Z.ai: The "Free" Slide-Making Machine You Should Be Using
You’re probably tired of paying $20 a month for AI subscriptions, so here is the good news: Z.ai (powered by Zhipu’s GLM 4.6) is currently the best "unlimited" free lunch on the internet. It chats as well as the big dogs, but the real reason you’ll bookmark it is that it generates full, editable PowerPoint presentations in seconds—for zero dollars.
🎨 What It Actually Does
- The Slide Generator: You type "Make a pitch deck for a coffee shop in Brooklyn," and it spits out a downloadable
.pptxfile with layouts, text, and structure. It’s not perfect, but it saves you 90% of the grunt work. - GLM 4.6 Model: This is the brain behind the bot. It has a massive 200k context window, meaning you can paste in an entire novel or a dense PDF, and it won't forget the beginning by the time it reads the end.
- Vision & Analysis: It can "see" images and analyze charts. If you upload a screenshot of a messy spreadsheet, it can turn that into a clean table or explain what the data actually means.
The Real Cost (Free vs. Paid)
Here is the reality check. Z.ai is in "aggressive growth mode." That means they are burning cash to get you to use it. While the chat interface is surprisingly open, there are paid tiers for heavy-duty coding features.
| Plan | Cost | Key Limits/Perks |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited standard chat & slide generation (fair use applies). Access to GLM 4.6. |
| Coding Plan | ~$18/qt | Access to specialized coding agents (GLM-4.7) and higher speeds for developers. |
Note: "Unlimited" is always subject to change. In late 2025, they are keeping the gates wide open to steal market share from OpenAI, but expect a "Pro" waitlist if you abuse the speed.
How It Stacks Up
It’s crowded out there. Here is why you might pick Z.ai over the usual suspects:
- vs. ChatGPT (OpenAI): ChatGPT is still the best generalist, but you hit message caps on the best models unless you pay. Z.ai gives you top-tier intelligence (GLM 4.6 is roughly on par with GPT-4o class models) without the nagging "You've reached your limit" alerts.
- vs. Claude (Anthropic): Claude is still the king of coding and nuance. If you are writing a novel or debugging complex code, stick with Claude. If you need a business presentation or quick answers, Z.ai is faster and handles documents just as well.
- vs. DeepSeek: Both are incredibly cheap/free alternatives. DeepSeek is often better for pure math/coding logic, but Z.ai wins on the "Office Worker" features like slide creation and document formatting.
The Verdict
We are entering the "Commodity Era" of AI. Two years ago, a model this smart would have cost you a fortune. Now, it's free because companies are fighting for your attention.
Z.ai isn't a "ChatGPT Killer"—it's a "ChatGPT Complement." It is the tool you open when you need to make a slide deck in five minutes or when you've run out of credits on your main subscription. It might not be your forever AI, but right now, it is the most useful free tab you can have open in your browser.
