Too many tabs open, too many tasks waiting, not enough time to think. That’s the everyday mess most of us are trying to fix, and it’s why free AI tools matter when they actually solve a real problem.
This post rounds up 10 free (or strong free-plan) AI tools you probably haven’t tried, because they aren’t the usual big names people repeat. Each one targets a specific workflow pain, like faster research and reading (NotebookLM, Google AI Studio), cleaner notes and tasks (AFFiNE, Saner.AI), and meeting recaps you won’t dread writing (Fathom, Granola AI).
You’ll also see practical helpers for automation (Zapier Agents, Botpress), focus and calendar control (Clockwise), and quick design work when you need slides now (Gamma). The goal isn’t to add more apps to your day, it’s to cut the busywork that keeps piling up.
If you want more AI ideas after this list, you can browse chiangraitimes.com/ai later and pick what fits your work style.
How this list chooses “free” AI tools (so you do not waste time)
“Free” can mean two very different things: a tool you can keep using, or a demo that stops right when it gets useful. For this list, free means you can do real work without pulling out a card, either because no credit card is required or because the free tier is strong enough to finish tasks end to end.
You’ll still see limits, because that’s how most AI products stay afloat. Common ones include monthly minutes (meeting tools), model caps (smaller or slower models), and export limits (watermarks, fewer file types, or capped downloads). Those limits can still help if you use the tool like a power strip, plug it in when you need it, then move the result into your main workflow.
One more rule: if a tool makes it hard to get your work back out, it doesn’t count as “free” in practice. This is the same mindset behind the picks on chiangraitimes.com/ai: save time, avoid lock-in, keep control.
Free vs free trial: the simple checklist
Before you invest time setting anything up, run through this quick list:
- Ongoing free plan: Not “7 days free,” and not a free tier that requires a credit card to start.
- Export options: You can download notes, transcripts, docs, or tasks in common formats.
- Usage limits you can live with: Minutes per month, message caps, model limits, or daily quotas are clearly stated.
- Team features (if you need them): Sharing, workspaces, or permissions exist, even if they’re basic.
- Privacy controls: You can delete data, manage retention, and see whether content is used for training.
- Works where you work: A usable mobile app, desktop app, or solid web experience (no “desktop only” surprises).
A quick privacy note before you upload files or record calls
Treat AI tools like a shared office printer: helpful, but not the place for secrets. Don’t paste passwords, API keys, customer lists, or private health details. If you’re uploading a doc, black out names, addresses, and account numbers first. Redaction can be simple, even a quick edit in a copy of the file (here’s a plain-language guide on why redaction matters: https://vidizmo.ai/blog/redaction-tools-in-call-centers).
If you record meetings, ask for consent at the start, and say what you’re using. Also watch for sensitive moments (pricing, HR topics, legal issues). When privacy is a must, pick tools that offer local or open-source options, or tools with clear controls for retention and training.
Pick your problem: research, meetings, notes, writing, automation, visuals, or focus.
The 10 best free AI tools for productivity you probably have not tried
If most “AI productivity” advice feels like the same five apps on repeat, this list is for you. These tools are useful in a practical way: they help you read faster, capture meetings cleanly, turn messy thoughts into plans, and produce work outputs you can actually send. If you want more picks like this later, keep a tab for chiangraitimes.com/ai and grab what fits your day.
NotebookLM, turn PDFs, notes, and links into clear answers and summaries
What it is: NotebookLM is a research helper that answers questions using your own sources (PDFs, notes, links), so you spend less time hunting for quotes and more time deciding what to do next.
Best for: Long documents you need to understand fast (reports, policies, client decks).
Top free features:
- Upload multiple sources and ask grounded questions
- One-click summaries and key takeaways
- Structured outputs (tables, outlines, study guides)
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Add a PDF report plus any related links or notes.
- Ask: “Give me the 7 key takeaways in plain English.”
- Ask: “Make a simple pros and cons table based on the report.”
- Ask: “Draft an outline for an email plan using these takeaways.”
One realistic use case: You get a 40-page vendor report at 4 pm. You pull out benefits, risks, and a short recommendation before your 5 pm update.
