The availability and range of generative AI tools, platforms, and interfaces has exploded in the last couple of years. We have a range of easily accessible tools for generating text, images, music, and videos. We have platforms like ChatGPT and Google Gemini that bundle these capabilities together and provide other useful tools for us. And, we have different ways of interfacing; through desktop and mobile devices, through typing and talking, through chatbots and API.
Let's start with the most popular form of interface: a chatbot, which in the past year have become much more than just chatbots. ChatGPT is the prime example of a chatbot and when it was first released all it could do was chat. Now we have easy access to many different chatbots which can not only chat, but can also produce documents, write code, execute code, help you manage projects, create images, and more.
Here is an illustrative list of chatbots, each typically leveraging their own Large Language Models (LLMs). This list doesn't include chatbots that solely use another company's LLM:
Many other models and platforms exist, and the landscape is constantly evolving!
Rankings of these models are maintained on many different websites. A popular site for human-evaluated comparisons is the Chatbot Arena LLM Leaderboard, which focuses on blind ratings of text responses.
The rankings in the LLM Leaderboard are based solely on text responses, but there are many other dimensions on which to compare these chatbots. Let's look at a comparison between three of the most popular: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude.
This comparison is strictly a comparison of features, not a judgment of how good the LLM is at generating the text you want (see the Chatbot Arena for that). In my opinion, you can't go wrong with any of these three as far as the quality of responses go, so this comparison can help you decide which chatbot to use based on the extra features they have.
Don't have time for the full tables? Here's a 20-second summary:
Below is a detailed look at the features of the paid and free versions of ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini. Note that features and availability can change rapidly.
Last update: May 8, 2025.
Feature Category | Feature | ChatGPT (Plus/Team) | Google Gemini (Advanced) | Claude (Pro/Team) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Core Capabilities | LLMs Available | GPT-4o, GPT-4o mini, GPT4.5, o3, o4-mini | Gemini 1.5 Pro, Gemini 1.5 Flash, (Ultra via API) | Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3.5 Haiku |
Context Window | ~128K tokens (GPT-4o) | ~1M tokens (Gemini 1.5 Pro) | ~200K tokens | |
Web Search | Yes (Browse with Bing) | Yes (Google Search integration) | Yes | |
Voice Mode | Voice input & voice-voice conversations | Voice input & voice-voice (via app) | Voice input (via app) | |
Code | Code Writing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Code Execution | Yes (Python interpreter in Code Interpreter) | Yes (Python interpreter) | Yes (Front-end code via Artifacts) | |
Files | File Upload | Yes (various formats) | Yes (various formats, Google Drive) | Yes (various formats) |
Creative & Visual | Image Generation | Yes | Yes (Imagen 3) | No (but can analyze images) |
Video Generation | Yes (Sora, limited access) | Yes (Veo2) | No | |
Customization | Custom Instructions/Memory | Yes (Custom Instructions, Memory) | Yes (Custom Instructions) | Yes (Custom Instructions, Pre-prompts) |
Reusable Prompts/Assistants | Yes (Custom GPTs) | Yes (Gems ) | Yes (Projects, Prompt Library) | |
Access & Platforms | Mobile App | Yes (iOS, Android) | Yes (Gemini app for Android, via Google App on iOS) | Yes (iOS, Android - rolling out) |
Browser Extension | Yes (Official & third-party) | Yes (Official & third-party) | Fewer official options, some third-party | |
Message Limits | GPT-4o: Higher limits; GPT-4: ~40 msgs/3 hrs | Generally high, unspecified | Higher limits, varies by model & load | |
Practical Considerations | Privacy Features | Option to disable chat history/training | Activity controls, option to disable saving | Data not used for training by default for paid |
Other Unique Features | Canvas, Data Analysis, Apple Intelligence integration (upcoming) | Google Workspace/Ecosystem integration (Maps, Flights, Hotels, YouTube) | Artifacts for interactive content, strong long-context summarization | |
Cost (approx.) | $20 USD/month | ~$20 USD/month (or regional equivalent) | $20 USD/month |
Feature Category | Feature | ChatGPT | Google Gemini | Claude |
---|---|---|---|---|
Core Capabilities | LLMs Available | GPT-4o (rate-limited) | Gemini 2.5 Flash and Pro (rate-limited), Gemini 2.0 Flash | Claude 3.7 Sonnet (rate-limited) |
