Guides
Evergreen guides to the AI features in apps you already use: how to turn them off, what they cost, and which devices get them.
Claude Academy Explained: Anthropic's AI Courses, What They Cost, and Which Ones Are for You
Claude Academy is Anthropic's learning site at academy.claude.com, announced on August 20, 2026. It lists 294 courses, tutorials and use cases. Anthropic publishes no price for any of it and no pricing page exists. We opened a full lesson on September 10, 2026 without signing in.
How to Get Plain-English AI News From ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok
You can turn your AI assistant into a plain-English AI news source in about 30 seconds: paste one instruction into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok, and it pulls verified same-day coverage from Plain AI Daily whenever you ask what changed in AI. It is free and needs no account.
Nano Banana Explained: Is Gemini's Image Generator Free?
Nano Banana 2 is the image generator inside the Gemini app, and it is free: Google lists image generation on every plan, including no plan at all. What money buys is the Pro redo, 2K downloads and video. You must be 13 to generate images and 18 to edit them.
Gemini Daily Brief: What It Is, Who Gets It, and What It Costs
Daily Brief is Gemini's once-a-day morning digest of your Gmail, Calendar and past chats. It is not free: you need Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra, starting at $4.99 a month. Google also limits it to people 18 or over in the United States, on a personal account, in English.
Gemini Live: What It Is, Whether It's Free, and What It Can See
Gemini Live is Google's talk-out-loud mode in the Gemini mobile app, and Google lists it under the free plan. You need the app on Android or iPhone and a Google Account, 13 or over. It can see your camera and screen. Transcripts are used to train Google's AI when Keep Activity is on; audio and video are not, by default.
Gemini Personal Intelligence: What It Reads and How to Turn It Off
Personal Intelligence lets Gemini read your Gmail, Contacts, Photos, Search history, YouTube history and, in the US, your Google Wallet to personalize its answers. It is opt-in and per-app: 18-plus, personal Google accounts only, and blocked in the UK, EEA, Switzerland and Nigeria. Google lists no paid plan requirement. You can disconnect any app or switch it off mid-chat.
Gemini Spark Explained: What It Is, Do You Get It, and Is It Free?
Gemini Spark is Google's 24/7 personal AI agent that does tasks for you -- managing email, booking, and errands across your apps under your direction. It is not free: you need Google AI Pro or Ultra, and since July 30, 2026 Pro qualifies almost everywhere, not just the US. It stays blocked in the UK, the EEA, Switzerland and Nigeria.
How to Turn Off Gmail's AI Features (and What Each One Does)
Gmail's AI features are controlled by two settings groups: "smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet" and "Google Workspace smart features." Turning both off disables Gemini summaries, Help me write, Smart Compose, and Smart Reply -- but you also lose package tracking, inbox categories, and flight events in Calendar.
What Is an AI Agent, in Plain Terms?
An AI agent is AI that does things for you instead of just answering you: it can browse websites, fill forms, compare prices, and book or buy with your approval. Real shipped examples in 2026 include ChatGPT's agent mode, Gemini in Chrome, Claude in Chrome, Meta's Muse and Amazon's Buy for Me.
Which iPhones Get Apple Intelligence (and What You Actually Get)
Apple Intelligence runs on iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, every iPhone 16 and 17 model, iPhone Air, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo. Standard iPhone 15 and older are excluded and always will be. It is free, and Apple's September 14, 2026 revision raised the storage it needs from 7 GB to 8 GB, or 14 GB on the newest phones.