Every AI Tool I'm Actually Using in 2026

0:00 AI is genuinely embedded in almost every part of my day now,

0:04 and I don't just mean the apps that I open on purpose,

0:07 Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.

0:10 But today, I want to show you the full extent of AI

0:13 that's built into apps that I'm already using every single day,

0:18 doing real work, saving real time.

0:20 And some of it I wasn't even consciously clocking

0:23 as AI until I sat down to make this video.

0:26 And instead of just listing tools,

0:27 I'm organizing this by how they actually fit into my workflow,

0:31 from finding information to creating content, to making decisions,

0:36 all the way to the stuff running quietly in the background.

0:39 And one of these completely changed how I edit my videos.

0:42 So, stick around.

0:43 Let's get into it.

0:46 Let's start with where most of my work begins, finding information.

0:51 Google has an AI mode in search now,

0:53 and it's become my default for most lookups.

0:56 I searched best settings for shooting video on iPhone,

1:00 and instead of me clicking through five

1:02 different articles trying to piece together an answer,

1:05 Google has already synthesized it, right there,

1:09 with sources that I can tap into if I want to go deeper.

1:14 And then there is Google Maps.

1:15 The same kind of AI integration is in Maps now, and it's such a time saver.

1:20 You see this ask Maps button here?

1:23 I'll tap on it and type something like vegetarian restaurants near

1:27 me which is open right now and which has outdoor seating.

1:31 And watch what happens.

1:34 It understood all the three conditions at once.

1:37 Before this, I would have to search,

1:39 filter, filter again, check hours separately.

1:43 Now, it's one search.

1:44 I use this almost every time I'm trying to find something to eat when I'm out.

1:53 This one I genuinely love as a viewer.

1:55 YouTube has been rolling out this ask feature on videos.

1:59 Let me show you what I mean.

2:00 See this ask button?

2:02 I'll tap that and type something like what

2:05 camera settings does she recommend for better video resolution?

2:09 It pulls the answer directly from the video content and gives me a timestamp.

2:14 So, instead of watching a 20-minute video

2:16 to find one specific answer, I just ask.

2:20 As a creator, I have complicated feelings about this, but as a viewer,

2:24 it's saved me so much time.

2:28 So, once I'm done the research, I'm creating.

2:31 And the biggest time sink in this process has always been editing,

2:35 not the filming or the scripting, the editing.

2:38 Scrubbing through footages to cut silent pauses, adjusting audio,

2:42 hunting through menus for right settings, that stuff used to eat up hours.

2:47 That's why Filmora's AI Mate has been such a game changer.

2:51 It's built right into the editing interface.

2:54 So, I've got my raw footage here.

2:56 I type to AI Mate, remove all the silent parts from this clip.

3:10 That just took 10 seconds.

3:12 This used to take me, I'm not exaggerating,

3:14 15 to 20 minutes of manually trimming dead air for every single video,

3:20 and now just 10 seconds.

3:22 I'll type another one, clean up the background noise in this audio.

3:32 Done.

3:33 I don't have to find the noise reduction settings,

3:36 figure out the right levels, nothing.

3:38 I just described what I want.

3:40 There's also a guide mode that walks

3:42 you through steps with exactly where to click,

3:45 and an AI G C mode where I can describe a b-roll

3:48 shot I need and it generates a clip for my timeline.

4:05 If I had to pick one tool on this list

4:07 that gave me the most hours back, it's this one.

4:10 Whether you're just starting out or you've been editing for years,

4:14 AI Mate is worth trying.

4:16 I'll drop a link in the description below.

4:18 And I want to give a quick shout-out

4:19 to Filmora for sponsoring this part of the video.

4:24 For thumbnails, social posts, pitch decks,

4:27 all the visual work that isn't video, I use Canva.

4:30 And their Magic Studio AI tools have gotten genuinely good.

4:34 I'll show you what my workflow looks like.

4:36 I've got a rough thumbnail here.

4:38 I want to remove this background.

4:40 Background remover, done.

4:43 Now, I want to extend this image because the composition is off.

4:48 Expand tool, I drag the edge, it fills in the gap.

4:59 That whole thing took maybe 2 minutes, raw screenshot to finished thumbnail.

5:03 It's not that AI does it for me, it's the friction that is almost gone.

5:10 Not a surprise if you have been watching my channel,

5:13 Claude is my go-to for everything that involves actual thinking.

5:17 I use it for scripting my videos, for research,

5:20 for coding and debugging my app and good tasks.

5:23 I'll paste in user feedback and ask it

5:26 to identify the top patterns across all the responses.

5:30 I also use co-work feature which lets

5:32 me manage files and control my computer remotely.

5:35 That's changed how flexible my work setup is.

5:38 I'm on Claude much more than ChatGPT these days.

5:41 And for image generation specifically, I've been using Gemini.

5:45 That's where Google has a real edge right now.