Watch out for: It summarizes what you upload, so if the source is wrong or outdated, the answer will be too. Always skim the original sections it cites.
Google AI Studio, build repeatable prompt workflows instead of one off chats
What it is: Google AI Studio is a free workspace for “power users” who want reusable prompts, longer tasks, and quick testing without rebuilding the same chat every time.
Best for: Repeat work like agendas, follow-ups, briefs, checklists, and internal templates.
Top free features:
- Save prompts as reusable templates
- Iterate quickly with variations and different inputs
- Test longer instructions in a clean workspace
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Create a saved prompt called “Meeting Pack Generator.”
- Paste meeting topic, attendees, and goal.
- Output three sections: agenda, follow-up email draft, action items list.
- Re-run next week with the new meeting details.
One realistic use case: Every Monday you run the same team sync. A template produces a tight agenda, then a follow-up email and action list right after.
Watch out for: Free usage has limits and can change. Keep your templates copied in a doc so you are not stuck if quotas tighten.
Granola AI, clean meeting notes without doing the typing
What it is: Granola AI captures meeting audio, then produces clean notes, summaries, and action items so you are not stuck typing while trying to listen.
Best for: 1:1s, project check-ins, and recurring status calls where details get lost.
Top free features:
- Automatic notes and recap-style summaries
- Action items and next steps pulled from the conversation
- Shareable notes you can paste into email or a doc
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Start Granola before your 1:1 begins.
- After the call, scan the summary and action items.
- Fix names, dates, and owners while it is still fresh.
- Paste the final recap into your task tool or send it as a follow-up.
One realistic use case: A project check-in runs long, and you leave with fuzzy next steps. Granola turns it into “who does what by when” in minutes.
Watch out for: Always confirm recording and consent rules, especially at work. Also double check names, dates, and numbers before you send anything.
Fireflies, record and search your calls so nothing gets lost
What it is: Fireflies records meetings, transcribes them, and makes them searchable so you can find the exact moment a decision was made.
Best for: Teams that forget what was agreed, or anyone juggling multiple calls per day.
Top free features:
- Searchable transcripts and basic summaries
- Highlights you can mark during or after the call
- Easy follow-ups based on key moments
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Connect Fireflies to your calendar or meeting app.
- Let it capture one meeting and generate a transcript.
- Search for keywords like “deadline,” “approved,” or “budget.”
- Copy highlights into your project update.
One realistic use case: Before you email a status update, you search the last call for “decision” and “due date” so you do not misstate what the team agreed to.
Watch out for: Transcripts can mishear names and acronyms. Spot-check the important parts before you treat it like a source of truth.
Wispr Flow, capture ideas by voice when you are walking or multitasking
What it is: Wispr Flow is a voice-first capture tool for when typing is not realistic. You speak messy thoughts, then turn them into usable text.
Best for: Commutes, walks, errands, or any time your brain is active but your hands are not.
Top free features:
- Fast voice capture for rough thoughts
- Clean text output you can edit and reuse
- Quick conversion into drafts and lists
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Record a 2 to 3 minute “brain dump” on one topic.
- Label it clearly (client name, project, or date).
- Convert it into a to-do list with owners and due dates.
- Generate a short email draft from the same capture.
One realistic use case: After a client call, you walk to your next meeting and record what you must not forget. Ten minutes later you have tasks and a follow-up email ready.
Watch out for: Voice tools can capture background chatter. Do not record sensitive details in public places, and review the text before you paste it anywhere.
AFFiNE, an open source notes and tasks workspace with an edgeless canvas
What it is: AFFiNE is an open source workspace that mixes notes, tasks, and an “edgeless” canvas. It feels like a whiteboard and a doc had a practical kid.
Best for: Project thinking that starts messy, then needs structure without switching apps.
Top free features:
- Edgeless canvas for visual thinking and mapping
- Notes and tasks in the same workspace
- AI help for summarizing and rewriting (where available)
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Start on the canvas and brain dump ideas as blocks.
- Group related ideas into clusters (by theme or owner).
- Turn each cluster into a task list with next actions.
- Use AI help to summarize the plan into a short update.
