EP20: Top AI Tools Worth Paying For in 2025, AI Tools Not Worth Paying For, 12 Days of OpenAI Begins, Use AI Hallucinations to Your Advantage

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little reveal their top recommendations for AI tools worth paying for in 2025. They also discuss which AI tools aren't worth paying for in 2025. One of them might surprise you!

Next, Mark and Steve begin their review of OpenAI's "12 Days of OpenAI" announcements, beginning with the release of their enhanced O1 reasoning model. This new model will help you plan your family history research.

This week's Tip of the Week challenges conventional thinking about AI hallucinations, suggesting ways to leverage this characteristic as a feature rather than a bug.

In RapidFire, Mark and Steve examine Microsoft's Copilot Vision beta release, Apple's cautious AI rollout strategy, Google's new memory feature in Gemini, and XAI's significant funding round.

Timestamps:

In The News:

03:10 AI Tools Worth Paying For in 2025

19:48 Specialty AI Tools to Consider in 2025

26:46 AI Tools Not Worth Paying For in 2025

32:26 OpenAI's 12 Days of Gifts Begins

Tip of the Week:

40:10 Treat AI Hallucinations as a Feature, not a Bug

RapidFire:

50:06 Microsoft Copilot Vision Beta Launch

53:18 Apple's Intelligence Rollout Plans

56:20 Google Gemini Adds Memory Feature

59:34 XAI's $6 Billion Funding Round

Resource Links

ChatGPT Plus

https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-plus/

ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode

https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8400625-voice-mode-faq

Claude Pro

https://claude.ai/

Perplexity Pro

https://www.perplexity.ai/pro

Acrobat AI Assistant

https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/acrobat/using/generative-ai.html

Eleven Labs

https://elevenlabs.io/

Mid Journey

https://www.midjourney.com/

Microsoft Copilot Pro

https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot

Grammarly

https://www.grammarly.com/

ChatGPT O1 Model

https://openai.com/o1/

ChatGPT O1 Pro

https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-pro/

Microsoft Copilot Vision

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/blog/2024/12/05/copilot-vision-now-in-preview-a-new-way-to-browse/

Apple Intelligence

https://www.apple.com/ca/apple-intelligence/

Siri

https://www.apple.com/siri/

Gemini Memory Feature

https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/googles-gemini-chatbot-now-has-memory/

X AI Platform

https://x.ai/

Tags (broad to specific, unique terms)

Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Genealogy, Family History, Machine Learning, AI Tools, AI Product Reviews, AI Pricing, Voice Technology, Image Generation, Research Tools, AI Ethics, Content Creation, Professional Research, Language Models