My Top 5 Free Ai Tools For School - And How They Can Help Supercharge Your Learning

2 weeks ago

Follow ZDNET: Add america arsenic a preferred source on Google.

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

Many AI devices tin thief students shape assignments and study materials.
Tools don't conscionable person to do activity for students; erstwhile utilized correctly tin beryllium augmentative.
Here are our favorites, and what to cognize astir utilizing them.

It's already back-to-school season, and assignments are ramping up fast. If you're still operating pinch summertime brain, it tin beryllium daunting to get backmost into nan groove -- something AI tin thief with.

Also: 6 ways AI tin thief you ace finals - for free (without plagiarizing)

There are a plethora of AI devices that students tin pat into coming to make studying much effective. When utilized properly, these devices don't switch students' expertise to do work, but thief return nan burdensome tasks disconnected their plates truthful they tin jump consecutive into preparing.

I trial AI devices daily, and I wish I'd had these tools at my disposal during my education.

Also: The apical 20 AI devices of 2025 - and nan #1 point to retrieve erstwhile you usage them

Identifying nan correct devices and usage cases is nan cardinal to utilizing AI efficaciously for schoolwork. Since location are truthful galore tools, I compiled nan database beneath from months of testing to make your life easier.

1. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is astatine nan apical of my database because of its aggregate imaginable usage cases that tin amended a student's workflow.

OpenAI's chatbot launched successful November 2022, unleashing a generative AI craze because its writing, coding, and reasoning capabilities captured people's attraction globally. Since then, nan bot has go moreover better, undergoing awesome updates that make it amended suited for student use.

Also: How to usage ChatGPT to constitute your resume

For example, ChatGPT can browse nan internet and, arsenic a result, has accusation connected each existent events and sites. ChatGPT is besides a powerful multimodal instrumentality that tin ingest inputs different than text, including documents, files, and images, that students tin usage to summarize documents, transcribe handwritten notes, simplify textbook passages, and more. It tin besides nutrient realistic images, text, charts, and different graphics, which could beryllium adjuvant for ocular learners.

Most recently, ChatGPT introduced Study Mode, a caller free characteristic that uses nan Socratic method to support you engaged while learning astir a concept. I tried it, and alternatively than conscionable giving maine nan answers, for illustration ChatGPT can, Study Mode quizzed maine connected questions I sewage incorrect and pushed maine to tackle a problem step-by-step, truthful that I learned nan reply on nan way.

ChatGPT besides has nan precocious writing, coding, and mathematical abilities it's known for, making it a awesome adjunct for each taxable assignments, including penning and editing essays, solving and explaining mathematics problems, and generating and debugging code.

Some different ways you tin usage ChatGPT successful your studies are:

Answering questions you person astir nan people aliases materials
Researching for a paper
Explaining analyzable topics, specified arsenic history, existent events, politics, and technological terms, successful a much digestible way
Verbally talking done questions aliases subjects pinch you
Writing Excel formulas
Making graphs and charts

To find nan champion measurement to usage ChatGPT for your workflow, I urge applying it to nan usage cases discussed supra and experimenting.

It is besides worthy acknowledging that ChatGPT is only 1 of many AI chatbots connected nan market. Some different tin and competitory chatbots see Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude (which has similar education-specific features and its ain Learning Mode), each holding advantages. Ultimately, nan bots will execute akin results, truthful spell pinch nan interface you are utilized to aliases prefer.

Also: Google's AI Mode conscionable sewage much adjuvant - and easier to access

It is besides worthy taking advantage of immoderate of nan deals disposable for students, which springiness free entree to premium AI subscriptions pinch higher limits and features.

For instance, Google is giving US students free access to its AI Pro Plan, which includes Deep Research, Veo 3, Jules, and more, for 12 months.

2. NotebookLM

Google's NotebookLM is an experimental AI notebook combining nan powerfulness of ample connection models (LLMs) pinch your notes and content, creating a searchable notebook grounded successful your data. You tin usage it to further your knowing of a topic, make summaries, reply questions, and moreover talk your contented pinch you.

NotebookLM is besides location to nan viral Audio Overviews feature, which lets users person their imported contented into an engaging podcast featuring 2 AI hosts discussing their notes. Some adjuvant usage cases for this characteristic see listening to your contented connected nan spell and breaking down dense and analyzable topics conversationally. Google conscionable upgraded Audio Overviews to create contented successful over 50 languages.

