💡 [AI Mastery AZ] Top AI Tools Every Professional Needs in 2025

Welcome to the Very First Lesson of AI Mastery AZ

Today, we're going to talk about how digital assistants are changing the way we communicate and get information. We'll look at the most popular AI tools, what they can do, and how people use them. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a good overview of the top AI tools in 2024 and understand AI's current capabilities and limitations.

There are a lot of AI tools out there, but many of them are more fun than useful. We've tested them all and want to share only the ones that can help you in your work. We'll introduce the best AI tools, explain what they do, how much they cost, and how you can use them in real life.

Types of Generative AI Tools

Generative AI tools can create different types of content from text prompts. Here are some of the most popular ones:

🧠 Text to Answer: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini

• ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI, is a powerful chatbot that can respond to your questions in seconds, the latest version now is GPT-5.

  

• Claude, developed by Anthropic, is an advanced AI chatbot known for its ability to engage in natural conversations and provide detailed responses.

  

• Gemini, created by Google DeepMind, is a versatile AI tool that excels in understanding and generating human-like text responses.

  

Some use cases:

• Content Creation: Write articles, blog posts, emails, and stories.

• Translation: Translate text between over 50 languages.

• Coding Assistance: Help with writing and debugging code.

• Research and Analysis: Summarize documents and find key insights.

Pricing:

• ChatGPT: Free to use. There are now 4 personal plans: Free, Go, Plus, and Pro.
  
  If you’re just getting started, the Go plan ($5/month) is a great option, but note that it’s only available in certain countries for now. If you happen to be in one of them, definitely give it a try!
  
  For anyone else, OpenAI is expanding this plan to more regions soon! So keep an eye out, it’s really worth the wait.

The Business plan: $25 per user/month (billed annually). If you’re running a startup or small business, this plan makes teamwork with AI a lot smoother.

• Claude: A basic option available for free, with premium features accessible through subscription plans starting at $20 per month.

  

• Gemini: A free tier with essential features, while advanced capabilities are available through premium plans starting at $19.99 per month.

  

🎨 Text to Image: Nano Banana, 4o Image Generation, Grok Imagine

This year, text-to-image tools have gone to a whole new level: faster, sharper, and more natural. You don’t need to be a designer anymore to turn your ideas into visuals that actually look professional.

Nano Banana, 4o Image Generation, and Grok Imagine create images based on text prompts. They’re great for making high-quality, realistic images.

Nano Banana (by Google DeepMind)

4o Image Generation (by Open AI)

Grok Imagine

Some use cases:

• Marketing and Branding: Create images for campaigns and social media.

• Product Design: Get inspiration and create variations of designs.

• Artistic Exploration: Explore new styles and techniques.

Pricing:

• Nano Banana: Free tier available. Paid usage starts at $0.30 per 1M tokens (text/image/video) and $2.50 per 1M output tokens. Great if you just want to experiment without spending much.

• 4o Image Generation: Starts with $2.50 per 1M input tokens for the mini model and goes up to $10 per 1M input tokens for the full version
  

  

• Grok Imagine: Free basic access, or upgrade to SuperGrok ($30/month) for higher image quality and longer memory.

  

📄 Text to Presentation: Gamma, Kimi K2 Slides

Gamma AI makes documents, presentations, and websites from text prompts.

Some use cases:

• Business Presentations: Quickly create professional presentations.

• Webpage Design: Make landing pages and product pages easily.

Pricing: Free credits when you sign up, with paid plans starting at $10 per month.

Kimi K2 Slides is an AI-powered tool from Moonshot AI designed to help you generate polished slide decks in minutes

Pricing:

• Free tier: Basic access available with some feature limits.

• Starter plan: ~$9/month for ~10 million tokens/month.

• Ultra / Heavy usage plan: ~$49/month for ~70 million tokens/month.

• Pay-as-you-go/API: Input tokens ~ $0.15 per million, output tokens ~ $2.50 per million

Some use cases:

• Business Presentations: Quickly create professional presentations.

• Webpage Design: Make landing pages and product pages easily.

🚀 Text to Automation: Zapier, Make, and n8n

Zapier, Make, n8n connect different web apps to automate tasks. They now include AI workflows to make creating automation easier.

Some use cases:

• Automation Workflows: Create complex automations without much effort.

• Integrating AI Apps: Connect AI tools to build automated workflows.

• Building Custom Chatbots: Make chatbots that perform automated tasks.

Pricing:

• Zapier: Free plan with limited tasks, with paid plans starting at $19.99 per month.

  

• Make: Free plan with 1000 operations, paid plans starting at $9 per month if billed annually, and $10.59 if billed monthly.

  

  Annually

• n8n: offers a free self-hosted plan, while cloud plans start around $20/month and scale up with usage, plus custom options for large teams or enterprise setups.

