Tech & creative

Before buying an AI tool, test these five things

A simple trial can tell you more than a flashy demonstration or an affiliate review.

Use your own representative task

Do not judge a tool solely by its showcase examples. Give it a task you routinely need completed, including the real constraints you care about. If you want it for video editing, use a clip with the pacing, captions, and format you actually make.

Check the output, not the promise

Compare the result against your requirements. Look for factual errors, missing steps, visual inconsistencies, awkward exports, and time spent fixing the output. A tool that creates something quickly but requires a long repair process may not save time.

Find the limits

Check credits, output resolution, file-size restrictions, commercial-use terms, and whether unused credits expire. Look for the price of the plan you would really need, not merely the entry price shown on the homepage.

Test whether you can leave

Can you export standard files? Do projects remain accessible after cancellation? Can you reuse your source material elsewhere? A workflow that locks away your work can become expensive even when the monthly subscription seems modest.

Decide using one completed project

Finish a small real assignment before buying an annual subscription. Record how long it took, what you had to correct, and whether the result was better than your existing process. The strongest demo is a completed job you actually needed done.