One realistic use case: You are planning a launch. You map messages, channels, and deadlines on the canvas, then convert clusters into tasks your team can actually run.
Watch out for: Open source tools move fast. Features and sync options can vary by platform, so test your “export and backup” flow early.
Comet Browser (Agent Mode), research and summarize what you read as you browse
What it is: Comet Browser with Agent Mode acts like a browsing sidekick. It can summarize pages and help you compare options while you read.
Best for: Quick research, vendor comparisons, and building a short recommendation without taking manual notes.
Top free features:
- Page summaries that cut reading time
- Research assistance across multiple tabs
- Quick extraction of key differences and pros and cons
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Open pages for three tools you are comparing.
- Ask for a short summary of each page in bullet form.
- Ask for a comparison list of key differences (price, integrations, limits).
- Ask for a 5-sentence recommendation tailored to your team.
One realistic use case: Your manager asks for “a quick take” on three meeting tools. You produce a clear recommendation with tradeoffs before lunch.
Watch out for: Browsing summaries can miss fine print, especially pricing and plan limits. Click through the source pages when details matter.
Opal, build simple AI helpers for work without heavy coding
What it is: Opal helps you create small AI helpers that do one job well, like answering common questions or generating drafts from a form.
Best for: Internal tools that reduce repeat questions and repetitive writing.
Top free features:
- Simple builder for basic AI workflows
- Reusable helpers (FAQ bot, brief generator, email responder)
- Easy iteration as you learn what users need
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Pick one narrow helper, like “Customer email helper.”
- Add two or three example inputs and outputs.
- Create a short checklist prompt (tone, length, required fields).
- Test with real messages, then tighten instructions.
One realistic use case: Your team answers the same onboarding questions every week. An internal FAQ helper produces consistent replies and links, so you stop retyping.
Watch out for: Start small. If you try to build a “do everything” bot, it gets vague fast. Also watch free usage limits (messages, runs, or projects), and plan for a paid tier if it sticks.
Canva Magic Studio (free tier), create visuals and quick edits without design skills
What it is: Canva Magic Studio on the free tier helps you produce clean visuals quickly, even if you do not think of yourself as a designer.
Best for: Work visuals that unblock you, like slides, thumbnails, and simple report graphics.
Top free features:
- Turn a doc into a slide-style layout faster
- Background removal for simple images (where available on free tier)
- Resize designs for social and basic templates
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Paste your doc text into a presentation template.
- Generate a clean title slide and section headers.
- Remove a background from one headshot or product image.
- Resize the final design for LinkedIn or a report page.
One realistic use case: You need slides for a meeting in 30 minutes. You drop in your outline, clean it up, and export something presentable without starting from scratch.
Watch out for: Some Magic Studio features are limited on free plans, and exports can vary. Check what is included before you build a workflow around it.
Nano Banana Pro, set up repeatable AI systems for charts, visuals, and outputs
What it is: Nano Banana Pro focuses on repeatable systems, not one-off prompts. You feed it the same kind of input each time and get the same set of outputs back.
Best for: Weekly reporting, project updates, and turning notes into consistent deliverables.
Top free features:
- Structured workflows that produce the same output set
- Quick formatting for tables and summary pages
- Reusable templates for charts or visual-style summaries
How to use it in 10 minutes:
- Paste meeting notes or a status update into your system input.
- Output a one-page summary written for a busy reader.
- Output a checklist of next steps with owners and dates.
- Output a simple infographic-style table (metrics, progress, risks).
One realistic use case: Every Friday you send a project update. Instead of rewriting from scratch, you paste your notes and get a consistent summary, checklist, and table in one run.
Watch out for: Verify outputs before sharing, especially numbers, names, and dates. Systems make repeats fast, which also makes repeated mistakes fast if you do not review.
Pick the right tool fast: quick matches for common productivity problems
When you’re overloaded, the fastest win is picking the tool that matches the pain. Use these quick scenarios like a menu. Choose one, run it for a week, and keep what sticks (more picks like this live on chiangraitimes.com/ai).
If you are drowning in research, PDFs, and messy notes
When your inputs are scattered, you need a simple “capture then compress” workflow.
