I'm An Ai Tools Expert, And These Are The Only Two I Pay For (plus Three I'm Considering)

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It's only been almost 3 years since generative artificial intelligence (AI) hit nan mainstream arsenic a caller paradigm of productivity, but present we are -- it's everywhere. 

I trial AI devices arsenic portion of my work. I'll excavation into conscionable astir immoderate AI-related exertion and spot what I tin make it do. Many of you person publication my ongoing shootouts comparing AIs for programming and AI contented checkers, among different kinds of tools. 

But that's utilizing AI successful a rigorous laboratory situation to supply trial results to ZDNET readers. Like galore of you, I've besides started utilizing AI to augment my workflow and summation my productivity.

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

I deterioration a batch of hats; I tally a mini business pinch my wife, who besides has her ain business, wherever I'm nan tech feline and designer. I besides activity pinch a number of manufacture groups. I person a reasonably celebrated information package merchandise for WordPress users. And I'm perpetually moving connected projects, ranging from 3D printing nan eventual charging tower, to trying to make an AI-assisted Etsy store, to composing and publishing music, and using an AI for thief pinch immoderate of nan trading activities.

I should statement that I never, ever usage AI to nutrient my halfway content. No article, song, aliases societal media station is ever written utilizing an AI tool. My activity merchandise is mine. But I do usage AI to thief maine get done different aspects of my workload.

I person a peculiar liking successful really AI helps programming, really AI tin support graphics work, and really AI tin support video production.

Here are nan devices I'm consenting to salary for -- and why.

1. ChatGPT Plus - $20/mo

Speaking of AI and programming, it has fundamentally doubled my programming output. I usage AI to thief maine pinch common-knowledge programming. I talked astir it in-depth successful my 25 tips article, but nan halfway use is getting ChatGPT to constitute codification for published APIs, truthful I don't person to walk clip searching for codification examples and trying to reverse-engineer comments connected various programming boards.

And yes, I mentioned ChatGPT. While much chatbots tin of passing my programming tests person been introduced successful nan past year, ChatGPT does nan occupation good enough, and hey, who wants different monthly fee?

Also: Perplexity Pro's AI perfectly aced my coding tests - but there's a catch

In fact, that's a large portion of why I'm paying $20/mo for ChatGPT Plus. Sure, I've signed up and paid for immoderate of nan different AIs conscionable to trial them, but ChatGPT Plus is nan only chatbot I person recovered truthful consistently useful that I support it arsenic a regularly utilized tool.

I usage ChatGPT for tons of investigation tasks, sometimes throwing mathematics problems astatine it, and each sorts of different questions and problems I'm dealing with. While I ne'er return its output arsenic an unimpeachable root of truth, I do find ChatGPT to beryllium a very useful sounding board, substantially much truthful than a speedy Google search.

Now, to beryllium fair, I did outline 5 ways that an AI could thief maine successful Gmail. If Gemini could do these things reliably, I'd motion backmost up successful a heartbeat. But I conscionable don't request nan existent email connection I'm reference summarized, and I judge don't request it to constitute a friendlier aliases much master type of immoderate I've presently written. I tried Gmail's caller AI unsubscribe feature, and it only recovered astir 10 newsletters, yet I get thousands of emails and hundreds of newsletter-style messages each day. So, I'm leaving that 1 unbought.

2. Midjourney - $10/mo

I played astir a batch pinch DALL-E, ChatGPT's earlier image procreation tool. But recently, OpenAI introduced a caller image generator successful GPT-4o, and it's quite nan beast. I person recovered that it generates awesome results, but it has much guardrails than different instrumentality I salary for, Midjourney.

Also: I tested 10 AI contented detectors - and these 5 correctly identified AI matter each time

But moreover though I get image procreation pinch my $20/mo ChatGPT Plus fee, I salary an other $10/mo for Midjourney. Why?

One of nan reasons is subjective. I for illustration a batch of nan images I get pinch Midjourney. Midjourney besides allows maine to picture creator styles, and lets maine riff disconnected a immense array of stylistic choices. ChatGPT, possibly because of guardrails imposed by OpenAI, doesn't coming arsenic galore choices.

But I besides person 2 circumstantial and nonsubjective reasons for paying for Midjourney. First, because image procreation is truthful subjective, it's bully to person a assortment of devices erstwhile seeking a practice of what you person successful your head. I'll effort different prompts and moreover nan aforesaid prompts pinch some devices and return what useful best.

Also: How to selectively modify a Midjourney image to create an creator statement

Second, each period I make a promotional image for my wife's online business. She has an e-commerce tract that supports a celebrated hobby. Each month, connected her very progressive Facebook group, she gives a craft-along taxable to her users. I make an image for that theme. Over nan months, I've recovered that Midjourney does a acold amended occupation of generating an image that incorporates elements of nan hobby. That said, immoderate months I bounce backmost and distant betwixt some devices until I tin get an image that meets her business's needs.

