The best AI tools for studying
Table of contents
Table of contents
Do you know this frustration?
- Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and feel like you’re losing track of everything?
- Do you wish there were 48 hours in a day so you could finally get everything done?
- Wondering if there’s a smart solution to make your stressful day easier?
The good news: there is! In the form of AI tools.
Here’s the wake-up call you need:
You don’t just need AI tools.
You need the right tools and the motivation to use them effectively.
In this blog article, we present the essence of 1,000 AI tools.
Forget everything you’ve ever heard about productivity tools. Here you will find 25 hand-picked high-end solutions that will revolutionize your studies.
But beware: these tools are not a no-brainer. They are diamonds in the rough that need to be polished.
Are you ready to invest time and effort to fundamentally change your life?
Then close your browser, delete TikTok and dive into the world of ultimate productivity enhancement!
Are you ready for the next step?
AI tools for research and data analysis
Research and data analysis make up a significant part of your studies. You will be doing this work again and again, whether for presentations or to prepare for an exam. The following tools will save you a lot of time and effort.
Heuristi.ca – AI tool catalog for discovery and organization
With Heuristi.ca you develop AI-supported concept maps based on scientific papers.
And it works like this: You enter a topic on a mind map, and then click on “Pros” and “Cons” to add the pros and cons of that topic to the mind map.
Or an explanation of the topic that is so simple that even a that even a 5-year-old can understand it. Think of it like a point-and-click adventure game, but as a playful learning and presentation method. Ingenious!
Explain Paper – Automatic explanation of scientific papers
Tired of difficult-to-understand gibberish in academic texts? We love “Explain Paper” for explaining cryptic text passages.
Simply upload the relevant document, highlight the desired text passage and let it translate academic jargon into easy-to-understand language – making it much easier and better for you to understand the context!
In our example, we tried this with our Staytoo Christmas story, which you can download for free.
Tavily – AI for notes and knowledge management
Tavily saves you hours of Google research. With Tavily, you enter a question on a subject area and receive the latest research results.
You should definitely try it out if you want to be more efficient in your research! You need a ChatGPT4 account for Tavily, but it’s worth it because it will significantly reduce your research time.
Otter.ai – Real-time transcription of conversations
Don’t feel like taking notes during the lecture? Let Otter.ai do the work for you.
The AI tool automatically transcribes audio recordings into text. So while you give the professor your full attention during the lecture, Otter.ai transcribes everything so that you can call up the notes later. We find it particularly practical that you can also save the lectures as MP3s, so you can listen to them again later as a podcast while jogging or cycling.
AI tools for better learning
We’ve all been there: exams are approaching, but the exam material just won’t stick in your head Dry, mindless cramming won’t get you anywhere.
That’s why we recommend our tried and tested learning methods – and of course the following AI tools for better learning.
Jungle – Generates index cards from web articles
Would you like to create flashcards and work with a flashcard box? Neither do we.
Junge creates cards from PDF files that you upload to the tool. Imagine that: Quiz questions in index card form that the tool generates for you based on PDF texts. Although you don’t have to imagine it, you can try it out right away!
Quizlet – Flashcards and interactive exercises
Similar to Wisdolia, Quizlet also creates flashcards for you to study. The big advantage compared to Wisdolia: Quizlet is in German, which is particularly cool when working with Quizlet’s AI tutor. It also helps you as a digital assistant to create the perfect quiz for your topic.
Kahoot! – Live quiz platform for education and training
The name kind of reminds you of the Yahoo! search engine, doesn’t it? Don’t you know it? Okay, now we feel old. But hey, Kahoot! is more up-to-date than ever, even though the company has been around since 2013.
Kahoot! is playful and wacky, and that’s exactly what makes it so brilliant: you can compete with other students in quiz competitions and create your own quizzes in which you can pit your fellow students against each other. Learning as a multiplayer game, how ingenious.
Elicit – AI-supported research assistant
Your personal AI assistant Elicit will now help you browse through research papers in a matter of seconds.
Elicit extracts important information from studies and articles and summarizes it for you. Crazy with the Elicit “Paper Chat” feature: You can ask Elicit questions about the paper to get specific information.
Of course, the tool also creates literature overviews for you and highlights particularly trustworthy search results to make your work even easier.
Still have questions? No? Then try it out! 🙂
AI tools for writing, text and data processing
Writing and word processing tools based on AI make studying so much easier! But beware: under no circumstances should you pass off AI texts as your own. It’s not even necessary, as you can use them as excellent support.
Speechify – text-to-speech tool
Would you like your script to be read aloud by Snoop Dogg or MrBeast?
