My Merlin AI Journey: Skeptic to Fan (2026 Review)

Is Merlin AI Worth It?

★★★★★ 4.3/5

Quick Verdict: Merlin AI is a great tool for anyone tired of switching browser tabs between ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. It gives you access to top AI models in one chrome extension. The free account offers 102 daily queries. The Pro plan at $19/month gives you unlimited use. It’s best for writers, marketers, and students who want to save time on content creation and research.

✅ Best For:

Writers, marketers, and students who want all AI models in one place without switching browser tabs

❌ Skip If:

You need a dedicated AI tool for heavy coding or enterprise-level data security

📊 Users	1,000,000+	🎯 Best For	Content creation & research
💰 Price	$0 – $19/month	✅ Top Feature	Access to GPT-4, Claude, Gemini in one app
🎁 Free Plan	102 queries/day	⚠️ Limitation	Fair use caps on “unlimited” Pro plan

How I Tested Merlin AI

Tired of paying for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini separately?

You open one AI tool for writing emails. Another for summarizing YouTube videos. A third for social media posts.

That’s three subscriptions. Three logins. Three open browser tabs.

Enter Merlin AI.

This AI powered assistant puts GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini 1.5 into one free chrome extension. In this review, I’ll show you exactly what happened after 60 days of real use.

Merlin AI

Stop paying for separate AI subscriptions. Merlin AI gives you access to top AI models like GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini in one chrome extension. Use it to write emails, summarize YouTube videos, and create social media content. Free plan includes 102 queries per day.

TRY MERLIN AI NOW →

What is Merlin AI?

Merlin AI is a browser-based AI tool that works as your personal AI assistant.

Think of it like a Swiss Army knife for AI. Instead of opening ChatGPT in one tab and Claude in another, you get everything in one place.

Here’s the simple version:

You install the chrome extension. Press Ctrl+M (or Cmd+M on Mac) on any website. A sidebar pops up. The Merlin AI chatbot lets you chat with AI, summarize entire websites, write social media content, translate in multiple languages, and more.

The tool focuses on being a 26-in-1 AI chatbot. Unlike Chat GPT which only uses OpenAI models, Merlin AI lets you switch between multiple AI models in one place.

It’s also a web app and mobile app. You can use it on iOS and Android too.

Who Created Merlin AI?

Pratyush Rai started Merlin AI in 2021 along with co-founders Siddhartha Saxena and Sirsendu Sarkar.

Pratyush is an IIT Kanpur graduate. He worked at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) before starting Merlin. His vision was to make AI tools easy to access for everyone.

Today, Merlin AI has over 1,000,000 users worldwide. The company raised $8.3 million from investors including Better Capital India and Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot.

In 2024, Forbes named Pratyush to its 30 Under 30 list for Asia in Consumer Technology.

The parent company is Foyer Tech Inc., based in California.

Top Benefits of Merlin AI

Here’s what you actually get when you use Merlin AI:

• Save Time on Research: Merlin can summarize YouTube videos, PDF documents, and entire websites in seconds. No more reading 30-page reports. You get the key points fast.
• One Subscription for All AI Models: You get access to GPT-4, Claude, Gemini 1.5, and more. No need for separate accounts. This alone can save you $40+ per month.
• Write Emails and Posts Faster: You can write social media content for LinkedIn posts, Twitter, and Gmail without switching browser tabs. Merlin works right on the page.
• Works in Over 128 Languages: Need to translate content? Merlin supports multiple languages for translation and content creation in twenty five languages and beyond.
• Free to Start: The free account gives you 102 free queries every day. That’s enough for most casual users.
• Works Everywhere ChatGPT is Banned: Merlin works in all countries. Even where ChatGPT is restricted, you can still access top AI models. It also boosts results on search engines like Google.
• No Tab Switching Needed: You stay on your current page. Open Merlin with a keyboard shortcut. Get instant answers for online tasks without leaving your workflow. Access GPT 4, Claude, and other models in one search engine sidebar.

Best Merlin AI Features

Let’s look at what Merlin AI actually offers. Here are the features that matter most.

1. Free AI Detector & AI Checker Tool

Merlin includes a built-in AI detector right inside the extension. You can check if any text was written by AI.

This is a great tool for teachers, editors, and anyone checking content.

