The five kinds of tool

Every tool is one of five types, and the type tells you what to expect back.

Checker

Examines something that already exists — a page, a domain, a setup — and reports what it found. The run button reads Run Tool.

Use when the question is "is this right?"

Generator

Produces something new: copy, meta descriptions, subject lines, structured markup. The button reads Generate.

Use when the question is "write me a starting point." Treat the result as a draft — it is a good first version, not a finished one, and the ones that work best are edited before use.

Calculator

Works out a number from inputs you supply. No external data, so these are generally free.

Research

Looks something up externally — keywords, competitors, market data. These call paid sources, so they are usually the more expensive runs. See What a tool run costs.

Report

Pulls several signals together into something you can read or share, rather than answering one narrow question.

Why the type matters

Mostly for cost and expectations. Calculators are free and instant; research tools cost the most because someone is charging us for the data. And a Checker returning "nothing wrong" is a complete answer, whereas a Generator returning text is the beginning of the work rather than the end.

Next: open Marketing Tools and note the type before running — it tells you whether you are getting an answer or a draft.