5:50 Whenever I need actual sources,

5:52 not just chatbots' best guess, I go to Perplexity.

5:56 It's really good at fetching real

5:58 sources rather than using pre-trained knowledge.

6:01 I can trust Perplexity responses more than any other chatbot, honestly.

6:06 So, I was researching for a video about Apple's upcoming WWDC announcements.

6:11 I typed my question in here and got a summarized

6:14 answers with links to the actual articles that it pulled from.

6:18 I can click through to verify anything I want.

6:23 I use Perplexity and Claude together.

6:26 Perplexity to find and verify current information with citations and Claude

6:31 to help me think through what to do with it.

6:36 Notebook LM from Google is really underrated.

6:39 Before my last AI comparison video,

6:41 I uploaded about six articles and a few YouTube transcripts.

6:46 Then I just asked, what are the main

6:48 differences in how these models handle reasoning?

6:51 What does each source say about pricing?

6:54 It only answers from what I gave it,

6:56 no hallucinated information from outside my material,

7:00 and it tells me which source it pulled from.

7:02 The use case is very specific,

7:05 but for research and learning, Notebook LM is the king.

7:13 Amazon has an AI assistant called Rufus built right into the app.

7:18 I was looking for a new tripod recently.

7:20 Instead of scrolling through pages and reading specs, I just typed,

7:25 what's a good compact tripod for travel vlogging that fits in a carry-on?

7:29 It gave me options with context, explained why each one might work,

7:34 not just a list sorted by sponsored placement.

7:37 I also use it on product pages.

7:39 I'll ask, is this good for someone with sensitive skin?

7:43 It reads through reviews and surfaces what people said.

7:46 It even shows price history so I know if I have to wait for a sale.

7:51 Literal money saver.

7:54 Apple intelligence is not the revolutionary thing they hyped it to be.

7:58 I think we all felt that.

8:00 But three specific places genuinely helped me every day.

8:03 First, mail.

8:05 There is a summary at the top of email threads.

8:07 I didn't have to read four replies.

8:10 And when I'm writing a reply,

8:11 I highlight my draft, tap writing tools, and proofread.

8:15 Tightens it up in seconds.

8:22 Second, notes.

8:23 I'll record a voice memo after a meeting,

8:26 and by the time I open notes, it's already transcribed and summarized.

8:30 I'll show you what that looks like.

8:44 Third, photo cleanup.

8:45 I'm in my photos from our last trip and there

8:48 is a random person in the background of this shot.

8:51 I tap on them, tap remove, and they're gone.

8:54 Lightroom mobile has this too.

8:55 Google Photos has it even longer, but whichever app you use,

8:59 this feature alone has changed how I edit my travel photos.

9:05 This one's different because AI is working with my actual personal data.

9:09 My Apple Watch is the foundation here.

9:12 Claude on my iPhone can connect to Apple Health.

9:18 I'll ask, my HRV has been dropping this week, but my sleep hours are the same.

9:23 What could be causing that?

9:25 It connects things like stress, late meals, workout timings, etc.

9:30 It's like having a conversation with the data

9:32 instead of just staring at a graph.

9:35 I also use an Oura Ring.

9:37 Their AI advisor explains each morning what's

9:40 pulling my readiness score up or down.

9:42 When I was using Whoop, their AI coach did the same for recovery.

9:46 Tracking hardware plus AI that talks you through what it means,

9:51 that's where this gets really useful.

9:53 Alexa and Meta AI.

9:55 Okay, last two.

9:56 Alexa Plus is the AI integrated version of old Alexa.

10:00 Like having ChatGPT on an Echo speaker.

10:03 I'll be cooking and say, "Alexa, set a timer for 12 minutes.

10:08 And also, what's the ratio for rice to water?" It answers both.

10:13 Two minute timer started.

10:14 For biryani, the classic ratio is one cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water.

10:19 This gives you perfectly fluffy,

10:21 separate grains that won't turn mushy when you layer everything together.

10:24 Are you planning to make biryani today?

10:27 And now it handles follow-ups conversationally, which the old one couldn't.

10:31 And Meta AI in WhatsApp.

10:33 I'll be in a group chat planning a trip and instead of switching apps,

10:37 I pull up Meta AI right there.

10:39 If you've got restaurant recommendations, share them in the chat.

10:43 No app switching.

10:44 I've also used it to generate quick images for family chats.

10:50 That's genuinely how AI shows up across my day in 2026.

10:55 And what struck me putting this together is how it maps a whole workflow.

11:00 Finding information, creating content, thinking through decisions,

11:04 and the stuff that just runs quietly in the background.

11:08 It's not one app anymore.

11:09 It's everywhere.

11:10 Which one from this list were you not thinking of as AI?

11:14 Or which one are you going to try first?

11:16 Drop it in the comments.

11:18 If this video was useful, subscribe.

11:20 And thanks for watching.

11:21 I'll see you in the next one.

11:22 This is Sanjana.

11:23 Bye-bye.