📹 Image to Video: HeyGen, RunwayML, Veo 3, Sora, Grok Imagine

HeyGen makes videos from text prompts or images, featuring realistic AI avatars.

Some use cases:

• Explainer Videos: Create videos to explain complex topics.

• Corporate Training: Produce training videos and tutorials.

• Marketing Videos: Quickly make marketing content using AI avatars.

Pricing: Free plan with limited credits, with paid plans starting at $24 per month.

RunwayML is an AI tool designed for creative professionals, offering powerful capabilities for video editing, visual effects, and machine learning integration.

Some use cases:

• Video Editing: Enhance and manipulate video footage using AI-driven tools.

• Visual Effects: Apply complex visual effects and transformations to video content.

• Machine Learning Integration: Utilize pre-trained models for various creative applications, such as image generation and style transfer.

• Prototyping: Quickly prototype and test AI-powered concepts in creative projects.

Pricing: RunwayML offers a free plan with access to basic features. For more advanced functionalities and increased usage limits, subscription plans start at $12 per month.

Veo 3: A state-of-the-art text-to-video generator that turns your written ideas into short clips with full motion, sound and high-resolution output.

Some use cases:

• Create short ads or marketing clips in minutes.

• Turn storyboards or product ideas into visual concepts.

• Produce high-quality video backgrounds or B-roll footage.

Pricing: Charges roughly $0.50 per second of video (audio off) or $0.75 per second with audio.

Sora: A conversational-friendly text-to-video model bundled with ChatGPT, letting you generate short videos from text prompts (in different aspect ratios, up to ~20–25 seconds).

Some use cases:

• Generate educational or explainer videos.

• Make creative content for social media.

• Visualize concepts or stories with simple prompts.

Pricing: Basic access via ChatGPT Plus (~$20/month) for limited usage; full access via ChatGPT Pro (~$200/month) with higher resolution, longer video length and fewer watermarks

Grok Imagine: A versatile tool that supports both still image generation and short video clips

Some use cases:

• Produce quick social videos or brand visuals.

• Experiment with short animated scenes.

• Design engaging promo or announcement videos.

Pricing of this tool I have already mention in the Text-to-image section!

🎵 Text to Audio: Suno, Udio, ElevenLabs

Suno and Udio create songs and soundtracks in different genres from text prompts.

Some use cases:

• Music Creation: Generate complete songs, including lyrics and melodies.

• Soundtrack Generation: Make custom soundtracks for videos, films, and podcasts.

• Artistic Exploration: Help musicians with songwriting and brainstorming.

Pricing:

• Suno: Free credits daily, with commercial use plans starting at $8 per month.

  

• Udio: A free plan with a limited daily quota and basic features, with subscription plans starting at $10 per month.

  

ElevenLabs is a sophisticated AI tool focused on generating and enhancing audio content, including realistic voiceovers and custom soundscapes.

Some use cases:

• Voice Synthesis: Create lifelike voiceovers for videos, audiobooks, and virtual assistants.

• Audio Editing: Edit and refine audio recordings with advanced AI tools.

• Custom Voice Models: Develop unique voice models for specific applications or brands.

• Speech Enhancement: Improve the clarity and quality of spoken content.

Pricing: ElevenLabs offers a free plan with limited features. For access to more advanced options and higher-quality outputs, subscription plans start at $5 per month.

Capabilities of AI Tools

AI has changed many industries. Here are some things AI can do well:

1. Pattern Recognition and Data Analysis: Find insights in complex data.

2. Automation of Repetitive Tasks: Handle routine tasks accurately.

3. Natural Language Processing (NLP): Understand and generate human language.

4. Content Generation: Create articles, images, videos, and audio from text.

5. Computer Vision and Detection: Identify and classify objects in images and videos.

6. Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Improve over time with new data.

Limitations of AI

AI is powerful, but it has some limitations. However, it's important to note that AI is rapidly improving and evolving:

1. Transparency and Explainability: It’s often hard to understand how AI makes decisions.

2. Lack of Creativity and Originality: AI isn’t good at coming up with new, creative ideas.

3. Dependence on Data Quality: AI needs high-quality data to work well.

4. Lack of Emotional Intelligence: AI doesn’t truly understand human emotions.

5. Potential for Bias Amplification: AI can reinforce existing biases in data.

Incorporate AI into Your Daily Workflow

Here’s how to start using AI in your work:

1. Identify Tasks for AI Automation: Look at your workflows and find tasks that AI can help with.

2. Research and Select Suitable AI Tools: Choose tools that fit your needs.

3. Implement AI Tools Gradually: Start with simple tasks and gather feedback.

4. Foster Human-AI Collaboration: Use AI to help you, not replace you.

5. Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Keep learning about new AI tools and techniques.

That's all for our lesson today. Thanks for joining, and see you in the next lesson!

Next lesson: AI Chatbots