Practical Ai tools that you need to know
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Today, I want to take a closer look at some AI tools that are changing the way we work, create, and learn. These tools are practical, surprisingly powerful, and worth understanding, whether you're just curious or already using AI every day. Let's start with something simple but useful, real-time screen assistance with AI Studio.

This tool watches your screen as you work and gives you step-by-step help. For example, if you're trying to make a pivot table in Excel and you're stuck, you can just ask the AI. It'll walk you through each step. First, it tells you to select your data. Then, it shows you how to insert a pivot table and place the right values in the right spots.

It's a bit like having a tutor who never gets tired. This kind of help makes learning easier and faster. And the idea of having an assistant that can watch, listen, and respond in real time, that's a big deal. It doesn't just give answers, it shows you how to do things.

That's a major shift in how we interact with computers. Now let's move on to ChatGPT, which most people have heard of, but there's more to it than just chatting. Inside ChatGPT, there's something called the Canvas. It lets you work with long text or code in a more hands-on way. You can highlight just one paragraph, make changes, and keep track of edits through version history. You can also upload documents to give the AI context,

which helps it give more accurate and useful answers. There's a reasoning model too made for solving harder problems. You could ask it, for example, how many cookies to bake in December based on sales from past years, and it will actually figure that out. It also supports multimodal input. That means you can upload an image

and it'll analyze what's in it. If you upload a map of store locations, for example, it can list them out for you. And then there's Sora, a new feature that turns text into video. That part is still early, but it shows where things are heading. Next is UTO, a music tool powered by AI. You describe the kind of song you want, and it generates music for you. You can go further and write your own lyrics, tell it how the song should be structured, verse, chorus, bridge,

and it follows those instructions. You can also control the length of the song

and the strength of the prompt. This is useful for anyone making content or just experimenting with music. It won't replace musicians, but it does make songwriting more accessible for people without training or gear. Then there's Eleven Labs, which focuses on voice. This tool creates voice audio from text, and not robotic voice. The output sounds very real. You can choose different voices, adjust how they speak, and even use your own voice by training the AI.

It's great for voiceovers, audiobooks, or dubbing. You can even translate your voice into another language. This kind of voice cloning used to require expensive software and a lot of time. Now it's available online in a simple interface. And yes, the voices are often so realistic that you might not know it's AI unless someone tells you.

Let's talk about Perplexity AI, a search engine with a twist. Instead of just showing a list of links like Google, Perplexity gives you a full answer right away. Back by sources, you can click and read. What's more, you can choose where it searches from, websites, academic papers, or social platforms like Reddit. It's a better tool for research, fact-checking, and serious questions. You get...

context, references, and control over how the AI finds its answers. It cuts down on guesswork, which makes it a strong tool for students, writers, or anyone trying to work with real information. Finally, let's look at Descript, a tool for editing video and audio. The biggest feature here is that you can edit your video like a document. You see your words as text and you just cut or rewrite them. If there's a long pause or a mistake, you click and delete it.

it. That's it. You can also record new audio using your own voice or generate voice using AI. There are other helpful features too. You can improve sound quality with one click. You can blur or remove the background. You can auto-generate captions in English or other languages. If you're a content creator, this is a real time saver. And

And what ties all of these tools together is this. They each take something that used to require special training, like video editing, music production, research, or data analysis, and they make it easier and more accessible. They're not just shortcuts. They help people learn, create, and get work done faster.

with less friction, but they also raise new questions about privacy, about accuracy, and about how we use our time. We still need to think critically and learn how to use these tools well. That's it for today. I'm Eli, and I hope this episode gave you a clear view of where AI tools are right now and where they're headed.

If you enjoyed this, consider sharing it or just thinking more deeply about the tools you already use. They're not just software, they're becoming part of how we think. See you next time.