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Simon Lau
November 19, 2024
School moves fast. Lessons blur together, deadlines pile up, and there’s always that one class that assigns way too much reading.
Fortunately, artificial intelligence (AI) can help. The right AI tools make learning easier and more efficient, so you can stop scrambling to keep up and focus on understanding the material.
Ready to level up your study game? Here’s a look at the 10 best AI tools for students in 2025, including one standout: Otter for education, which automatically takes notes in classes so you can listen and engage.
The best 10 AI tools for students in 2025
Need help taking notes, improving your writing, or performing research? There’s an AI tool for that. Here are 10 of the best AI tools for college students to help you stay on top of your studies:
1. Otter.ai
There’s no need to frantically scribble down notes during class anymore, since Otter.ai offers a superior note-taking solution. This AI-powered transcription tool records and transcribes lectures and lessons in real time. Instead of stressing about catching every detail, you can focus on absorbing the material and engaging in class discussions.
When it’s time to study, you’ll have a detailed transcript ready to review where you can easily search for specific terms or phrases, highlight important sections for quick reference, or edit to correct errors.
Otter also automatically generates big-picture summaries of your recordings, so you can quickly grasp the main points without repeating the entire lecture. These features help you organize your notes and revisit key information when preparing for exams or assignments.
2. Grammarly
Whether you’re working on an essay or writing an email to your professor, Grammarly is your friend. This AI writing assistant elevates your compositions by catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
But Grammarly is more than a spell-checker. It also offers suggestions to improve your clarity, tone, and style. You can even tailor your Grammarly settings to fit your writing goals. For example, switch on the “academic” setting to ensure your tone is appropriate for a formal essay.
What’s more, Grammarly can check for both plagiarism and AI-generated text. This is helpful when you’re citing other sources or using AI to assist with your writing. Many professors allow students to use AI to brainstorm or refine ideas, but they want the text of the final product to be your own work. With these Grammarly functions in your toolkit, you can be confident your submissions are original and properly attributed.
3. Quillbot
QuillBot is another powerful tool for improving your writing. QuillBot is primarily a paraphrasing tool. Feed it a sentence or paragraph of text, and it will rewrite the idea in an entirely original way.
When you need to incorporate someone else’s ideas into an essay, QuillBot can rephrase the source material to fit seamlessly into your voice and writing style. This helps you avoid plagiarism while you convey the key points from your research. QuillBot also generates citations in various styles, so you don’t have to stress over bibliography formatting for the content you’re sourcing.
In addition, QuillBot has a summarizing feature that condenses long articles, research papers, and other texts into bite-sized, digestible points. If you don’t have time to finish a reading assignment, ask QuillBot to generate a quick summary to prep you for class.
4. ChatGPT
ChatGPT is among the best AIs for studying. This generative AI chatbot can explain complex topics in simple terms, making it the perfect partner when you’re reviewing for exams or tackling homework assignments.
That said, no AI tool is perfect, and ChatGPT sometimes gets things wrong. Double-check the information it provides against your textbooks and lecture notes, and consider ChatGPT alternatives like Claude. Different generative AI models may be better suited to specific subjects or tasks.
Beyond studying, ChatGPT can also help with writing and text editing. For example, you can ask it to brainstorm ideas for essays or suggest ways to improve your writing. Generative AI helps you speed up your writing process and convey ideas more smoothly.
5. Canva
Most students have to give a presentation at some point in their academic careers. Canva makes it easier. Whether you’re creating a poster or a slide deck, Canva’s intuitive interface guarantees stunning visuals — even if you don’t have design experience. It offers numerous templates, fonts, and graphics to personalize your designs.
Even better, Canva’s Magic Studio uses artificial intelligence to simplify various design tasks. For example, you can use Magic Studio tools to convert text into images, videos, or graphics — perfect for creating visual aids for presentations or projects.
6. Tutor AI
Forget expensive private tutors with limited availability. Tutor AI is an AI-powered, personalized teacher that offers real-time tutoring on a wide range of subjects, from machine learning to French grammar.
You can also use Tutor AI to design your own courses. Want to brush up on your calculus skills or dive into creative writing? Simply input your learning goals, and Tutor AI will generate tailored lessons and practice exercises to help you reach them.
Tutor AI allows college students to review lecture material, prepare for exams, and explore subjects outside their coursework. Whether you need extra help in a tough class or want to explore a new field of interest, this AI tool helps you learn at a pace that works for you.
7. Perplexity AI
Working on a research paper? You don’t have to spend hours scouring your library’s databases or endlessly scrolling through Google Scholar results. Perplexity AI helps you find the most relevant research instantly.
Ask Perplexity your research question, and this AI chatbot will analyze and summarize countless reputable websites to provide concise answers. It even links directly to sources, saving valuable time and ensuring you use the most current and accurate information.
8. Elicit
Elicit is another great AI tool for student research projects. It guides you through the process of finding, structuring, and analyzing data.
Ask Elicit’s chatbot specific questions about your topic, and it will provide relevant insights and citations to help you build your arguments. Alternatively, you can upload your original research and ask it to interpret the data, making it easier to organize your findings and draw conclusions.
9. Wolfram Alpha
Not a math whiz? No problem. With Wolfram Alpha, you can still ace your next math quiz.
Whether you’re grappling with calculus, physics, economics, or even history, this AI-powered tool explains even the most complicated equations with intuitive steps. Simply input your question or problem, and Wolfram Alpha will answer. It offers detailed explanations for each answer, so you’re not just getting the solution but understanding the process behind it.
Use this tool to check your work, learn how to apply complex math concepts, and prepare for your exams and assignments.
10. Notion AI
If you’re tired of feeling overwhelmed by scattered notes and to-do lists, Notion’s AI tools may be the solution you’re looking for. Notion is an all-in-one workspace designed to organize your notes and projects, and its AI features make it even more effective.
Need a summary of key concepts? Just ask. You can prompt Notion AI with questions about your uploaded lecture notes, and it will deliver straightforward answers. This AI-powered assistant also provides a centralized hub to brainstorm ideas, manage deadlines, and track academic goals.
4 benefits of AI tools for education
College doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Using AI tools, you can crush all your educational goals. Here’s how:
- Boosted productivity: AI tools handle mundane tasks like note-taking (Otter) and presentation design (Canva), giving you more time to study.
- Enhanced accessibility: Using AI in educational contexts makes learning more inclusive. For example, Otter can transcribe audio in real time for students who struggle to keep up with fast-paced lectures or need captions for video content.
- Accelerated skill development: AI gives you immediate feedback, so you don’t have to wait for professors to post your grades to find out whether you’ve mastered the material. As you study, it highlights what you’re doing well and where you can improve.
- Personalized learning: AI tools deliver content made just for you. They can slow down and elaborate if you’re struggling to understand a topic. If you’re breezing through the content, you can ask to ramp up the challenge so you’re always learning at your ideal pace.
Make your study sessions more productive with Otter
Otter is the ideal study buddy. It automatically transcribes your lectures, providing clean, detailed notes with minimal effort. Meanwhile, you can focus on listening and absorbing the material. If you missed a key detail or didn’t quite grasp a concept, you can ask Otter AI Chat for instant clarification.
With Otter, you’ll save time, study smarter, and get more done. Try Otter today.
