Free AI for documents — and how to keep every conversation
Point an agent at a folder and it reads, edits and builds real .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files — on a free model key, on your own computer. Here is the setup, what it can do with your files, and where your chats are kept.
The More AI team · Updated August 21, 2026
Working on files, not on copy-paste
Most AI tools for documents ask you to paste text in and copy the answer back out. Cowork mode works the other way round: you point it at a project folder and it opens the files itself, edits them in place with visible diffs, and writes real Word, Excel and PowerPoint files you can open in Office or Google Docs.
Because the files are on your computer, nothing is uploaded to a document service — the model sees the text of the file you are working on, exactly like any API call, and the file itself never leaves the folder unless you switch the cloud on yourself.
Setting it up at no cost
You need one model key, and it can be a free one. Google AI Studio suits document work particularly well — its Flash models handle long text and cost nothing on the free tier — but OpenRouter and a local model both work.
- Install More AI and open it. No account is required.
- In the “Start free” group, pick Google Gemini and paste a key from aistudio.google.com/apikey.
- Create a project and point it at the folder holding your documents.
- Ask in plain language: “summarise every contract in this folder into one table”, or “fix the numbering in this report”.
- Review the diff before you accept it — nothing is written until you do.
- Google AI Studio — get an API key — Free tier, no card required. Good with long documents.
- OpenRouter — create an API key — One key, many models. Look for ids ending in :free.
- Ollama — download — For documents that may not leave your machine at all.
What it actually does with your files
Reading and rewriting are the easy part. The more useful behaviour is that it produces real artifacts: it writes and runs a small script to generate a spreadsheet or a deck, so the output is a genuine .xlsx with formulas rather than a table pasted into a chat.
Deletion is the one hard permission gate — writes happen inside the folder you chose, but nothing is deleted without an explicit approval. That asymmetry is deliberate: an unwanted edit is visible in a diff and reversible, an unwanted deletion is neither.
- Summarise or compare a folder full of documents into one table
- Rewrite, reformat and fix numbering across a long report
- Build .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files from data you point it at
- Extract figures from several files and check them against each other
Your conversations stay yours
Chats and projects live in local storage on your computer, so they survive closing the app, and nothing is synced anywhere until you switch the cloud on yourself. There is no server in the middle of a local conversation.
If you do want your work on more than one machine, that is what an account and the cloud are for: sessions sync between your computers and open in a browser or on your phone. It is optional, and the local app is complete without it.
Where free runs out
A free tier is capped by the day. Reading one long contract is cheap; sweeping a folder of two hundred documents in an afternoon is not, and that is the point where a free key stops being enough.
Two ways forward, and neither is a plan from us: top up the same provider key you already hold, or move the heavy passes to a local model that has no cap at all and let the hosted one handle the parts that need more capability.
Frequently asked questions
Can it really create Word and Excel files?
Yes. It writes and runs a small generator script, so the result is a real .docx or .xlsx you can open in Office or Google Docs — with working formulas, not a table pasted into a chat.
Do my documents get uploaded anywhere?
The files stay in your folder. The model sees the text you ask it to work on, the same as any API call, and nothing is synced anywhere until you turn on the cloud yourself. With a local model through Ollama, nothing leaves the machine at all.
Are my chats saved?
Yes — conversations and projects are kept in local storage on your computer and survive restarts. Syncing them to other devices is optional and requires an account.
Which free model is best for documents?
Google AI Studio’s Flash models are a good default: the free tier is generous on volume and they handle long text well. OpenRouter’s :free models work too, and a local model is the choice when confidentiality matters more than capability.
Can it delete my files?
Not without asking. Writes happen inside the folder you chose and are shown as diffs; deletion is a hard permission gate that always requires explicit approval.