The plagiarism checker works fast and gives you clear results. You don’t need a separate app for this.

2. Free GPT-4o Access

Most AI tools charge $20/month just for GPT-4 access. With Merlin, you get free GPT-4o queries every day.

You can use this AI model for writing emails, generating code, and answering questions. The web version and chrome extension both support it.

3. AI Plagiarism Checker

The plagiarism checker scans your text against online sources. It catches copied content before you publish.

This is perfect for bloggers, students, and content creators.

You can run checks right from the Merlin sidebar. No need for other tools like Grammarly or Copyscape.

4. Translation Tools

Merlin translates text in over 128 languages. You can compare the original and translated versions side by side. This makes it easy to check accuracy. It works on any webpage.

Just highlight text and Merlin handles the rest. Great for your professional network or global team.

5. AI Essay Writer

Students love this feature. The AI essay writer helps you create study guides, literature reviews, and full essays. It’s not just for school though.

You can use it to create compelling brand narratives, blog posts, and long form content. It supports academic formats too.

6. Chat with AI on Every Website

This is what Merlin makes special. You can open Merlin on any website using Ctrl+M. The AI chatbot reads the active webpage.

It gives you tailored summaries, answers, and explanations. You don’t need to copy and paste text. It works on Google Search results, news sites, and more.

7. Chat with Code Interpreter

Developers can use Merlin to write and debug code.

The code interpreter runs Python right in your browser. You can analyze data, create charts, and solve coding problems.

It works like ChatGPT’s code interpreter but inside your chrome extensions sidebar.

8. YouTube Summarizer

This feature helps you summarize YouTube videos of any length. You get a YouTube summary with key points and timestamps. No more watching hour-long videos.

Merlin pulls out what matters. This saves hours when doing research on youtube content and video content.

9. Generate AI Images & Art

Merlin includes 20+ AI image models. You can create images for social media, blog posts, and presentations. Pick different aspect ratios and styles.

It’s all built into the same tool. No need for Midjourney or DALL-E subscriptions.

10. Gmail and Email Writer

Writing emails takes forever. Merlin fixes that. It reads your Gmail conversations and suggests replies.

You can compose new emails with AI help.

The tool understands the context of previous messages. This is a huge help for writing emails faster. It also works for custom connection request messages on LinkedIn.

Merlin AI Pricing

Here’s exactly what each plan costs:

Free trial: Yes. You get 102 free queries every day. No credit card needed.

Annual discount: The Merlin Pro plans save you about 35-50% when you pay yearly.

📌 Note: The “unlimited” Pro plan has fair use caps. If you use more than $100 worth of AI queries per month, your account may pause until the next billing cycle.

Is Merlin AI Worth the Price?

Here’s my honest take on the value.

ChatGPT Plus costs $20/month. Claude Pro costs $20/month. That’s $40 for just two AI tools.

Merlin Pro gives you both (plus Gemini, Llama, and more) for $9.50/month on the annual plan.

You’ll save money if: You currently pay for 2+ AI subscriptions and want to combine them into one app.

You might overpay if: You only need ChatGPT for simple chats. The free plan might be enough.

Merlin AI Pros and Cons

✅ What I Liked

❌ What Could Be Better

Is Merlin AI Right for You?

✅ Merlin AI is PERFECT for you if:

• You use AI daily for content creation, writing emails, or research
• You’re tired of switching browser tabs between different AI tools
• You want one subscription instead of paying for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini separately
• You summarize YouTube videos or long form content regularly

❌ Skip Merlin AI if:

• You need enterprise-level security for sensitive data
• You’re a heavy AI user who needs truly unlimited queries with no caps
• You only use one AI model and don’t need multi-model access

My recommendation:

If you use AI every day and want to save money, Merlin AI is a no-brainer. The free plan alone is worth installing. Start there. Upgrade only if you need more.

