The Essential AI Toolkit for Journalists and Content Creators

All the tools listed here are free to use and open-source!
This is a curated list designed to help you create content. If you don't find what you need here, check out the AI App Directory
Have a favorite tool or need help with a specific use case? Share in the community tab!

I need to transcribe audio or video

Convert interviews, press conferences, or audio files into text. Some models support 100+ languages and can run privately on your computer.

Examples:

  • Transcription for interview recordings with speaker identification and timestamps
  • Convert press conference videos to searchable text
  • Create subtitles for video content

Recommended Tools:

Whisper Speaker Diarization (on-device, with timestamps) Whisper Large v3 Turbo Parakeet TDT (with timestamps) NeMo Canary 1B Flash

I want to edit or process audio

Separate speech from background noise, isolate specific speakers, or enhance audio quality with reference styling.

Examples:

  • Clean up noisy interview recordings
  • Separate multiple speakers from a single recording
  • Match your audio to the style of a reference recording

Recommended Tools:

TIGER Audio Separation Chatterbox TTS Styling

I want to create audio from text

Convert articles, scripts, or any text into natural-sounding speech — perfect for spoken-word formats like podcasts or voiceovers.

Examples:

  • Turn blog posts into narrated audio
  • Simulate expert dialogue from research summaries
  • Add narration tracks to videos or reels
  • Generate audio for screen readers or learning tools

Recommended Tools:

Kokoro Web (runs locally) Open NotebookLM (Podcast Generator) Nari Text-to-Speech Sesame CSM 1B

I need to extract information from documents or websites

Extract data from PDFs, images, handwritten documents, charts, or scrape websites. Chat with documents to get specific information quickly.

Examples:

  • Extract data from government reports or financial documents
  • Scrape candidate press releases or event listings
  • Convert chart data into spreadsheets for analysis
  • Ask questions about lengthy research papers

Recommended Tools:

Qwen2.5-VL-72B-Instruct olmOCR ChartGemma AI Scraper HuggingChat (Chat with Documents) HuggingChat Assistants (Website Search)

I want to create or edit images

Edit images using text descriptions, generate AI images in various styles, or create interactive artwork. Perfect for social media, thumbnails, and visual storytelling.

Examples:

  • Remove unwanted objects from photos
  • Create custom illustrations for articles
  • Generate images in specific artistic styles
  • Colorize historical black and white photos
  • Extend images beyond their original borders

Recommended Tools:

Finegrain Object Eraser Finegrain Object Cutter Image Colorization Flux Image Extender LoRA the Explorer (Various Styles) Gemini Co-Drawing

I need to analyze images

Detect objects, count items, describe image contents, or analyze visual elements for fact-checking and verification.

Examples:

  • Count crowd sizes in protest photos
  • Identify objects and people in images
  • Generate detailed descriptions for accessibility
  • Reverse-engineer prompts from existing images

Recommended Tools:

Object Detection Demo Count Objects Describe Anything Model CLIP Interrogator

I need to analyze videos

Create detailed shot lists, analyze video content, or generate VLC-compatible highlight reels for easy navigation.

Examples:

  • Create shot lists for press conferences
  • Identify key moments in long video recordings
  • Generate clickable timestamps for video navigation
  • Analyze video content for story planning

Recommended Tools:

SmolVLM2 Video Analysis VLC Highlight Generator

I want to translate something

Translate text content across 200+ languages or convert audio files from one language to another.

Examples:

  • Translate foreign news articles or documents
  • Convert interview audio to different languages
  • Make content accessible to global audiences
  • Translate social media posts for international coverage

Recommended Tools:

UNESCO Language Translator (200 languages) Phi-4 Audio File Translator (8 languages)

I need to work with data or spreadsheets

Use AI models directly in Google Sheets for data processing, or create AI-powered spreadsheets from scratch using natural language.

Examples:

  • Classify and clean survey responses
  • Extract key information from lists of data
  • Create custom datasets for analysis
  • Automate data processing workflows

Recommended Tools:

HuggingFace on Sheets AI-Powered Spreadsheets

I want to build a website or app

Vibecode, create web applications, build websites with single prompts, or optimize content for search engines.

Examples:

  • Build interactive data visualizations
  • Create landing pages for stories or projects
  • Rapidly prototype digital tools
  • Optimize articles for better search visibility

Recommended Tools:

Qwen2.5-Coder DeepSite (Single Prompt Websites) SEO Assistant

Which AI model should I choose?

Compare AI models across different benchmarks, evaluate environmental impact, and create custom evaluations for your specific needs.

Examples:

  • Find the best model for specific journalism tasks
  • Compare speech recognition accuracy
  • Evaluate models for sustainability reporting
  • Test agent capabilities for automated workflows
  • Create custom benchmarks for domain-specific evaluation

Recommended Tools:

OpenLLM Leaderboard Speech Recognition Leaderboard Embedding Leaderboard Smolagents Leaderboard AI Energy Score Yourbench (Custom Benchmarks)