
Meal plan, workout schedule, packing list, study timetable.
I need a one-week vegetarian meal plan. Budget around $80. Quick recipes under 30 minutes. Add a single shopping list at the end.
4. Get unstuck on a decision
AI is a calm, patient sounding board. It will not decide for you, but it surfaces questions you have not thought to ask.
Help me think through whether to take this job offer. Pros: higher salary, closer to home. Cons: less interesting work, longer hours. What questions am I not asking myself?
5. Beat the blank page
Birthday card, LinkedIn message, tough conversation, the first draft of anything.
Write a friendly LinkedIn message to a former colleague I haven't spoken to in 5 years. I want to ask for a coffee chat. No more than 4 sentences.
Where to start
You don't need all of these tools. You need one tool, paired with one task on your plate this week.
Pick the task you've been putting off. Match it to a tool above. Open it. Try one experiment.
That's it. Come back next Sunday for the next one.
Which tool did you try first? What did you ask it? Drop a comment below, I read every one.