AI assistant whose memory belongs to you
A local-first AI assistant that stores everything as plain markdown in a folder you own (~/Keel by default) — no server, no tracking, no cloud database holding your context hostage. Swap between Claude, GPT, OpenRouter, or local Ollama models in settings without losing your history. The most credible answer yet for people who want assistant-grade memory without handing their notes to a vendor.
| Rating | 0 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Reviews | — | 5,180 | 252 | 122 |
| Price | Free (open source) | Free / $20/mo Plus | Free / $20/mo Pro | Free / $20/mo Pro |
| Free tier | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| API access | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
The tool that made AI assistants mainstream — and still the most broadly capable for everyday use. Best-in-class for general knowledge, coding, content drafting, data analysis, and image generation via DALL·E 3. Four years of model improvement and a vast plugin and GPT ecosystem give it a feature lead that's hard to catch up to.
Search with AI that actually cites its sources. Every answer comes with numbered references you can click through — no more wondering where the statistic came from or whether it was invented. Best for research, fact-checking, and staying current on fast-moving topics where accuracy matters more than creative flair.
Anthropic's AI assistant — the one most often cited by professionals who care about depth. Exceptional at long-document analysis, nuanced conversation, research synthesis, and tasks requiring genuine reasoning rather than pattern-matched confidence. Widely used by writers, analysts, lawyers, and engineers who need an assistant that's careful, not just fast.