The Hottest AI Models: What They Do & How to Use Them

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AI models are being released at an astonishing pace, from tech giants like Google to startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Keeping up with the latest developments can be overwhelming.

Adding to the challenge, AI models are often marketed using industry benchmarks, which don’t always reflect real-world usability.

To help cut through the noise, TechCrunch has compiled an overview of the most advanced AI models launched since 2024, highlighting their strengths and how to use them. We’ll also keep this list updated as new models emerge.

With over a million AI models available—Hugging Face alone hosts more than 1.4 million—this list may not capture every standout model. However, it covers some of the most significant recent releases.

AI Models Released in 2025

xAI’s Grok 3

Grok 3 is the latest flagship model from xAI, the Elon Musk-founded AI startup. It claims to outperform other leading models in math, science, and coding. Access requires an X Premium subscription ($50/month). After concerns about bias in Grok 2, Musk has promised a more "politically neutral" approach, though whether this has been achieved remains unclear.

OpenAI o3-mini

This new reasoning model from OpenAI is optimized for STEM tasks like coding, math, and science. While not the company’s most powerful model, its smaller size makes it more cost-effective. It’s free to use, though a subscription is required for heavy usage.

OpenAI Deep Research

Designed for in-depth research with clear citations, OpenAI’s Deep Research tool is available through the $200/month ChatGPT Pro subscription. It’s marketed for tasks ranging from scientific research to shopping comparisons, though hallucinations remain a known issue.

Mistral Le Chat

Mistral’s Le Chat is a multimodal AI assistant, now available as an app. The company claims it’s the fastest chatbot yet, with a premium version that includes real-time journalism from AFP. Tests from Le Monde found Le Chat impressive but noted it made more errors than ChatGPT.

OpenAI Operator

OpenAI’s Operator acts as a personal AI assistant, capable of handling independent tasks like grocery shopping. However, AI agents are still experimental—one Washington Post reviewer reported Operator ordering a dozen eggs for $31 without approval. It’s available through the $200/month ChatGPT Pro plan.

Google Gemini 2.0 Pro Experimental

Google’s much-anticipated Gemini 2.0 Pro excels in coding and general knowledge comprehension. It boasts an industry-leading 2-million-token context window for processing large amounts of text. Access requires a Google One AI Premium subscription ($19.99/month).

AI Models Released in 2024

DeepSeek R1

This Chinese AI model made waves in Silicon Valley with strong coding and math performance. As an open-source model, anyone can run it locally for free. However, it includes Chinese government censorship and has faced increasing bans over data security concerns.

Gemini Deep Research

Google’s Deep Research tool compiles search results into well-cited summaries, making it useful for students and researchers. However, it doesn’t match the quality of peer-reviewed papers. Access requires a $19.99/month Google One AI Premium subscription.

Meta Llama 3.3 70B

The latest iteration of Meta’s open-source Llama model is designed for efficiency and affordability. It excels in math, general knowledge, and instruction-following—and it’s completely free to use.

OpenAI Sora

Sora generates realistic videos from text prompts, creating full scenes rather than just clips. However, OpenAI acknowledges that the model sometimes produces “unrealistic physics.” It’s available only to paid ChatGPT users, starting at $20/month.

Alibaba Qwen QwQ-32B-Preview

This model rivals OpenAI’s o1 on some industry benchmarks, particularly in math and coding. However, Alibaba notes it still has “room for improvement” in common-sense reasoning. It’s free and open source but incorporates Chinese government censorship.

Anthropic’s Computer Use

Claude’s Computer Use is designed to take control of a user’s computer for tasks like coding or booking flights, functioning as an early AI agent. Still in beta, it’s available via API, costing $0.80 per million tokens of input and $4 per million tokens of output.

xAI’s Grok 2

An enhanced version of xAI’s flagship chatbot, Grok 2 is claimed to be three times faster than its predecessor. Free users are limited to 10 questions every two hours, while X Premium subscribers enjoy higher usage limits. The company also released Aurora, a highly realistic image generator known for producing graphic content.

OpenAI o1

OpenAI’s o1 model improves responses by reasoning through answers. It excels in coding, math, and safety—but has also been found to mislead users in some cases. Access requires a ChatGPT Plus subscription ($20/month).

Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.5

Marketed as a best-in-class model, Claude Sonnet 3.5 is known for its strong coding abilities and is a favorite among tech insiders. While it can analyze images, it cannot generate them. It’s available for free, with a $20/month Pro plan for heavier users.

OpenAI GPT-4o-mini

GPT-4o-mini is OpenAI’s most affordable and fastest model yet, designed for high-volume, simple tasks like powering customer service bots. It’s available on ChatGPT’s free tier but is better suited for basic functions rather than complex problem-solving.

Cohere Command R+

Cohere’s Command R+ specializes in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), making it particularly effective at citing specific information. The model benefits from the expertise of the RAG framework’s inventor, who works at Cohere. However, like other AI, it’s not immune to hallucinations.

See Top AI Marketing Tools Live at DemoFest 2025—Jasper, ElevenLabs, Goldcast, and More!

Join 1,000+ marketing leaders on February 27th for rapid-fire demos from top AI companies. Discover tools to boost content production, customer insights, and real-time engagement—all virtually.