Context Window | ~128K (GPT-4o), ~16K (GPT-3.5) | ~1M (Gemini 1.5 Flash, limited), ~32K (Gemini 1.0 Pro) | ~200K tokens (generous for free tier) | |
Web Search | Yes (GPT-4o, limited) | Yes | Limited/No | |
Code | Code Writing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Code Execution | Limited (via GPT-4o if available) | No | Limited (Artifacts, if available) | |
Files | File Upload | Yes (GPT-4o, limited) | Yes (limited types/size) | Yes (limited) |
Creative & Visual | Image Generation | Yes (GPT-4o, DALL·E, limited) | Yes (limited) | No |
Video Generation | Yes (Sora) | No | No | |
Customization | Custom Instructions/Memory | Yes (Custom Instructions, Memory) | Yes (Custom Instructions) | Limited/No |
Reusable Prompts/Assistants | Access to some shared Custom GPTs | No | No | |
Access & Platforms | Mobile App | Yes | Yes | Yes (rolling out) |
Login Required | Optional for basic use, required for history/GPTs | Required | Required | |
Message Limits | Rate limits, especially on GPT-4o | Generally more generous daily limits | Daily limits, resets periodically | |
Practical Considerations | Privacy Features | Option to disable chat history/training | Activity controls | Data may be used for training unless opted out (check policy) |
Regardless of which chatbot you choose, each offers powerful AI capabilities that can enhance your productivity and creativity. The free versions provide a great starting point for exploring AI assistance, while the paid versions unlock additional features that may be worth the investment depending on your specific needs. The key is to experiment with different options and find the one that best matches your workflow. Remember that these platforms are rapidly evolving, with new features and capabilities being added regularly, so it's worth staying informed about updates and changes to make the most of these powerful AI assistants.
Specialty tools harness generative AI for specific purposes beyond basic text, image, or audio generation. These tools build upon LLMs and other AI models, adding specialized functionality to serve particular needs. For example, some AI-powered search engines not only find information but also synthesize and summarize results. While specialty tools exist for various industries—from legal services (Harvey) to fitness planning (Fitbod) to software development (Github Copilot) —the following tools are particularly valuable for enhancing learning and education.
After falling behind OpenAI, Anthropic, and others, Google finally has an AI product worthy of discussion and at least some of your attention. NotebookLM is an experimental tool that is billed to “help users read, take notes, ask questions, and organise ideas”, but that doesn’t really capture the use cases that are blowing up on Twitter. One of the primary use cases is as a multimodal summarizer/tutor. With multimodal meaning that you can provide input in different modes (text, images, slides etc.) and you can get output in a couple of different modes too. You will get a summary of everything you upload plus you can ask questions about the content. But what everyone on the socials is excited about is the “podcast” button…NotebookLM will turn the content that you created into a podcast that is actually not bad. The podcast is a conversation between two fairly realistic and expressive AI voices about whatever you uploaded.
Of course, things aren’t perfect – the “podcasters” really like to use analogies which don’t always land, they often miss nuance, and some users have identified potential gender bias in the conversation (there are two podcaster voices, one male and one female, and one user identified that “the female character had indicated agreement with the male six times before the male voice indicated agreement with her even once”). On top of that, there are only two voices, so currently, every “podcast” created by NotebookLM has the same two hosts and I can imagine getting tired of them after a bit.
Summarizing content and even creating a podcast are both doable in ChatGPT, Claude etc. But the focus of NotebookLM on summarizing and question answering makes the user experience of NotebookLM easier and more enjoyable. Plus it is currently completely free and each notebook supports document upload of about 750,000 words.
I created a Notebook for a lab from one of my electronics courses and the audio overview that it created was actually good and made the lab seem kinda interesting. Even if you never use NotebookLM again, it’s worth trying out this “podcast” feature at least once.
Google’s first compelling AI entry is a free tool that summarizes uploads, answers questions and creates audio chats.
