AI is everywhere right now — but let’s be honest: It’s easy to slap some sort of silly text generation button onto an app and call it “AI.” It’s much more difficult to come up with a truly compelling way this type of technology can actually be helpful. And once you move away from web-based AI utilities and start focusing specifically on Android, the pool of commendable candidates only gets smaller. Don’t despair, though: There are some standout Android apps that put artificial intelligence to genuinely intelligent use. They range from multipurpose chatbots to tools for smarter note-taking and reminder-making, image analysis and manipulation, and even personal memory enhancement — among other useful tasks. Just keep in mind that, by its very nature, much of this generative AI technology is still woefully unreliable and inaccurate. You really have to double-check what it tells you, especially when it comes to more info-oriented uses — and/or you have to think carefully about the best way to interact with it to get the results you need. But the apps here all have some manner of redeeming value when it comes to professional productivity — particularly if you think carefully about how you’re using them and why. And I’ll try to guide you toward the types of uses that are generally most reliable and beneficial for each specific item. All of the tools listed here are either free or with a reasonably robust free tier, too, unless otherwise noted. Shall we? AI on Android part I: On-demand assistance We’ll start with the simplest and most well-known form of AI, in this current incarnation, and that’s the humble and at times hilariously off-kilter chatbot. Within that arena, the first and most easily accessible option is Google’s own (1) Gemini Android assistant (which may well be on your device whether you install it or not). Gemini can do all the standard AI chatbot stuff, in terms of answering questions, generating images, and providing general information — with all the standard asterisks, too, that the info it gives you may not always be entirely accurate — but where Gemini really shines is in its ability to help control your device and interact with your data from various Google services. 💡 Try this:  Ask Gemini to read your notifications out loud Ask it to summarize your recent emails Activate the Google Workspace integration (by tapping your profile picture in the upper-right corner and then selecting “Apps”) and then ask Gemini questions about your Docs, Drive, Calendar, Keep, or Tasks activity Of course, Gemini isn’t the only AI chatbot option you’ve got on Android. OpenAI’s (2) ChatGPT app gives you access to the interface that arguably kickstarted the current AI revolution. Even on its free level, it can be helpful for summarizing long PDFs or documents (via the plus button in its main prompt area), giving you the high points of articles and other pages online (if you send their links into the app via your browser’s regular sharing function), and finding trends within large sets of data (if you share a spreadsheet into the app or upload it using the plus icon). The ChatGPT Android app excels as summarizing long documents and identifying trends in large sets of data. JR Raphael / Foundry Beyond that, Microsoft’s (3) Copilot puts the same ChatGPT brains into a somewhat friendlier interface that includes seamless integration with Microsoft apps and services; (4) Perplexity positions itself as more of a smart search companion for both general web-based info and your own uploaded documents, with clear citations and explanations; and Anthropic’s (5) Claude is particularly skilled at creating code and weighing out different viewpoints to help you consider a complex topic. Honestly, in this specific area, all of the options have an awful lot in common — and the trickiest part is just figuring out which one you prefer in general or want to use for any given scenario. That’s where (6) Kagi can come in handy. At its core, Kagi is a privacy-centric, quality-focused alternative to Google Search. But beyond basic queries, its $25-a-month Ultimate plan includes access to something called the Kagi Assistant, which lets you access the underlying intelligence from Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI engines in a single streamlined spot and with the added advantage of complete privacy and custom filtering to help refine the results. And speaking of privacy, the independent (7) PocketPal AI app makes it easy to download different AI models directly onto your device for isolated, secure access. PocketPal puts powerful AI models right on your device for fully local and highly customizable interactions. JR Raphael / Foundry 💡 Try this: Look in PocketPal’s main three-line menu to find the “Models” section and click the “Download” option to bring a few of the available options onto your device Create your own custom and completely local “Pal” that’ll take on practically any personality, focus, and style of answering you like Tap the three-dot menu icon in the app’s upper-right corner while chatting with any