ChatGPT
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
A chat assistant you can type or talk to, like texting a very patient helper.
Good for: Writing letters, answering questions, planning
AI Tools Directory
56 hand-picked tools, explained in simple terms. Click "How to start" on any card.
Everyday Helpers
Gemini
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Google's AI assistant, works with your Google account.
Good for: Quick answers, emails, Android phones
Microsoft Copilot
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Microsoft's AI helper, built into Windows and Edge.
Good for: Windows PC users, summaries, writing
Claude
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
A thoughtful AI assistant that is good with long text.
Good for: Explaining documents, careful writing
Grok
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
xAI's AI assistant. Chat by typing or talking, and it can look up the latest news.
Good for: Everyday questions, up-to-date news, voice chats
Perplexity
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
An AI search engine that answers in plain words and shows where each answer came from.
Good for: Checking facts, looking things up with sources
Meta AI
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Meta's AI assistant, built into WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.
Good for: WhatsApp users, quick questions, ideas
Alexa+
Free with Prime + paidDifficulty: Easy
Amazon's new, chattier Alexa. Talk to it on an Echo speaker or in the Alexa app, and it can follow a conversation.
Good for: Echo owners, reminders, music, hands-free help
Siri and Apple Intelligence
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Apple's built-in helper. Apple Intelligence adds writing help, summaries and a smarter Siri on newer iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Good for: iPhone users, hands-free questions, tidying up writing
Guide Website of Siri and Apple Intelligence (opens in new tab)
Google AI Mode
FreeDifficulty: Easy
A tab in Google Search that answers longer questions in plain words, with links to the websites it used.
Good for: Questions with several parts, comparing options
Grammarly
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Checks your spelling and grammar as you type, and can suggest a clearer or friendlier tone.
Good for: Emails, letters, social media posts
Goblin Tools
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Simple tools that break a big job into small steps, or make a message sound more polite.
Good for: Planning chores, wording tricky messages
Alexa for Shopping
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Amazon's AI shopping helper, formerly called Rufus. Ask questions about products, compare them and check a price history in the Amazon app or website.
Good for: Comparing products, checking prices, finding orders
Sponsor Spot
Your Tool Here
This is an example of how a paid listing will look. Sponsored listings are always labelled and never ranked above our honest picks.
Health And Medicines
Medisafe
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Pill reminder app that can alert a family member if you miss a dose.
Good for: Remembering medicines
ElliQ
PaidDifficulty: Easy
A friendly talking companion device for the home.
Good for: Company, reminders, check-ins
Ada
FreeDifficulty: Easy
A symptom checker app. It asks you questions and suggests possible causes and what to do next. It is not a diagnosis.
Good for: Understanding symptoms before you speak to a doctor
Money, Pensions And Admin
GOV.UK Chat
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Official UK government AI chat that answers only from GOV.UK guidance (launched May 2026).
Good for: Benefits, pensions, tax questions
NotebookLM
Free + paidDifficulty: Medium
Upload documents and get plain summaries. Avoid uploading private financial details.
Good for: Understanding long letters or guides
Family And Memories
Remento
PaidDifficulty: Easy
Record spoken stories and it turns them into a printed book.
Good for: Preserving family stories
StoryWorth
PaidDifficulty: Easy
Weekly email questions about your life, collected into a book.
Good for: Memoir gifts for family
MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia
Free trial + paidDifficulty: Easy
Brings old family photos gently to life with animation.
Good for: Old photos, family history
Guide Website of MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia (opens in new tab)
Google Photos
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Backs up your photos and uses AI to help you find them. Search for 'beach' or a person's name.
Good for: Finding old photos, sharing albums with family
Photomyne
Free trial + paidDifficulty: Easy
Scans old printed photos with your phone camera, crops them and saves them digitally.
Good for: Saving prints and old albums
Hobbies And Learning
Merlin Bird ID
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Identifies birds from a photo or their song.
Good for: Bird watchers, walks
PictureThis
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Snap a plant and it tells you what it is and how to care for it.
Good for: Gardeners
Google Lens
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Point your camera at anything to identify it or translate text.
Good for: Menus abroad, labels, objects
Duolingo
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Short, game-like language lessons.