How it works:Google's Learn About is an experimental AI tool designed to enhance education through personalized, interactive experiences. Built on the LearnLM model, it aims to transform learning with features tailored to curiosity and exploration.
Learn About is officially available in English for users 18+ in the U.S., and you’ll need a Google account to access it.
Not in the US? Here’s a tip: Use a VPN to set your location to the States—the Opera browser makes it super easy with its built-in VPN. 😉 Happy learning!
A free, AI-powered tool for interactive learning with visuals, quizzes, and personalized responses.
How it works:Pro tip: Use a VPN (like Opera’s) if you're outside the U.S.
Perplexity AI uses a combination of search and conversational AI to give the user direct answers with cited sources, rather than just links.
Perplexity AI streamlines research and information gathering for students, researchers, and content creators who need quick answers with links to the information source.
Grammarly and Quillbot are both AI writing assistants that check grammar, enhance style, generate content, and improve writing quality.
Focuses on perfecting English writing. Best for polishing grammar, tone, clarity, and inclusiveness. Integrates well with many apps and has excellent team features.
Excels at paraphrasing and supports multiple languages. Ideal for research, quick rewrites, and translation. Offers a robust summarization tool and citation generator.
These tools are meant to support your writing, not replace it. Over-reliance on AI can hinder your learning and may violate class policies regarding AI use. Use these tools responsibly!
Consider these trade-offs:The free versions handle basic needs well. Premium versions unlock powerful features for serious writers, but success still depends on your judgment and skill.
This section comes from Georgetown University Library (original) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
AI tools for research can help you to discover new sources for your literature review or research assignment. These tools will synthesize information from large databases of scholarly output with the aim of finding the most relevant articles and saving researchers’ time. As with our research databases or any other search tool, however, it’s important not to rely on one tool for all of your research, as you will risk missing important information on your topic of interest.Placeholder: Abstract graphic representing a network of research papers or data analysis, or a collage of logos for Elicit, Consensus, etc.
NAME | WHAT IT DOES | UNDERLYING DATA | IS IT FREE? | MORE INFORMATION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Elicit | Using large language models (LLMs), Elicit finds papers relevant to your topic by searching through papers and citations and extracting and synthesizing key information. | Semantic Scholar Database | Free with paid subscriptions available. | Elicit FAQs |
Consensus | Similar to Elicit, Consensus uses LLMs to help researchers find and synthesize answers to research questions, focusing on the scholarly authors’ findings and claims in each paper. | Semantic Scholar Database | Free (20 searches/month); Paid version allows unlimited searching. | Consensus FAQs |
Semantic Scholar | Semantic Scholar (which supplies underlying data for many of the other tools on this list) provides brief summaries (‘TLDR’s) of the main objectives and results of papers. | Semantic Scholar Database | Semantic Scholar is currently free. | Semantic Scholar FAQs |
Research Rabbit | Research Rabbit is a citation-based mapping tool that focuses on the relationships between research works. It uses visualizations to help researchers find similar papers and other researchers in their field. | Research Rabbit uses multiple databases, but does not name them (more information can be found on the FAQ page). | Research Rabbit is currently free. | Research Rabbit FAQs |
Connected Papers | Like Research Rabbit, Connected Papers focuses on the relationships between research papers to find similar research. You can also use Connected Papers to get a visual overview of an academic field. | Semantic Scholar Database | Free (5 graphs/month); paid version allows unlimited graphing. | Connected Papers – About |
scite | scite has a suite of products that help researchers develop their topics, find papers, and search citations in context (describing whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence) | Many different sources (an incomplete list can be found on this page) | No. (Pricing information) | scite FAQs; how scite works |
Scholarcy | Scholarcy summarizes key points and claims of articles into ‘summary cards’ that researchers can read, share, and annotate when compiling research on a given topic. | Scholarcy only uses research papers uploaded or linked by the researcher themselves. It works as a way to help you read and summarize your research, but is not a search engine. | Free (short articles only); Paid version allows articles of any length. | Scholarcy FAQs |
ChatGPT | While the AI chatbot ChatGPT is typically thought of as a writing tool, it can be used in the initial idea development phase of research, and can also be of use in finding further sources. (Remember to always look up sources to verify their credibility.) | The paid versions of ChatGPT are currently connected to the internet through Bing. The free version was trained on data last updated in September 2021, but that might change in the future. | There is a free version available. | OpenAI Help Center – ChatGPT |
Gamma is an AI presentation tool that may be worth the switch from ChatGPT or Claude, especially if you're design-challenged. Unlike general AI tools, Gamma excels at design-focused tasks, creating polished presentations from simple prompts or content.