model and select the “Generation settings” option to fine-tune all sorts of intricate parameters about how exactly the chatbot works — including how short or long its responses are and how “creative” vs. focused its communication should be AI on Android part II: Smarter notes and reminders If you’ve got a Google-made Pixel device, Google’s installed-by-default (8) Recorder app is an invaluable AI resource. Recorder is hands-down the easiest and most effective way to record speaking — be it your own rambling thoughts or an important conversation — and then get an instant searchable transcription that’s available both on your phone and on the web from any other device where you’re signed in. For everyone else — or for any Pixel owners who need even more audio-recording oomph — (9) Otter is an excellent option. Otter similarly records speaking but is designed even more with meetings in mind, thanks to its thoughtful features around summarization, key point highlighting, image integration, and team-wide collaboration. It can also transcribe your own uploaded audio and video files, though that capability and certain other advanced features require a paid subscription (starting at about $100 per user per year). An independent-developer creation called (10) AudioPen, meanwhile,is less about simply saving your spoken words and more about extracting value out of ’em — basically like a dictation-centric note tool that does all the heavy lifting for you. Just say whatever’s on your mind, and AudioPen will transform your thoughts into clear, concise notes in whatever length and style you like. The service’s free plan is generous and quite usable, though some of the more advanced options do require an annual paid subscription. AudioPen leans on AI to clean up and organize your spoken memos. JR Raphael / Foundry 💡 Try this: Tap the box with an upward-facing arrow icon while viewing any note — as seen in the lower-right corner in the first screenshot above — to share its entire contents to any other app on your device Tap the gear-shaped settings icon in the app’s upper-right corner — as seen in the second screenshot above — to configure the exact intensity and style of rewriting you prefer (if you’re using AudioPen’s paid version) Input specific words — like names — into the “Special words” area of that same settings section to ensure they’re always transcribed and spelled correctly (also available only in the paid version) When it comes to voice phone calls, Google’s Pixel devices are again positioned for success with the fully featured version of the simply named (11) Phone by Google app. Among other useful capabilities, the Phone app packs a supremely useful Call Notes feature that can summarize key points from any call for you as you’re speaking. It’s thus far available only on the newest flagship-level Pixel 9 devices, but it’s built in and ready to roll on those gadgets without any extra costs or caveats. Samsung’s (12) Phone app offers a similar sort of system on the latest Galaxy S25 device. And if you’ve got any other Android phone model, you can emulate the same concept with a pinch of creative thinking. Finally, for the Pixel-palmin’ pals among us, don’t miss out on the (13) Pixel Screenshots system built into the latest Pixel 9 flagship phone models. The app’s most prominent feature is its ability to automatically analyze and catalog all of your screenshots, which is fine — but where it really shines is in the super-simple on-demand reminder system it adds right into Android’s foundation. Just capture a screenshot, anywhere and anytime (by pressing your phone’s power and volume-down buttons together), then tap the little bell icon in the confirmation dialogue in the corner of your screen — and you’ll be able to set an instant reminder around whatever you were seeing that’ll pop up at any future date and time you desire. Pixel Screenshots can analyze and organize your screenshots, but its most useful feature is the simple reminder system it adds onto your device. JR Raphael / Foundry No Pixel? No problem. You can emulate the automated screenshot cataloguing piece of the puzzle on any Android device with a clever little creation called (14) PixelShot, and you can cook up something vaguely similar to the seamless screenshot reminder system with the right kind of crafty configuring. AI on Android part III: Image analysis and manipulation All this AI obsession may be a relatively recent phenomenon, but the long-standing (15) Google Lens app has been at it for ages already — and it’s every bit as impressive now as it was when it debuted nearly eight years ago. Lens lets you do everything from analyzing and identifying objects within images to copying text from the real world and then pasting it anywhere you want or even sending it to your computer’s clipboard. 