Best AI Tools for Teachers: Your Favorite New Time-Saving Superpower
Discover the best AI tools for teachers to save time, boost creativity, and personalize learning—plus commonsense guardrails for safe classroom use.
Spoiler Alert: Artificial intelligence has taken the world (and schools) by storm, offering a seemingly endless toolbox of new gadgets and ways to enhance teaching, save time, and collaborate on new ideas. And if you haven’t heard yet, Share My Lesson has jumped into the AI conversation too—with our AI Educator Brain webinar series, hosted by the fun and engaging duo of Kelly Booz and Sari Beth Rosenberg.
But let’s be real. The phrase “AI in education” can still feel a little intimidating (cue the sci-fi movie soundtrack). The good news? AI tools for teachers aren’t here to replace you. They’re here to support you, energize your classroom, and maybe even help you reclaim a few precious hours of your week.
Commonsense Guardrails for Using Advanced Technology in Schools
Explore commonsense guardrails to navigate AI in education—support safe, effective tech use that empowers teachers and engages students.
How Can AI Help Teachers?
Think of AI as your behind-the-scenes teaching assistant—one that’s fast, always on, and surprisingly creative. The best AI teaching tools can help you:
- Brainstorm engaging lesson ideas in seconds;
- Create custom quizzes, rubrics or writing prompts;
- Translate materials for multilingual learners;
- Give you feedback or suggestions (minus the judgment); and
- Even organize those wild email inboxes
Not every tool will be your jam, but that’s the beauty of exploring. There’s something for every teacher, every subject—and every comfort level.
Where Do I Get Started?
You don’t have to be techy. You don’t need a coding background. You just need curiosity. Most of the best AI tools for teachers are free, browser-based and designed to be super simple.
Start with one small use case—maybe generating a vocabulary list, or using AI to reword a tricky passage for different reading levels. The goal is to make your life easier, not add more to your plate.
Canva
Create beautiful posters, slides, infographics and classroom visuals using AI-powered templates and design suggestions. No design skills are needed, and Canva is free for educators.
Brisk
A free Chrome extension that works inside Google Docs and Classroom to help you differentiate assignments, provide feedback and scaffold instruction—especially for English language learners.
Gamma
Build interactive slide decks and lesson presentations faster than traditional tools. Also great for student group projects.
Perplexity
An AI-powered research engine that gives sources, summaries and up-to-date answers. It’s smarter and more reliable than a typical search.
ChatGPT
Generate lesson plans, adapt texts for different reading levels and tailor content to meet the needs of diverse learners across grade levels. Use it to brainstorm activities, scaffold assignments or draft parent emails—fast. ChatGPT is a huge time-saver for differentiation and supporting varied learning styles in your classroom.
- Also, check out DALL·E via ChatGPT and ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode.
- Want to learn more about prompting on ChatGPT? Sign up for one of our AI Educator Brain webinars!
AICarousels
Turn lesson content or tips into engaging, scroll-stopping Instagram or LinkedIn carousels. Great for teacher creators or school accounts.
Gemini
Great for summarizing articles, drafting content and brainstorming. It integrates well with Google Docs, Slides and Gmail.
- Also check out Google’s NotebookLM. This tool lets you upload documents, notes and resources to create an AI-powered research assistant—great for lesson planning and simplifying complex information.
Your AI Teacher Toolkit Starts Here
At the end of the day, AI isn’t here to replace teachers—it’s here to empower them. Whether you’re streamlining lesson planning, personalizing learning or finding new ways to spark student engagement, the right AI tools can help you do more with less stress and more creativity.
And you don’t have to explore this alone.
Join the Share My Lesson AI & Education Community to connect with other educators experimenting with AI, share what’s working, and get inspired. It’s a space built for collaboration, questions and new ideas.
We Want to Hear from You
What AI tools are you using in your classroom—and why do you love them? Drop your thoughts in the comments and help us expand this list with real tools from real teachers.
AI is evolving fast, but together, we’re figuring it out—one prompt, quiz, and one lesson plan at a time.
Join the AI in Education Community
Join the team from the AI Educator Brain, which includes AFT’s Share My Lesson director Kelly Booz; New York City Public Schools teacher Sari Beth Rosenberg and EdBrAIn, our AI teammate (yes, it named and designed itself!). In this community, we will dissect the pros and cons of AI tools in education. Our mission: to determine how AI can support teaching and learning, and when it might be best to stick with tried-and-true methods.
Andy Kratochvil is a proud member of the AFT Share My Lesson team, where he’s passionate about discovering and sharing top-tier content with educators across the country. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and French from California State University, Fullerton, and later completed... See More
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