Well, then you should definitely try Speechify. The AI tool converts speech into text, choose your favorite from 200 voices – by the way, it’s not just celebrities who talk there 😉
Speechify not only shines with pleasant voices, but also with a variety of setting options: Determine your own speaking speed, pitch, pronunciation and emotional coloring.
Of course, Speechify is not just limited to scripts: The AI tool reads emails, notes, PDFs, scanned documents and even photographed book pages to you.
The integration into your Chrome browser makes Speechify an ingenious everyday companion for better learning through listening.
Caktus – AI tutor for learning help and explanation
You can code with Caktus. You can write essays with Caktus.
With Caktus you can rewrite text passages.
With the Hook Generator, Caktus has completely won us over.
It writes you a hook, i.e. a few sentences that draw your lecturer into the text. Like fishing, you know? Or in other words: If you have to write any text as a draft, use Caktus. Just do it, you won’t regret it.
Grammarly – Text correction and style improvement
Writing texts is difficult enough – having to go through them painstakingly for errors and mistakes … Honestly, who wants to do that?
Exactly. Grammarly does it for you.
Quickly.
Efficiently.
No frills.
It’s not just about grammatical errors, Grammarly also improves your expression. Try it!
Zotero – Literature management with AI help
Zotero has been around for a long time.
What’s new are the AI integrations that help you get the most out of the tool.
With the AI research assistant A.R.I.A., for example, you can ask questions about your database – and A.R.I.A. will answer them for you. The integration uses OpenAI-GPT-4 for this.
However, you can also integrate ChatGPT directly into Zotero to help you create PDFs. And that’s just one powerful feature you can use with ChatGPT in Zotero. Prerequisite: You have a ChatGPT Plus subscription.
If you want to use several artificial intelligences at the same time and want sensible Excel exports of your data, we recommend the Zotero integration ZotAI.
You can also get Scite – this integration searches for and evaluates scientific articles. It’s really handy for quickly and effectively assessing the value of the sources you compile.
Wolfram Alpha – Scientific and mathematical calculations
Whether math, chemistry, statistics, physics, astronomy, biology, geography … and so on: Wolfram Alpha performs calculations, solves equations and integrals, calculates formulas and probabilities etc..
Wolfram Alpha not only spits out the result, but also shows you how to get there.
The tool not only accesses websites, but also knowledge databases that have been compiled by people. The information comes from reputable scientific sources (NASA, PubChem, textbooks, etc.).
Another bonus of this AI tool is that you can have the data explained, interpreted and even visualized if you wish. Super handy!
AI tools for creativity and innovation
Creative AI tools help you create graphics, videos and presentations. Discover our top tools in this area that will make you rock.
Synthesia – Creates AI avatars and video presentations
We’ve tried a few video tools, but Synthesia is the best we’ve found. Click here for the Staytoo video.
It’s super simple: you enter a text, choose a voiceover artist and a lifelike video is created in seconds. You can use it to create great explanatory videos for presentations, for example. Or you can use Synthesia for learning, for example like this:
- Upload a difficult text whose content you want to learn to the Explain Paper AI tool. The tool will then explain the text to you.
- Add the simplified explanation from Explain Paper to Synthesia and use it to create your own personal explanatory video.
Versy – AI-based video production from texts
Do you work with 3D models in your studies? Then you should definitely take a look at Versy. With this app, you can create three-dimensional rooms – with text! Presentation rooms, lofts, kitchens – there are no limits to your imagination and Versy’s display options. Definitely try it out!
The only downside: you currently have to join a waiting list before you can work with the tool.
Kaiber – AI video generation from images and text
You can really spice up your presentations with short videos.
But how should you create such short videos? After all, most students don’t have enough money to produce expensive videos.
And even if they did: Video production takes a lot of time, not to mention know-how and … stop! Kaiber helps you. You write a scene and Kaiber creates a video for you, animé-style if you like.
It’s as simple as that, and as ingenious as you’ll discover.
Leia Pix – 2D to 3D images and motion effects
Kind of creepy, but also damn impressive: with Leia Pix you can turn 2D images into high-quality 3D images. No idea how it works technically, but you know what? We don’t care, because the wow effect is what counts when you look at the pictures. And your fellow students will feel the same way when you call up the powerful 3D images in your presentation.
Midjourney – AI-based creative image generation
Midjourney was and is the thing when it comes to AI image generation.
And there’s a good reason for that: Midjourney simply creates fantastic images, no matter what the subject.
One thing that takes a bit of getting used to is that you create the images through text descriptions on a Discord server. It’s a bit technical, but don’t worry, with this quick start you’ll quickly get the hang of it and get the coolest images out of Midjourney.
Tome – AI tool for storytelling and presentations
Presentations: We love them, especially when we only have to look at them and don’t have to create them ourselves.
