9.5 Useful AI Services
This final module moves beyond standalone tools to AI-powered services that solve specific, everyday problems. These are integrated solutions—often combining multiple AI models—that deliver tangible utility with minimal setup. We focus on services that are either free, offer generous free tiers, or provide such disproportionate value that they are worth knowing.
1. Research & Knowledge Synthesis
These services act as your AI research assistant, going far beyond a simple search.
Consensus.app
What it is: An AI-powered search engine for scientific research. It reads and summarizes peer-reviewed papers.
Core Utility: Ask a yes/no research question ("Does meditation improve focus?") and it returns a grid of papers with summaries and the consensus stance. It cites its sources from actual studies.
Free Tier: Limited searches per month. Perfect for students, writers, and curious minds.
Prompt Tip: Use specific, researchable questions. "What are the effects of intermittent fasting on metabolic health in adults over 50?"
Elicit.org
What it is: Another AI research assistant, but more workflow-oriented. You upload a research question or a draft of your own work, and it suggests relevant papers, extracts key claims, and even helps you brainstorm.
Core Utility: Fantastic for literature review stages. It can extract data from PDFs of papers you upload.
Free Tier: Generous for individual academics.
Prompt Tip: Upload your abstract and ask: "What seminal papers in this field am I missing?"
Perplexity AI (as a Service)
Reiterating its role: It's not just a chatbot; it's your daily driver for learning anything new. Its "Copilot" mode asks you clarifying questions to deliver a tailored, sourced report.
Use Case: "Explain quantum computing to me like I'm a high school student, focusing on real-world analogies. Provide sources." It becomes a personalized tutor.
2. Productivity & Workflow Automation
AI that integrates into your daily tools to remove friction.
Notion AI / Cursor.sh / GitHub Copilot (Contextual AI)
The Pattern: These are AI embedded where you already work.
- Notion AI: Inside your notes and wikis. Ask it to summarize meeting notes, generate action items, or translate a page.
- Cursor: An IDE (code editor) built around AI. It understands your entire codebase. Ask: "Where is the login function defined?" or "Write a test for this module." It's a paradigm shift for developers.
Core Utility: Reduces context-switching. You don't go to an AI website; the AI is in your workspace.
Rewind.ai / Microsoft Recall (Personal AI Memory)
What it is: A service that records everything you see, hear, and say on your computer (with your consent and local encryption) and makes it searchable by an AI.
Core Utility: "What did Jane say about the project budget in the Zoom call last Tuesday?" "What was that article I read about Singapore's housing policy?" It solves the "I know I saw it somewhere" problem.
Major Privacy Note: This is the most invasive and powerful utility. Use only if you fully trust the provider's privacy model (Rewind stores data locally; Recall's approach is debated).
3. Creative & Content Production Services
AI that handles entire production pipelines.
Descript
What it is: An all-in-one audio/video editor where you edit media by editing the transcript. Delete an "um" in the text, and it's deleted from the audio/video.
AI Features: Overdub (clone your voice to fix mistakes), Studio Sound (AI audio cleanup), Eye Contact (AI that adjusts your gaze to the camera).
Core Utility: Makes professional-level podcast and video editing accessible to amateurs. The text-based editing is a game-changer.
Free Tier: Limited exports, watermarked video.
Runway.ml
What it is: A suite of professional-grade generative AI video tools.
AI Features: Gen-2 (text/image to video), Inpainting/Outpainting for video, Motion Brush, Green Screen AI.
Core Utility: For creating short AI video clips, stunning visual effects, and experimenting with the bleeding edge of generative video. It's where the future of filmmaking is being prototyped.
Free Tier: Limited credits, perfect for experimentation.
Sunno.ai / Udio
What it is: AI music generation from text prompts.
Core Utility: Create custom background music, jingles, or full song snippets for projects. Prompt: "Upbeat synth-pop track with catchy guitar riff and optimistic vocals, 100 bpm."
Free Tier: Limited number of songs per day.
4. Personal & Consumer AI
Otter.ai / Fireflies.ai
What it is: AI meeting assistants that join your calls, transcribe in real-time, summarize, and extract action items.
Core Utility: Never take meeting notes again. Share automated summaries with team members. Ask: "What were the key decisions from the product meeting?"
Free Tier: Otter offers 300 mins/month free.
TLDV (Chrome Extension)
What it is: Automatically records and transcribes Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams calls (with participant consent).
Core Utility: The simplest "set-and-forget" meeting recorder. Great for interviews and conversations you need to reference.
Strategic Framework: How to Choose & Integrate
Don't try to use them all. Follow this process:
- Identify Your Highest-Friction Task: What do you dread doing? Writing emails? Research? Editing videos? Meeting notes?
- Map the Service to the Task: Use the matrix above. For research → Consensus/Elicit. For meeting notes → Otter/TLDV. For video editing → Descript.
- Adopt One at a Time: Integrate ONE service into your workflow for two weeks. Master it. Does it save you meaningful time or improve output quality?
- Evaluate the Cost-Benefit: Is the free tier sufficient? Does the paid tier's value (time saved, stress reduced) justify the cost?
The Future is Agentic
The next wave, already emerging, is AI Agents—services that don't just respond to prompts but perform multi-step tasks autonomously. (e.g., "Research flights to Tokyo in July under $1200, compare hotel options in Shinjuku, and draft a proposed itinerary."). Watch for platforms like Adept, Cognition's Devin, or OpenAI's rumored Agent SDKs.
Your Final Assignment: The Utility Audit
- List the 3 most repetitive or time-consuming tasks in your professional or personal life.
- For each, find one AI service from this list (or through your own research) that promises to address it.
- Test one. Document the time saved or quality improvement.
By strategically deploying these utility services, you move from "using AI" to living and working in an AI-augmented environment, where cognitive overhead is systematically reduced, freeing you to focus on what truly requires human judgment, creativity, and connection.