Merlin AI vs Alternatives

How does Merlin AI stack up? Here’s the competitive landscape:

Quick picks:

• Best overall: Merlin AI — best value for multi-model access in one extension
• Best budget option: Sider AI — starts at $5/month with a solid free tier
• Best for automation: Harpa AI — unmatched web monitoring and task automation
• Best free browser: Perplexity Comet — full agentic AI browser at no cost

🎯 Merlin AI Alternatives

Looking for Merlin AI alternatives? Here are the top options:

• 🎨 Monica AI: Best for polished writing with 80+ copywriting templates and a clean interface across all devices.
• 🧠 Sider AI: Great for research with smart highlights, PDF handling, and a knowledge base called Wisebase.
• 🔧 Harpa AI: Best for power users who want web automation, price monitoring, and 100+ built-in commands.
• 🚀 ChatGPT Atlas: OpenAI’s AI browser with ChatGPT built-in. Agent mode can perform tasks on your behalf.
• 🏢 Microsoft Copilot: Best for users already in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Built into Edge and Bing.
• ⚡ Perplexity Comet: Free agentic AI browser that can interact with your tabs, email, and calendar.

⚔️ Merlin AI Compared

Here’s how Merlin AI stacks up against each competitor:

• Merlin AI vs Monica AI: Merlin offers more AI models. Monica has better writing templates and a more polished interface.
• Merlin AI vs Sider AI: Merlin wins on model variety. Sider excels at document handling and deep research workflows.
• Merlin AI vs Harpa AI: Merlin is easier to use. Harpa offers stronger web automation and better privacy controls.
• Merlin AI vs ChatGPT Atlas: Merlin works as an extension. Atlas is a full browser. Merlin has more model options.
• Merlin AI vs Microsoft Copilot: Merlin is better for content creation. Copilot wins if you live in Microsoft 365 apps.
• Merlin AI vs Perplexity Comet: Merlin is a lightweight extension. Comet is a full AI browser with deeper web integration.

My Experience with Merlin AI

Here’s what actually happened when I used Merlin AI for 60 days:

The project: I used Merlin for daily content creation. This included writing emails for clients, creating LinkedIn posts, summarizing YouTube videos for research, and drafting blog outlines.

Timeline: 60 days of daily use.

Results:

What surprised me: The YouTube summarizer was the feature I didn’t expect to love. It cut my research process time by 75%. I now use it before watching any tutorial or review video.

What frustrated me: I hit the fair use limit twice in month two. The tool paused my access for the rest of the day. Not gonna lie, that was annoying.

Would I use it again? Yes. The time saved on summarizing long form content alone makes it worth the price.

Final Thoughts

Get Merlin AI if: You want one AI tool that does everything — from writing emails to summarizing YouTube videos to generating images.

Skip Merlin AI if: You need truly unlimited AI use with no caps, or you require enterprise-level data security.

My verdict: After 60 days, Merlin AI earned a permanent spot in my browser. It replaced three separate AI subscriptions and saved me hours each week. The Compose AI features for Gmail and social media alone are worth installing it.

Merlin AI is best for content creators, marketers, and students. It’s not perfect. But it’s the best value AI tool I’ve tested in 2026.

Rating: 4.3/5

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Merlin AI do?

Merlin AI is an AI powered assistant that works as a chrome extension and web app. It gives you access to top AI models like GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini in one place. You can use Merlin to summarize websites, write emails, create social media posts, translate text, check for plagiarism, and generate AI images. It works on any website with a simple keyboard shortcut.

Is Merlin GPT free?

Yes. Merlin AI offers a free plan with 102 queries per day. You don’t need a credit card to start. The free account lets you use basic and some advanced AI models. For unlimited access to all features, you need the Pro plan at $19/month or $9.50/month on the yearly plan.

Is Merlin AI safe to use?

Merlin AI is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant. Your data is encrypted during transmission. For most users, it’s safe for everyday use. However, if you handle very sensitive business data, review their privacy policy first. Merlin does not require separate accounts for using top AI models. The onboarding page walks you through setup in under 2 minutes.

Is Merlin AI worth it?

If you currently pay for ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) and Claude Pro ($20/month) separately, Merlin saves you money. You get both (plus more AI models) for $9.50/month on the annual plan. The free plan with 102 daily queries is enough for casual users. It’s worth it if you use AI tools daily for content creation and research.

How does Merlin AI compare to ChatGPT?

Merlin AI includes ChatGPT (GPT-4) as one of many models you can use. ChatGPT only gives you OpenAI models. Merlin also adds Claude, Gemini, Llama, and more. Plus, Merlin works as a chrome extension on any website. ChatGPT requires you to visit chat.openai.com or use the ChatGPT Atlas browser. Merlin is better for users who want multiple AI tools in one place.