But since there’s no getting around it in university, you can make a virtue out of necessity, as the saying goes: with Tome, you can create presentations quickly and stylishly. You choose a template, enter the topic you want the presentation to be about in the tool and you’re done! With a little fine-tuning of the individual slides afterwards, you can create a top presentation in just a few minutes.
Pretty smart, isn’t it?
AI tools for time management and organization
Time is a big problem when studying – or rather, finding enough time for all the tasks at hand. The following tools are an ingenious way to help you finally get a grip on your time management.
Notion – All-in-one note and project management
Notion is the heavyweight when it comes to optimizing your productivity. And to be honest, that was the problem for a long time: as much as we like Notion, it’s pretty time-consuming to familiarize yourself with Notion without an AI assistant.
The Notion AI add-on is a huge relief. The AI is your personal assistant that explains the tool to you and performs tasks in the tool itself. This will take your productivity to a whole new level.
Todoist – Task manager with priorities and team features
Notion is still too extensive and too complicated for you? Then Todoist is the right self- and time management tool for you. Similar to Notion, you can create projects here, create and prioritize tasks, and upload your files that belong to the respective tasks or projects.
Everything is easier and smoother, even if Todoist seems a little slimmed down compared to Notion. By the way: There is also an AI for Todoist, the AI Assistant, which helps you in the tool.
Reclaim.ai – AI tool for intelligent time management
Reclaim.ai is a treat for fans of the Google calendar. The smart scheduling app supports you throughout your week with smart planning of your appointments to create your perfect daily schedule.
We don’t know whether we actually got 40% more done in the week, but we definitely brought more order and structure to our daily routines.
By the way, it’s especially cool if you link Notion or Todoist with Reclaim.ai: The tasks from these productivity tools are then imported directly into your calendar, prioritized and scheduled according to your preferences.
Other AI tools you should know about
The following AI tools have proven to be great all-round tools that you can use from time to time in everyday life.
Google Gemini – Multimodal AI for chat and analysis
Google reacted quickly to the AI trend and created its own AI.
The great thing is: Google Gemini can be used as an app via Android. So you always have one of the most powerful artificial intelligences on the planet in your pocket. Gemini also interacts with your smartphone content if required.
For example, if you take a photo of a flower on your next spring walk, you can use this photo directly to ask Gemini what kind of flower it is.
Gemini is also unbeatable when you’re searching for something on the web. No wonder, since Google itself offers the data from its own search engine.
Mixo – AI for the quick creation of landing pages
Have you always wanted to build your own website? For example, to start your own business alongside your studies? There’s only been one problem so far: building a website takes a hell of a lot of time.
Take a look at Mixo: The AI website builder only needs a sentence in which you describe what your website should be about, and it will put together a complete website for you.
To ensure that the result is not too generic, Mixo asks you what your goal is.
Do you want website visitors to contact you? Or book appointments with you because you are a freelancer, for example? Tell Mixo and be surprised by the result!
Replika – Personalized AI assistant
A virtual assistant who is always there for you.
Who motivates you in difficult learning phases and supports you with advice, action and understanding.
Sounds nicer than an AI-controlled chatbot, doesn’t it? That’s exactly what Replik is, but before you scroll any further: give it a chance.
Replika can be very empathetic, and that is the great strength of this AI tool.
When you communicate with Replika, you’re not just talking to a text input screen. You create your own AI friend, with an outfit and a personalized environment. Your AI friend develops the longer and more detailed you talk to him or her.
It’s a bit like “The Sims”, except that your replica friend talks to you personally.
Replika offers you comfort in difficult moments and helps you practice social interactions. We find this very valuable for everyday study life.
AI special: ChatGPT
It all started with ChatGPT, or at least the big AI hype. But the developers are not resting on their laurels: The company behind it, OpenAI, is constantly developing ChatGPT further and the results in response to queries are getting better and better.
This is also the reason for our personal recommendation: the developers of ChatGPT have simply gained the most experience with the use of AI and are perfecting their baby accordingly. Therefore, you should not make the mistake of leaving ChatGPT behind, even if there are new exciting AI tools.
But beware: You should definitely keep the following things in mind with ChatGPT.
Therefore you should be careful when using ChatGPT in teaching and research
Every time you hand in a written paper, you confirm that this paper is your own work. Or in other words: You assure the university/technical college that it is a research work done by you, a text written by you and not plagiarism.
However, the likelihood is, when using ChatGPT, that if your text is submitted, there will be copyright infringement that you won’t even notice.
ChatGPT creates texts based on existing texts
ChatGPT has a gigantic pool of existing texts and learned from them how natural language works, according to the developers. Nevertheless, already existing texts written by humans remain the basis from which ChatGPT makes use of. This is because ChatGPT is an AI model and actually not a creative artificial intelligence.
