Your Ultimate Guide to the Best Mobile AI Apps

ChatGPT Your Conversationalist 🗣️

Available on iOS & Android

The most distinctive feature of the ChatGPT app is its Advanced Voice Mode. You can ask it to simulate a tough interviewer or a skeptical client to prepare for a challenging conversation, or have it ask you questions to help with decision-making.

Most of the functionalities available on your laptop are also in the mobile app:

• Create an image: Request infographics, cartoons, or photo illustrations.
• Ask for deep research: Get a detailed analysis complete with sources.
• Study & learn: A new mode helps strengthen your skills and knowledge.
• Analyze files or images: Convert a handwritten note to digital text or make sense of any document, diagram, or manual. This is often faster than a Google search for assembling or operating something.
• Use integrated apps: Access tools like Canva, Figma, Spotify, and Expedia directly within ChatGPT. You can prompt for a graphic on your phone and edit it later in Canva.

Pulse is a top new pro mobile feature that creates customized daily notes. The AI assistant synthesizes information from your chat history, Google Calendar, and expressed interests. These are personalized resources, not news updates, as AI can struggle with news accuracy. Note that Pulse is not yet available for free accounts.

Gemini Your Creative Partner 🧑‍🎨

Available on iOS & Android

Beyond its core chat capability, the Gemini app offers five special features:

• “Nano Banana” image generation: Edit photos, blend multiple images, or design posters. Try asking it to turn a phone image into a record album or book cover.
• Deep Research: Generate exhaustive reports with citations for thorough background on any issue.
• Veo 3 video generation (Paid accounts only): Create 8-second clips with Google’s new video model, perfect for slick moving backgrounds for slides.
• Canvas: Make infographics, quizzes, or simple games.
• Guided Learning: Put Gemini in teacher mode to gradually strengthen your understanding of any topic.

Gemini is a great alternative to ChatGPT for specific image edits, creative image designs, short video clips, guided learning, and research reports.

Claude Your Mobile Studio 👷

Available on iOS & Android

Claude’s app features a new voice mode that waits for you to tap the screen before responding, so it rarely cuts you off. You can also create interactive mini-applications called Artifacts directly from your phone, such as games, templates, or learning resources.

One of Claude's most valuable features is Projects, which organizes documents and instructions for different areas of your work. While it doesn't handle images or video, Claude excels at tasks like writing alt-text, SEO text, and project planning where understanding context is key.

Copilot A Flexible Assistant 🧑‍💼

Available on iOS & Android

Microsoft’s Copilot app is a strong free option based on the same OpenAI models as ChatGPT. A unique feature is its “real talk” mode, which can challenge your statements to address the sycophancy problem often seen in AI chatbots. Copilot can also generate a podcast episode, create an image, run deep research reports, and conduct voice chats. Like ChatGPT, it can use your camera to help you understand things in your environment, from fine print on a document to a confusing gadget.

Perplexity The Quick Researcher 🧑‍🔬

Available on iOS & Android

Perplexity is excellent for understanding complex concepts. Its mobile voice mode is great for quick searches, delivering a summarized response instead of just a list of links. You can adjust settings to focus searches on specific sources like academic journals or Reddit. Perplexity can also search your Outlook email or Google Calendar. For privacy, use incognito mode for sensitive searches.

Free and Low-Cost AI App Alternatives

Locally AI 📍

Available on iOS | Free This free app requires no log-in and is fully private. After a one-time download of a language model like Google's Gemma, you can get customized responses. It includes features for personalization, Siri shortcuts, and vision tools for text and object recognition. However, it uses smaller models that are less powerful than the premium apps and has no plug-ins.

Private LLM

Available on iOS and Mac | $5 For a one-time purchase, this app offers access to over 60 models and allows you to adjust the AI's creativity level. A key drawback is that it only supports a single chat stream, unlike other apps that allow for multiple conversation threads.

PocketPal AI

Available on iOS and Android | Free This app is fully private and lets you create custom AI assistants or "pals" with different settings. It provides access to numerous small AI models from Hugging Face. However, it may run slowly on older Android phones and its user interface is less polished than top-tier apps.