If Canva and ChatGPT had a baby, it would be Gamma. It's particularly valuable for those who want professional-looking presentations without design expertise.
These are apps with similar capabilities as Gamma that may be worth checking out:
Image generators turn your description into a picture—often in seconds. They’re fun to explore and incredibly useful for drafts, lesson visuals, diagrams, and design experiments. Quality has improved rapidly, but getting the exact image you want still takes iteration: broad scenes (e.g., “students studying at a table”) are easy; precise details (e.g., “three students at one table—one with a laptop, two on phones”) usually require prompt refinement.
A quick note on impact: generating images uses substantial compute—meaning energy and water. Before spinning up dozens of variations “just to see,” consider whether a smaller batch or a stock photo would do. For perspective, the What Uses More? calculator compares the footprint of AI image generation with everyday digital activities: what-uses-more.com.
Company: Midjourney
Available through: https://www.midjourney.com/ and Midjourney bot on Discord
Cost: Varies: free, $10-$120 US/month. I would recommend the $10/month subscription
Summary: Midjourney produces some of the most striking pictures, but it is challenging to get the exact details you want. Originally only available through Discord, you can now generate images on the Midjourney website. Midjourney has several models to choose from including one that is specifically trained on anime. There is no free subscription.
Pros: Excellent image quality. Several different models. Can edit pictures.
Cons: No free access. Can only edit pictures on yearly subscription.
Company: OpenAI
Available through: Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT
Cost: Varies. Free. More images with ChatGPT Plus
Summary: Named as a play on Salvador Dali and WALL-E. In my opinion, DALL-E images are not as good as the other generators listed here, but it does a good job handling text within the image. To support users, both the Copilot version and the ChatGPT version will enhance your prompts and show you the updated prompt for each picture that you create.
Pros: Good text rendering. Free on Microsoft and ChatGPT. Automatically enhances/improves your prompts
Cons: Free access on ChatGPT is very limited. Image quality is okay
Company: Ideogram
Available through: https://ideogram.ai
Cost: Varies: free (up to 40 images/day), $8-$60 US/month (up to 14,000 images/month)
Summary: Ideogram is a new company, even in the world of AI. It was founded in August 2023 and is competitive with leading image generators like Midjourney and Dall-E (arguably better than Dall-E but worse than Midjourney). It does a great job. Can edit pictures.
Pros: Excellent image quality. Renders text accurately.
Cons: Free access is very slow
Company: Black Forest Labs
Available through: API or third party apps (e.g. Le Chat from Mistral)
Cost: Varies. Free to ???
Summary: Flux is another new image generator that is particularly adept at following the user instructions and generating text. Since it isn't available directly from the provider except through an API, it can be hard to find.
Pros: Good text rendering. Free access through multiple providers increases your daily limit. My favourite for quality after Midjourney. Some third party apps provide image editing tools
Cons: Can be hard to find
Company: Google
Available through: https://gemini.google.com
Cost: Varies: free (up to ?? images/day). More images with $26/month Gemini Advanced subscription
Summary: Imagen 3 is the latest version of Google's image generator. It is now built into Gemini, so free users can create images. There is a generation limit, but I can't find it listed, haven't hit it yet after 20 images.
Pros: Excellent image quality, lots of images with free version
Cons: Many of the features of Imagen (e.g., customization, image editing) are not generally available. Can't create pictures of people on free version
Company: Adobe
Available through: firefly.adobe.com and Creative Cloud apps (Photoshop, Illustrator, Express)
Cost: Generative credits included with Creative Cloud plans (allowances vary by plan; see Adobe’s Generative Credits table). Firefly on the web also offers a free tier with limited credits. Example plan prices (US): Photoshop $22.99/month; Creative Cloud All Apps $59.99/month. See Adobe’s pricing pages for current regional pricing and credit allotments
Summary: Firefly’s Image 3 model powers Generative Fill and related tools across Adobe apps. Emphasis on commercially safer outputs (trained on Adobe Stock and licensed data) and Content Credentials for provenance. Excellent for inpainting/outpainting and design‑ready assets within familiar workflows.