Good for: Learning a language for travel
Shazam
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Hold up your phone and it tells you the name of the song that's playing.
Good for: Songs on the radio, TV or in shops
Seek by iNaturalist
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Identifies plants, insects and animals through your camera. No account needed.
Good for: Walks, gardening, days out with grandchildren
PlantNet
FreeDifficulty: Easy
A free plant identifier from a science research project. Snap a leaf or flower.
Good for: Gardeners, walkers
Canva
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Make cards, invitations and posters from ready-made designs, with AI help for words and pictures.
Good for: Birthday cards, club posters, photo collages
Adobe Firefly
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Describe a picture in words and it makes one for you, or changes a photo you already have.
Good for: Cards, invitations, fun pictures, tidying up photos
Suno
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Describe a song in words and it writes and sings one for you.
Good for: Fun birthday songs, trying out music
Hearing, Vision And Accessibility
Be My Eyes
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Connects you with a volunteer or AI to describe what your camera sees.
Good for: Low vision, reading labels
Seeing AI
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Microsoft app that reads text and describes scenes aloud.
Good for: Reading post, labels, signs
AirPods Pro hearing aid feature
Needs AirPods ProDifficulty: Medium
Turns supported AirPods Pro into hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss.
Good for: Mild to moderate hearing loss
Guide Website of AirPods Pro hearing aid feature (opens in new tab)
Live Transcribe
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Shows live captions of what people around you are saying (Android).
Good for: Conversations, appointments
Speechify
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Reads web pages, emails and documents aloud.
Good for: Tired eyes, long articles
Otter
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Turns speech into written notes as people talk, so you can read them back later.
Good for: Appointments, meetings, talks
Lookout
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Google's free Android app that reads text and labels aloud and describes what the camera sees.
Good for: Low vision, reading post and packets
ElevenReader
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Reads books, PDFs and web articles aloud in natural-sounding voices.
Good for: Tired eyes, listening while you rest
Aira
Free offers + paidDifficulty: Easy
Connects blind and low-vision people to a trained human visual interpreter by video call, and has a free AI that describes photos.
Good for: Blind and low vision: post, labels, shopping, travel
Ray-Ban Meta glasses
PaidDifficulty: Medium
Glasses with a camera, speakers and Meta AI built in. Ask questions out loud, take photos and hear what's in front of you.
Good for: Hands-free help, photos, low vision
Envision AI
FreeDifficulty: Easy
A free app for blind and low-vision people that reads text aloud, describes scenes and answers questions about what your camera sees.
Good for: Blind and low vision: post, labels, handwriting, documents
Scams And Safety
Bitdefender Scamio
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Free chatbot: paste a message or link and it tells you if it looks like a scam.
Good for: Checking suspicious messages
Norton Genie
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Free AI scam checker for texts, emails and websites.
Good for: Second opinion on messages
Truecaller
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Shows who's calling and warns you about likely spam and scam calls.
Good for: Unknown numbers, nuisance calls
Hiya
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
Spots and blocks spam and scam calls, and labels unknown callers.
Good for: Nuisance calls
Travel
Mindtrip
FreeDifficulty: Easy
AI trip planner that builds itineraries with maps.
Good for: Planning holidays
Google Maps
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Directions and places, now with AI-powered search and summaries.
Good for: Getting around, finding places
Google Translate
FreeDifficulty: Easy
Translates words, conversations and signs, by typing, talking or using your camera.
Good for: Holidays, menus, talking with family abroad
Wanderlog
Free + paidDifficulty: Easy
A trip planner that puts your bookings, places and route on one map, with an AI helper on the paid plan.
Good for: Planning holidays and road trips
Waze
FreeDifficulty: Easy
A free driving app that warns you about traffic, police, hazards and speed cameras reported by other drivers, and lets you report things just by talking.
Good for: Driving, avoiding traffic, road trips
Make Things (Vibe Coding)
Lovable
Free + paidDifficulty: Medium
Describe an app or website in plain words and it builds it.
Good for: First website or app
Replit
Free + paidDifficulty: Medium
Build and run small apps in your browser with an AI helper.
Good for: Learning to make apps
Bolt
Free + paidDifficulty: Medium
Type an idea, get a working web app in minutes.
Good for: Quick experiments
Updated 29 October 2026