AI Pulse
Updated Jan 2026
Jump to Overview Chatbots Coding Image Video Productivity

AI Tools Landscape

The definitive guide to AI tools — chatbots, coding assistants, creative tools, and productivity apps

800M
Weekly ChatGPT users
OpenAI, Oct 2025
50+
Major AI tools
Across categories
$20
Typical Pro tier
Monthly price
40%
Coding speedup
GitHub Copilot study

AI tools have gone mainstream. From ChatGPT's 800 million weekly users to specialized tools for coding, design, and content creation — AI is becoming as common as spreadsheets. Here's what's worth using.

How to Navigate This

We've organized tools by category. For each, we highlight the leaders, explain what makes them different, and give practical guidance on when to use what.

The Meta-Trend: Tools are converging. ChatGPT now does images and code. Claude does analysis and writing. The "best tool" increasingly depends on your workflow, not the task.

AI Chatbots & Assistants

The general-purpose AI interfaces. Best for: research, writing, analysis, coding help, brainstorming.

ChatGPT
Market Leader
OpenAI
The original and still the biggest. GPT-4 powers the Pro tier. Best for: general tasks, plugins, image generation, voice mode.
👥 800M weekly💰 $20/mo Pro
Claude
Best for Writing
Anthropic
Known for nuanced writing, long-context analysis (200K tokens), and safety. Best for: long documents, complex analysis, coding.
📄 200K context💰 $20/mo Pro
Gemini
Google
Google
Deep Google integration — Search, Gmail, Docs. Best for: research with citations, Google Workspace users.
🔍 Search integrated💰 $20/mo
Perplexity
Rising Fast
Perplexity AI
AI-native search engine. Answers with citations. Best for: research, fact-checking, current events.
📚 Cites sources💰 $20/mo Pro

Coding Assistants

AI pair programmers. Developers report 30-50% productivity gains.

GitHub Copilot
Most Popular
GitHub / Microsoft
The original AI coding assistant. Inline completions, chat, multi-file editing. Best for: VS Code, enterprise.
👥 1.8M+ paid💰 $19/mo
Cursor
Developer Favorite
Cursor Inc.
AI-native editor (VS Code fork). Composer mode for multi-file changes. Best for: greenfield projects, refactoring.
🚀 Fastest growing💰 $20/mo Pro

Image Generation

Text-to-image has matured dramatically. Quality now rivals professional work.

Midjourney
Quality Leader
Midjourney Inc.
Highest aesthetic quality. V6 handles text and complex scenes. Best for: creative work, marketing visuals.
🎨 Best aesthetics💰 $10-60/mo
DALL-E 3
In ChatGPT
OpenAI
Integrated into ChatGPT. Great prompt understanding. Best for: convenience, iterating through conversation.
💬 Conversational💰 $20/mo (GPT+)

Video Generation

The frontier of generative AI. Quality improving rapidly.

Sora
Just Launched
OpenAI
Most realistic video generation. Up to 60 seconds. Physics understanding.
🎬 Most realistic💰 ChatGPT Pro
Runway Gen-3
Pioneer
Runway
The video AI pioneer. Fast, reliable, used in Hollywood. Best for: professional video, VFX.
🎥 Pro workflows💰 $15-95/mo

Productivity & Writing

AI embedded in your workflow — documents, presentations, research.

Notion AI
Workspace
Notion
AI integrated into Notion. Summarize, write, brainstorm, Q&A across docs. Best for: Notion users.
📝 In-context💰 $10/mo add-on
Gamma
Presentations
Gamma
AI-native presentations. Generate slides from text, beautiful defaults. Best for: quick decks.
🎨 Auto-design💰 $10-20/mo

✓ Key Takeaways

✓ ChatGPT leads in users; Claude leads in writing quality
✓ Cursor is the developer favorite for AI-native coding
✓ Midjourney for image quality; DALL-E for convenience
✓ Video AI advancing fast — Sora, Runway, Pika
✓ $20/month is the standard pro tier
✓ Tools are converging — multi-tool strategies common

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