Pros: Rights-conscious training; tight Photoshop/Illustrator integration; strong inpainting; Content Credentials; enterprise options
Cons: Credit limits can throttle heavy use; some styles/text rendering trail tools focused on typography/logos; requires Adobe account
Company: Stability AI and the open‑source community
Available through: Hosted UIs/APIs (e.g., DreamStudio, Playground AI). Can also be run on local hardware
Cost: Local use can be free (you provide hardware). Hosted services use credits/subscriptions with their own free tiers/limits. Pricing varies by provider (e.g., pay‑as‑you‑go on DreamStudio; free + paid tiers on Playground). Check the chosen host for current rates and daily limits
Summary: The Stable Diffusion family offers maximum control and extensibility—run locally and fine‑tune for domain styles.
Pros: Full control/customization; offline/local options; vast model ecosystem; cost‑efficient at scale
Cons: Setup complexity; output quality depends on model/config; licensing/compliance varies across community models; text rendering inconsistent without specialized checkpoints
Company: Leonardo AI
Available through: https://leonardo.ai
Cost: Free tier (daily tokens). Paid plans (US monthly) starting at $12.
Summary: A creator‑focused platform for concept art, game assets, and stylized illustrations. Robust canvas editor, inpainting/outpainting, upscaling, background removal, and workflow tools. Supports training/customization for brand or project styles.
Pros: Strong editor and upscaling; asset‑oriented workflows; style libraries; custom training; active community
Cons: Free tier can be queued/slow; review licensing/training policy for commercial use; more iteration needed for photorealism vs. top photoreal models
Company: Canva
Available through: https://www.canva.com (Magic Media > Text to Image; integrated in the Canva editor)
Cost: Credit‑based generation. Published monthly AI credit allowances (US): Free plan ~50 credits/month; Pro $12.99/month with ~500 credits/month; Teams pricing varies with ~500 credits per seat/month. Education/Nonprofit plans have distinct allowances—see Canva’s help/pricing pages for current figures
Summary: Canva is a full featured graphic design platform with integrated image generator for quick compositions, class materials, and social/marketing visuals.
Pros: Easy to use; template‑rich; collaborative; fast to production‑ready layouts; no context switching
Cons: Less fine‑grained control/ultimate quality than specialist tools; text rendering can be hit‑or‑miss; credit limits apply
Generative AI video systems create moving images from prompts, reference images, or existing footage—synthesizing scenes, camera moves, and effects that once required large crews or complex pipelines. In minutes, you can draft storyboards, visualize concepts, or prototype explainer clips that would have taken days.
The technology is improving rapidly: models are getting better at temporal consistency, object permanence, realistic physics, lip‑sync, and multi‑shot continuity. Controls are expanding too—keyframe conditioning, image‑to‑video, depth maps, masks, and “edit by prompt” workflows give creators more precise handles on motion, look, and pacing.
Environmental cost: Training and large‑scale generation can consume significant energy and water. Before using video generators keep the environmental cost in mind and find ways to minimize impact (e.g., settings, shorter drafts, batched renders, and provider options that disclose sustainability practices)
Copyright and training data: Many providers face scrutiny over whether training data included copyrighted works without permission.
Deepfakes and deception: AI can fabricate convincing people and events. Always obtain consent, avoid impersonation, and label AI‑generated or AI‑edited content. Also, always be aware that media you consume may be a deepfake
Label AI involvement, get consent from identifiable people, use assets you have rights to, keep a record of prompts and sources, and verify factual claims if your video informs or instructs.
Here is a a concise comparison of some popular AI video generators, with access details, strengths, trade‑offs, and common use cases.