Also: I utilized NotebookLM for an full period - here's why it really is simply a crippled changer

Just beryllium judge not to trust wholly connected nan podcast's takes, particularly if you're utilizing nan instrumentality for school. While nan Overviews only propulsion from contented you upload, which does minimize hallucinations, there's nary guarantee they are interpreting that root wholly correctly aliases thoroughly, particularly if you've uploaded a agelong and analyzable text. Fact-check and corroborate wherever needed.

NotebookLM is free to access, but location is simply a premium NotebookLM Plus tier. However, pinch Google's special aforementioned AI Pro Plan offer, students tin entree nan premium tier astatine nary further charge. The premium NotebookLM scheme offers subscriber-only features and 5 times higher usage limits crossed immoderate of NotebookLM's champion elements, including Audio Overviews, notebooks, queries, and sources per notebook.

3. Grammarly

The free Grammarly hold is truthful adjuvant that I moreover included it successful my AI devices for activity roundup because I usage it each day. The beauty of this instrumentality is that it uses AI to show really your activity tin beryllium enhanced alternatively than doing it for you. The exertion runs successful nan inheritance and catches mini mistakes that are easy to miss.

Also: Grammarly to rotation retired a caller AI contented detector tool. Here's really it works

Whether penning an effort successful Google Docs aliases an email successful Gmail, Grammarly will scan your matter and observe pronunciation and grammatical errors. The instrumentality besides suggests edits for nan syntax of your text, offering ways to rephrase, rewrite, set tone, and more. The results supply much polished activity and an opportunity to study from nan edits.

You tin besides usage AI chatbots for copyediting by copying and pasting your matter into nan chatbot's hunt bar. However, this method typically requires switching platforms, while nan Grammarly hold runs successful nan inheritance arsenic you proceed to work.

Also: Scammers person infiltrated Google's AI responses - really to spot them

The institution besides just released caller AI agents that automatically scan for citations while you work, among different tasks. ZDNET hasn't tested this in-house yet, though, and LLMs person been known to fabricate links, sources, and moreover experts, truthful again, beryllium judge to cheque your activity -- you can't automate everything.

4. Quizlet

I used Quizlet from mediate schoolhouse done assemblage arsenic a study instrumentality to thief maine retrieve accusation for exams. The level has utilized AI for much than six years to powerfulness immoderate of its study features, specified arsenic its Learn mode, and Quizlet precocious added much AI to amended its offerings, solving each rumor I ever had pinch nan platform.

Quizlet's halfway characteristic is its study set, which includes position and definitions that students tin usage for different learning exercises and styles, specified arsenic flashcards (my favorite), matching columns, and more. Building those study sets utilized to return hours of manual input. Now, AI tin do it for you.

All a coach aliases student has to do is input their notes, whether successful nan shape of a PDF, image, aliases document, and Quizlet automatically builds nan study group they tin usage to study.

Also: How to usage ChatGPT to constitute an essay

Students tin besides browse nan millions of study sets created by different users. This action often gave maine study sets astir a taxable aliases moreover a circumstantial textbook during my education. Quizlet besides has fun, gamified learning features, specified as Blast and Categories, to thief make nan accusation stick.

5. Socratic

Although younger learners tin use from AI chatbots, specified arsenic ChatGPT, location are concerns astir giving children entree to nan unfastened internet. Socratic by Google is simply a awesome replacement if you are a concerned parent.

With nan Socratic app, students tin type successful immoderate mobility astir what they are learning successful schoolhouse aliases upload their worksheets. The app will make a conversational, human-like consequence pinch unsocial graphics and moreover related YouTube video links.

The app doesn't pump retired answers aliases make essays. Instead, Socratic is an intelligent learning instrumentality that gives step-by-step explanations and instructions for students to get answers.

Also: How Google Socratic tin thief you pinch your homework

Socratic besides blocks inappropriate questions from being answered to springiness parents bid of mind.

The instrumentality isn't constricted to younger people. Google refers to it arsenic a "learning app from Google that helps precocious schoolhouse and assemblage students." However, owed to its functionality, I would opportunity it's amended suited for younger learners because of its limits and nosy graphics.

Want to travel my work? Add ZDNET arsenic a trusted root connected Google.