Dr. Max Greger, specialist lawyer for IT law, writes about the question of copyright of the alleged artificial intelligence on his website:
However, it is also the case that ChatGPT does not always create the texts completely generically. After all, the AI is not intelligent in the truest sense, but reproduces the answers based on previously viewed documents.
So it is not excluded that the AI either reproduces existing text structures or excerpts from texts that are only slightly modified. In both cases, this would constitute a reproduction under § 16 UrhG. If you then upload these texts to your website, this would also be a public disclosure according to § 19a UrhG.
ChatGPT texts belong to the company OpenAI
Problem No. 2: When asked where the copyrights of a text of ChatGPT are, the bot itself answers:
So even if you manage to have a ChatGPT text created that stands up to the now very thorough Plagscan software out there, you are committing copyright infringement. As a further warning, powerful AI text recognition software already exists for schools and other educational institutions such as universities, even developed by the ChatGPT inventors themselves. It is called “AI Text Classifier”, and it is already in use and under continuous development.
Further problems with the use of ChatGPT in schools, colleges and universities
Copyright is only one pitfall in using ChatGPT in studies. Here are other pitfalls if you’re toying with the idea of having AI write texts for you.
Outdated knowledge
According to the developers, ChatGPT is at a knowledge level of the end of 2021, so the chatbot is not aware of developments that took place in 2022. ChatGPT cannot therefore tell you what developments have taken place in society and research in the last year, which is particularly unhelpful for texts that refer to current events.
Of course, you can now also have ChatGPT search the Internet. Nevertheless, you should be careful with the information you receive.
Incorrect information
In several experiments, ChatGPT spit out nonsensical or even incorrect answers to technical questions. From incorrect equations in mathematics to incorrect factual information, there were several such phenomena documented online.
It is not without reason that you will find the corresponding note under the ChatGPT input window:
The problem: If you rely on ChatGPT to answer the questions, how are you going to distinguish between correct and incorrect information?
You can use ChatGPT sensibly in teaching and research
Is ChatGPT completely unsuitable for studying because of the problems mentioned above?
No!
There are absolutely useful applications for ChatGPT. However, since it is a technology with so far unresolved legal issues, we would like to point out that the use of ChatGTP for your studies is always at your own risk. Now let’s get to the useful application possibilities!
For research: ChatGPT is a good helper if you want to find exciting aspects and relevant information for a topic. The tool recognizes meaningful connections and clusters that belong to a topic complex. On this basis you can also let ChatGPT spit out exciting research questions by entering the command “Find research questions on the topic …” or “Tell me research areas on …”.
For text drafts: Using ChatGPT to generate text drafts can help you find inspiration for the structure of your own texts. However, it is very important that you write your own texts and not just modify the ChatGPT drafts. Otherwise you run the risk of plagiarism. Of course, this also applies if you use ChatGPT to create codes in another department such as computer science.
For proofreading and editing: ChatGPT detects grammatical and stylistic errors in existing texts. To do this, enter the command “Check this text for spelling and grammar errors:”, copy the text into the input field and then let ChatGPT find these errors for you. By the way, ChatGPT is also able to find synonyms for terms in your texts with the prompt “Find synonyms for …”. to find synonyms for terms in your texts. This is useful for example if you don’t always want to write “employees” or similar in your texts.
For learning: With ChatGPT you can create your own quiz and thus create your individual exam. Give the prompt “Create me a quiz on the topic …” and test yourself!
More info about chances and risks of ChatGPT in studies
The success of ChatGPT came as a surprise; accordingly, schools, colleges, and universities have yet to learn how to use ChatGPT. But it is very likely that educational institutions will make extensive use of AI recognition tools such as OpenAI’s “AI Text Classifier” to recognize AI-generated texts.
However, it does not look like ChatGPT will be banned in schools and colleges for the time being. In the meantime, there are numerous media reports in which teachers, lecturers, principals, etc. have their say.
The tone is similar throughout: A ban on the technology for university teaching does not make sense or is almost impossible to implement. It is much more important to teach students the meaning of their own work on the material.
Let’s be honest: You study for yourself in order to acquire qualifications. So if you study, work hard and use ChatGPT to support you, you have a tool that will help you in your studies. We wish you good luck with it!
More articles in our blog
Did you find the AI tools presented here exciting? We have so much more to offer on our blog! Take a look at these articles:
And don’t forget: A fool with a tool is still a fool, even with AI tools. Or to put it in our words: these tools can’t do the studying for you, you have to do it yourself. But these tools will make your time on campus much easier.
We wish you every success and say ahoy!
Your Staytoo team