- NotebookLM: Best when you want answers grounded in your sources (PDFs, docs, links). Start here if you keep rereading the same report. (Official: https://notebooklm.google/)
- Comet Browser (Agent Mode): Best when the web is your source and you want quick page summaries while you browse and compare. (Official: https://comet.perplexity.ai/)
- Google AI Studio: Best when you want repeatable research prompts (same output format every time).
A 3-step routine that keeps you moving:
- Collect sources: Drop PDFs into NotebookLM, open key pages in Comet, paste raw notes into one doc.
- Summarize: Ask for key takeaways, risks, and what changed since last time.
- Turn into actions: Use Google AI Studio to generate a checklist, an email draft, and a one-paragraph recommendation.
If meetings eat your day and you forget decisions
If the call ends and everything turns fuzzy, you need automatic capture plus a tight follow-up habit.
- Granola AI: Great for clean notes and action items without typing.
- Fireflies: Great when you want searchable transcripts so you can find the exact “we decided” moment later.
Simple habit (takes 4 minutes):
- Right after the call: Review action items, fix names and dates.
- Send a 5-line recap: decision, owner, deadline, risks, next meeting or next step.
If you need content and visuals done faster
Speed comes from reusing the same idea in multiple formats.
- Google AI Studio: Generate a solid outline and section headers fast.
- Canva Magic Studio: Turn that outline into clean visuals without starting from a blank page.
Mini example: one blog post becomes:
- A 5-slide deck (problem, 3 points, takeaway)
- A thumbnail with one clear headline
- A short email that tees up the main point and links to the post
If you want to automate small tasks without hiring a developer
Start with tiny automations that save you 10 minutes, then repeat.
- Opal: Build small AI helpers that take an input and return a draft.
- Nano Banana Pro: Good for repeatable “same input, same outputs” systems.
Practical examples:
- Turn form responses into drafts (intake form to proposal outline)
- Convert notes into checklists (meeting notes to next steps with owners)
A simple weekly workflow using free AI (so it actually saves time)
The easiest way to save time with free AI is to stop treating it like a magic button. Use it like a small set of repeatable “stations” in your week: plan, capture, research, write, meet, then ship. This workflow keeps everything in one loop, so ideas and action items don’t fall through the cracks (and you don’t rebuild your system every Monday). More workflows like this pop up on chiangraitimes.com/ai, but here’s one you can copy today.
Research and writing that stays organized
On Tuesday or Wednesday, do research in Comet Browser with a tight scope. Open only what you need, pull quick notes, then stop.
Move the sources into NotebookLM to get clean summaries and pull out the parts you’ll quote or reference. Now you have “inputs that make sense,” not a tab graveyard.
Finish in Google AI Studio using one saved prompt template for drafts and follow-ups, such as:
- Draft: “Write a 600-word section from these notes, in plain English, with 3 subheads and a short checklist.”
- Follow-up: “Write a 6-sentence recap email with decisions, next steps, and dates.”
Day routine that creates instant follow-ups
On heavy meeting days, run Granola AI or Fireflies, then do this every time before you jump to the next call:
- Confirm action items: Keep only the tasks that have a clear result.
- Assign owners: Every task needs one name and one date.
- Send recap, add tasks back into AFFiNE: Paste the recap, then add the tasks into your “Next 5.”
Before you send anything, do a quick human review for names, dates, numbers, and tone. AI saves time, but you still own the output.
Conclusion
Free AI tools can take real work off your plate, if you use them on purpose. This list was built around practical wins, faster research, cleaner notes, better meeting recaps, quick visuals, and small automations you can repeat. The big takeaway is simple: you don’t need expensive subscriptions to get momentum; you need two tools that fit your week and reduce friction.
Pick 2 tools, test them for one week, and keep only what saves time. If meetings are the problem, pair a recorder like Granola AI or Fireflies with a follow-up template in Google AI Studio. If your work starts as messy ideas, pair AFFiNE for notes and tasks with Canva Magic Studio for slides and visuals you can ship.
Make it easy on yourself, choose one workflow, set a reminder to review results next Friday, and cut anything you didn’t use. If you want more AI tool ideas later, chiangraitimes.com/ai is a good place to browse without getting lost in hype.