AI Video Tool | Access & Pricing | Key Pros | Key Cons | Typical Use Cases |
---|---|---|---|---|
Google Veo 3 | Access via Vertex AI (Veo 3 Fast available). Also integrated into Canva’s “Create a Video Clip.” Pricing and quotas vary by Google Cloud usage; Google AI Pro plan | State-of-the-art realism; native audio (music/FX/dialogue). | Short clips; expensive; | Fun creative shorts, storyboarding, filmmaker prototyping. |
Runway (Gen-3 current) | Web platform with free trial and paid plans (≈$15+/mo). API available. | Generates short 1080p clips; strong editing suite (inpainting, keyframes, masking, timeline tools). | No native audio; short durations; multiple attempts often needed for best results. | Artistic shorts, music video visuals, indie pre‑viz. |
OpenAI Sora | Available with ChatGPT Plus and Pro via sora.com. | Can create longer clips (up to ~20s) and supports workflows like storyboard, looping, and remixing. | No free tier. | Experimental creative exploration, imaginative short scenes. |
Kling AI (Kuaishou) | Web tool (app.klingai.com). Free credits available; paid plans around ~$10/mo reported; exact credits/tiers vary by region and time. | Cinematic‑style clips; supports dynamic camera movement; generally affordable. | No audio; short clips; free tier limits. | Budget‑friendly cinematic videos, music visuals, storyboards. |
Alibaba Qwen (Tongyi Video) | Free access on the Qwen web interface observed; clip length short; watermark/unlimited status not officially specified on public docs. | Fast to test ideas; accessible. | Very short outputs; quality below leaders; limited controls/features. | Learning, ideation, quick concept testing. |
Adobe Firefly (Video) | Generate Video (beta) in Firefly web app; included in Firefly/Creative Cloud plans (starting at ~$9.99+/mo). | Trained on licensed/Adobe Stock (commercially safer usage); smooth export to Premiere Pro/After Effects. | Very short clips in beta (no official published number); beta quality; requires Adobe subscription. | Professional b‑roll, marketing visuals, scene fillers. |
Pika Labs | Web app (originally a Discord bot). Free trial credits (~300 common), paid plans ~$10–$60/mo. | Simple to use; strong community sharing and re‑prompting. | Outputs are animation‑style; no native audio. | Casual fun, memes, educational demos. |
Higgsfield | Web platform (higgsfield.ai). Free trial; Basic plan around $9/mo (e.g., 150 credits); higher tiers available. | Sharp visual quality; useful preset effects/camera moves. | Short clips; no native audio; stitching needed for longer content. | Creative VFX shots, experimental b‑roll. |
Note: Capabilities, availability, and watermarking/provenance practices change quickly. Verify details if important.
This Bingo Challenge is inspired by the Gen AI in Teaching and Learning Toolkit by Gwen Nguyen and this brief introduction is directly from that book (CC BY-NC 4.0). It encourages you to explore various generative AI tools, experimenting with both text-based and image generation platforms. By engaging with these tools, you can hopefully better understand their functionalities, applications, and limitations in educational settings.
Instructions:
B | I | N | G | O |
---|---|---|---|---|
Use ChatGPT to explain a difficult concept | Create study flashcards with an AI tool | Use Claude to analyze a research paper | Generate a mind map about a class topic using AI | Write a poem about your field of study with AI |
Use Perplexity to fact-check information from ChatGPT | Ask Gemini to help brainstorm essay topics | Compare answers from 2 different AI tools on the same question | Create an image that represents your major using DALL-E | Break down a complex project into steps using Claude |
Use Claude to proofread your writing | Create a presentation outline with Gamma | FREE SPACE Try a new AI tool! |
Use AI to improve the clarity of your writing | Use DeepL to translate your work into another language |
Ask AI to explain where it got its information | Use AI to find relevant sources for your research | Create a study schedule using an AI assistant | Use AI to find counterarguments to your essay position | Use NotebookLM to summarize your class notes |
Ask multiple Gen AI tools to predict the future of your field in 5 years and compare responses | Use AI to generate a "survival guide" for your most challenging course | Create a visual summary of a chapter using Gen AI | Use Gen AI to identify gaps in your research | Ask AI to explain its limitations |
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