💡 Try this: Open Lens, aim your phone’s camera at something, and tap the big search button to analyze and identify it Tap anywhere on the results to select and copy text from inside the image Point your camera at a QR code or barcode within Lens to have it instantly read and optionally also to open any associated links It may seem obvious, but I’d be remiss not to mention the (16) Google Photos Android app as a part of this collection. Photos has all sorts of impressive tools for editing and enhancing images, removing elements from photos, and even analyzing images and allowing you to interact with text inside of them via its integration with the aforementioned Lens technology. Photos is filled with AI-powered editing tools and intelligent image interaction utilities. JR Raphael / Foundry And finally, (17) Canva is a fantastic all-around option for on-the-go graphic design work — be it creating a quick image for web use or social media sharing, whipping up a flyer to send out to colleagues or clients, or editing existing images to get ’em ready for public posting. The app’s core features are free, but most of the AI-specific elements — including the ability to add and replace objects, expand existing images, and easily change the style of individual elements — require a $15-a-month or $120-a-year Pro upgrade (which is also available in team-friendly plans). AI on Android part IV: Text and memory enhancers Need a helping hand with your two-thumbed typing? Both Google’s Gboard keyboard and Microsoft’s SwiftKey Keyboard now boast built-in rewriting features in their respective toolbars, but (18) Grammarly takes things up a considerable notch with the most advanced and versatile text-enhancing engine available on Android. Grammarly now works with whatever keyboard you’re already using and pops up a little green “G” button on the side of your screen anytime your keyboard is active. It’ll show you editing suggestions as you go, or you can also highlight any text you’ve entered anywhere and then tap that same button to ask for more specific word wrangling assistance — from general improvements to creating more persuasive or even more confident-sounding prose within the context of what you’ve already started. Grammarly shows writing suggestions alongside any Android keyboard and can pull up more ambitious rewriting prompts as you’re typing, too. JR Raphael / Foundry If you tend to have trouble recalling specific details of your online activity, a brilliant little AI app called (19) Snapseek is exactly the companion you need. Snapseek works kind of like Microsoft’s Windows Recall feature, only without as many privacy worries — as it’s present only if you go out of your way to install it, and it collects activity only within the specific individual apps you authorize. Plus, it stores all data solely on your own device and doesn’t save or share anything with anyone. When you first set up Snapseek, you’ll have to grant it a series of permissions that are pertinent to its operation. Then, you’ll be able to select which apps you want it to watch. In the app’s free version, you can pick two. If you pay for a one-time $4 in-app upgrade, that limitation is lifted, and you can select as many apps as you want. Once that’s done, Snapseek will automatically collect screenshots of every action you take and every screen you see within your selected apps. You won’t even notice it running in the moment — nor will its screenshots clutter up your standard Photos or Gallery app — but anytime you want to remember something you did on your device, you can open Snapseek up and search through its history. The app will show you any screenshots with matching text within ’em for a swift ‘n’ simple recall. Snapseek keeps tabs on any apps you want and then helps you search through your activity within those apps to find important info. JR Raphael / Foundry 💡 Try this: Set Snapseek to watch your Android web browser and email or messaging app, then use it to find and reference details about pages you’ve viewed or conversations you’ve had Look in the app’s settings (via the three-dot menu icon on its main screen) to make the screenshots it saves higher resolution for even more detail Look in that same settings section to configure how long the app should wait before auto-deleting everything it saves for security AI on Android part V: Simple visual pleasures Last but not least in our list is an AI-centric Android app that’s more about pleasure than productivity. But hey, putting yourself in a positive brain-space is bound to make it easier to get work done, right? The app is called (20) Tapet, and it’s an on-demand AI-based image generator for your device’s wallpapers. A longtime favorite of my Intelligence Insider tech enthusiast community, Tapet lets you swipe through all sorts of different patterns and styles of geometric wallpaper designs — all created on the fly as you see ’em. Tapet serves up an endless array of interesting and original AI-generated wallpaper designs. JR Raphael / Foundry It brings some refreshing visual variety to whatever Android device you’re using and makes any phone feel endlessly engaging and ready for serious business. NEXT: Discover 22 must-have Android widgets for busy professionals and bring even more added efficiency onto your favorite phone’s home screen!