Because Midjourney shaves what utilized to beryllium 2 to 3 hours of activity pushing pixels successful Photoshop to make those images down to astir 10 minutes, it's worthy nan $10/month to maine conscionable for that project.

Photoshop Generative Fill - Honorable mention

In nan title of this article, I said I salary for 2 AI tools. That's benignant of true. I salary for Adobe's Creative Cloud suite successful summation to ChatGPT Plus and Midjourney. But since I've been utilizing and paying for Creative Cloud -- and earlier that, Photoshop -- agelong earlier location was generative fill, I'm not counting it successful my AI devices list.

If Adobe removed generative capable tomorrow, I'd still salary for Photoshop. To beryllium clear, I don't for illustration paying for it. It's costly, and nan two-computer licence limitation is restrictive. But a fewer years back, I tried switching to Affinity Photo, which astatine nan clip was $50 (it's now $70). That one-time interest is astir what I salary each period for Creative Cloud, truthful it had a batch of potential.

Also: I usage Photoshop's AI instrumentality each time - present are my 5 basal tips for nan champion results

To beryllium clear, Affinity Photo is simply a good application. But I've been utilizing Photoshop since earlier nan Clinton administration. To opportunity I person Photoshop musculus representation is an understatement. It's a merchandise I usage almost each day. Switching to different application, while I could do it if I had to, slows down my workflow considerably.

So, I don't see my monthly disbursal for Creative Cloud to beryllium an AI expense. That said, I find generative capable (and its various different AI tricks) very helpful. I often usage it successful performance pinch Midjourney and ChatGPT image generation.

Three devices I'm reasoning about

I tally a business online and, arsenic such, trust connected a wide assortment of unreality services. Those fees adhd up, and now they're each going up successful price. So while it mightiness beryllium bully to adhd much AI tools, I'm keeping it nether control. It's very easy to conscionable click OK and find yourself spending hundreds of dollars much each month.

Also: The champion AI for coding (including a caller victor - and what not to use)

That said, I americium reasoning astir adding 3 much tools. I'm a spot hesitant, because each 1 has its annoyances and limitations, but they're connected nan short database for a speedy bid if I tin ever warrant an contiguous capacity betterment connected 1 task aliases another.

Notion AI

The first is Notion AI. I americium profoundly invested successful Notion for each my task work. I besides usage it to constitute and shape each my articles, arsenic good arsenic schedule them, scheme them, investigation them, and seizure notes and assets. Notion AI is absorbing because it would activity for illustration NotebookLM, limiting its knowledge guidelines to my Notion account. That could beryllium very useful arsenic I activity connected much projects. But astatine 1 point, erstwhile Notion overcharged my wife's account, they were wholly unsupportive and unsympathetic. So, I hesitate to springiness them much business.

NotebookLM Pro

Google's NotebookLM Pro is different contender. Now that Pocket, nan article archiving service, is being discontinued, I considered utilizing NotebookLM Pro arsenic a replacement. The thought that I could prevention articles successful NotebookLM arsenic sources and past person nan AI reappraisal them, summarize them, and analyse them seemed ideal, particularly arsenic a investigation tool. 

But... nan free type of NotebookLM only allows 50 sources per notebook. The Pro version, which is usually different $20/mo ( you tin usually get a fewer starter months astatine a discounted rate), increases that limit, but only to 300 sources per notebook. My archive has good complete 30,000 sources, which is beyond NotebookLM's limits. There is simply a $249/month scheme (yowzah!), but all Google will opportunity astir limits is "Highest limits and champion exemplary capabilities (later this year)". What does that moreover mean?

Descript

Descript (for $16-$24/mo) is an AI video editing tool. This isn't a instrumentality that does text-to-video generation. Instead, it's a instrumentality that helps you return your video clips and edit them. Right now, I'm a very large Final Cut Pro user. Final Cut has added immoderate AI features, but it lags acold down DaVinci Pro and Premiere Pro (because Apple lagging successful AI is nary surprise, right?).

Also: Apple vs. generative AI: Who needs who?

Descript automatically removes filler words and retakes, cleans up sound value without immoderate fuss, and does automatic multicam editing. It besides promises to return long-form videos and automatically create clip videos, which could beryllium a immense time-saver. The merchandise besides has immoderate much "out there" features which I wouldn't use, including clone avatar procreation and clone reside generation. 

The point is, Descript is aimed much astatine aggregate talking caput videos. I'm not judge it could grip nan benignant of in-depth method hands-on task videos I do. So, it's still successful nan "maybe someday" category, for now astatine least.

What do you use?

Do you salary for immoderate AI tools? Which ones, and why? Is location an AI instrumentality that you powerfully urge I should beryllium utilizing that I didn't mention? Feel free to reply these questions and fto america cognize your thoughts connected AI subscriptions successful nan comments below.

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