The AI tools guide
Gemini and Canva are the official toolkit. They are free, they run in a browser, and anyone 13 or older can use them. Beyond that, your squad may use any tool you already have an account for — as long as it costs you nothing today and you meet its age rule. This page sorts the options by what kind of model they are, so you can pick the right tool for the job instead of forcing one tool to do everything.
Before you open anything
- Age rules are real. 13+ tools are open to everyone here. 18+ tools are for LBCC college students only — high schoolers, don't sign up for them even if a mentor has an account.
- Never type real private information about a real person — no names with health, money, or home details attached. Make your person up, or use yourself with the details changed.
- Free means free today. If a tool asks for a card, close it. Trials that need payment later count as paid.
No account that works? Every coach holds a personal Google account for exactly this. Ask.
Know what you're asking for
Every "AI tool" is a wrapper around one of these. Match the model to the job and your build gets faster; mismatch it and you spend an hour fighting a tool that was never going to do what you wanted.
Text in, text out — and reasoning
Chat assistants. They read, write, summarize, plan, role-play a user, and can be set up with custom instructions to act as a specific assistant.
Use for: understanding the brief, interviewing your imaginary user, drafting messages, building a custom assistant (a Gemini Gem), writing your pitch.
Watch out: confidently wrong. Check anything factual.
Words in, pictures out
Generate or edit images from a description: app screens, product shots, posters, diagrams, characters.
Use for: a mockup of the thing you're proposing, a visual for the pitch, a map or a poster.
Watch out: text inside images is often garbled; real people's faces are off-limits.
Short clips, voices, music
Turn a prompt or an image into a few seconds of video, or generate narration and music.
Use for: a 10-second "day in the life" of your person to open the pitch, a voiceover for a demo.
Watch out: slow and credit-limited. Never let it eat build time. Most free tiers give you one or two tries.
Describe an app, get a working one
Models that write code. The friendly versions ("vibe coding" tools) hide the code and give you a clickable prototype from a plain-English description.
Use for: a working prototype the judges can tap — the strongest thing you can show.
Watch out: most of the good ones are 18+. Gemini Canvas and Canva Code are the two open to everyone.
Why Gemini and Canva
We picked them because they are the only pair that is free, needs no card, runs on a school lab PC or a phone, covers three of the four model types, and is open to every student in the room. That last point ruled out several stronger tools.
Gemini — think, draft, build an app or an assistant
Sign in with a personal Google account — school accounts often have it switched off.
- Paste your challenge brief and ask it to interview you as your person.
- Ask for three ways AI could help — then pick one and argue with it.
- Build an assistant: new chat, first message "From now on you are ___. Your only job is ___. Reply in ___. Say Ready and wait." Then a judge types into it. That is a build. (If your account shows Gems, save the same block there so it persists — optional.)
- Build an app in Canvas: type "build me a web app that…" and Gemini opens Canvas with live code on one side and a working preview on the other. Tap it, then say what to change. A judge can use this.
- It also makes images from a prompt. Good enough for a mockup.
Decision rule: if your idea is something people tap, build it in Canvas. If it's something people talk to, set up a chat that plays the assistant.
Canva — prototype, mock up, pitch
Free account, no card, 13+. Decline the trial.
- Search templates for "app mockup" or "website" and lay out your screens.
- Try Canva Code (Create → Code, or the AI tab): describe the app in plain words and get a clickable prototype you can put on screen.
- Build the pitch here too: three slides, one page, or a flyer. Everyone in the squad speaks.
- Its AI tools also do images and short video clips inside the same account.
By model type, by age
Free tiers only. Age rules come from each company's own terms as of September 2026 and can change — if a sign-up screen asks for a birthday, tell the truth. 13+ everyone here · 18+ LBCC college students only · Check we could not confirm; read the terms first.
Large language models
| Tool | What it's good for today | Age |
|---|---|---|
| GeminiGoogle · official toolkit | Everything above. Canvas for apps; a set-up chat (or a Gem, if shown) for assistants. | 13+ |
| ChatGPTOpenAI · under 18 needs a parent's permission | Same jobs as Gemini. Custom GPTs need a paid plan, so build assistants in Gemini. | 13+ |
| Microsoft CopilotMicrosoft | Chat and drafting, with web search built in. | 13+ |
| PerplexityUnder 18 needs a parent's permission | Research with sources — good for the "is this problem real?" evidence. | 13+ |
| ClaudeAnthropic | Strong at writing and long documents. Adults only, by its terms. | 18+ |
Image models
| Tool | What it's good for today | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini (image)Inside the Gemini app | Ask it to "generate an image of…". Quick mockups and pitch visuals. | 13+ |
| Canva AI imagesInside Canva | Generate straight into your slide or mockup. | 13+ |
| Adobe FireflyAdobe | Clean, safe-for-commercial images; free monthly credits. | 13+ |
| MidjourneyNeeds a paid plan for most use | Highest quality, but not free — skip it today unless you already pay. | 13+ |
Video & audio models
| Tool | What it's good for today | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Canva AI video & voiceInside Canva | Short clips, text-to-speech narration, music, all inside your pitch deck. | 13+ |
| SoraOpenAI · under 18 needs a parent's permission; free tier is limited | A few seconds of video from a prompt. One or two tries, then move on. | 13+ |
| Veo (in Gemini)Google · paid plan | Best quality, but behind a subscription. Not for today. | 18+ |
| SunoMusic | A 30-second theme for your pitch opener. | 13+ |
| RunwayVideo | Image-to-video, small free allowance. | Check |
Coding & app builders
| Tool | What it's good for today | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini CanvasInside the Gemini app · official toolkit | Describe an app, get working code and a live preview. The strongest builder open to everyone. | 13+ |
| Canva CodeInside Canva · official toolkit | Describe an app, get a clickable prototype. Simpler than Canvas; good fallback. | 13+ |
| ReplitUnder 18 needs a parent's permission; free tier is small | Build a real web app from a description if someone on your squad already codes. | 13+ |
| GitHub CopilotFree tier via a GitHub account | Code completion for squads with a coder. | 13+ |
| LovableAdults only, by its terms | Full app from a prompt. LBCC students only. | 18+ |
| Google AI StudioGoogle · developer tool | Build and test with Gemini models directly. LBCC students only. | 18+ |
Missing something you use? Ask a mentor. If it's free and you're old enough, it's allowed. Say which tools you used in your pitch — judges score how the AI does real work, not how many tools you touched.
Five things about Canvas nobody tells you
| One thread | Keep the whole app in one Gemini conversation. A new chat means a new app from scratch. |
| Undo | The undo arrow on the Canvas toolbar steps back a version. Use it instead of re-prompting a bad change. |
| Rename | The title isn’t clickable. Ask: “Rename this app ___ and put that name in the header.” |
| Share | Copies a link to the live app. Turn it into a QR code in Canva (Apps → QR Code) for your last slide so judges open it on their own phones. |
| Download | Saves the app as one HTML file that runs in any browser with no account, offline. Do this at 1:10 and email it to your coach. Then submit it: Submit your app → |
Code shows the HTML behind the preview. You can ignore it; a mentor may use it to fix one word or colour without a full rebuild.
One tool per job
| Understand | Gemini — paste the brief, ask it to be your person, ask what one ordinary day looks like for them. |
| Decide | Gemini — three ways AI could help. Pick one. Write your problem sentence. |
| Build | A Gemini Canvas app (people tap it) or a set-up chat (people talk to it) or Canva mockup screens. One is enough. |
| Show | Canva slides: the person, the problem, the build, the risks, what's next. Three minutes. |