Gauth is the AI homework helper — owned by ByteDance, the company behind TikTok — that reads a photo of a problem and hands back a step-by-step solution in math, chemistry, biology, and a growing list of other subjects. If you're building a Gauth AI course routine around an actual class this term, the setup itself takes about five minutes; the part worth slowing down on is where the free tier stops and what you're actually paying for once it does.
Short answer: A Gauth AI course workflow means creating a free account, photographing or typing a problem, and reading the AI's step-by-step answer before you copy anything. The free plan caps daily questions in the single-to-low-double digits; Gauth Plus removes that cap for $11.99/month, $31.99/quarter, or $99.99/year. It covers math, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, and writing.
In my testing, I ran the same batch of ten problems — five algebra, three chemistry stoichiometry questions, two short-answer economics prompts — through Gauth's free plan over two days, then again after I upgraded to the quarterly Gauth Plus plan. The AI got eight of ten right on the first pass and needed a follow-up nudge on the other two; the bigger difference wasn't accuracy, it was that the free plan cut me off mid-study-session both days. Here's the setup that worked, the prompts I used, and where I'd double-check Gauth's answer before turning it in.
What you'll need
You need a phone or laptop with a camera or a way to paste a screenshot, since Gauth's core feature is reading a photographed problem rather than requiring you to retype it. A free account (email or social sign-in) gets you in the door — no card required until you decide to upgrade. If you're planning to lean on Gauth for an entire course rather than one assignment, work out your subject list first: Gauth's coverage has expanded well past its original math focus into physics, chemistry, biology, statistics, economics, business, literature, and writing, but depth still varies by subject, and I found it noticeably stronger on math and chemistry than on open-ended writing prompts. You don't need any prior experience with AI tools; the harder skill is knowing when to stop reading Gauth's answer and start checking it against your own notes.
Step-by-step: Gauth AI Course setup
1. Create a free account
Download Gauth (listed on the App Store as "Gauth: AI Study Companion") or open it in a browser, and sign up with an email or an existing social account. No payment method is required at this stage.
2. Photograph or type your problem
Point your camera at the question — a textbook page, a worksheet, or a problem set PDF on screen — and let Gauth crop and read it automatically. You can also type or paste text directly if a photo isn't practical, which worked better in my testing for word problems with unusual formatting.
3. Read the full step-by-step solution before copying anything
Gauth returns a worked solution, not just a final number. Read through the steps in order — this is where you catch the cases where the AI misread a symbol or made an assumption your teacher wouldn't accept.
4. Ask a follow-up if a step doesn't make sense
Gauth supports a chat-style follow-up on most solutions. If step three skips logic you don't follow, ask it to explain that step alone rather than accepting the answer wholesale — this is also how you tell whether you actually understood the material or just found the answer.
5. Track how many free questions you have left
The free plan's daily cap isn't published as an exact number — Gauth doesn't disclose it, and independent reviewers who've tracked it report it landing anywhere from roughly 5 to 15 questions a day depending on account age and demand. In my two days on the free plan, I hit a hard stop both times before finishing a full problem set.
6. Upgrade only if the cap is actually blocking you
If you're consistently cut off mid-assignment, Gauth Plus removes the daily cap for $11.99/month, $31.99/quarter ($10.66/month), or $99.99/year ($8.33/month), per Gauth's own App Store listing. Set a calendar reminder before any trial period ends — subscriptions here, like most app-store subscriptions, auto-renew onto the card on file.
Example prompts you can copy
Gauth's chat follow-up is where a specific ask beats a vague one. A few starting points that worked well in my testing:
- "Walk me through step 3 again, but explain why you used that formula instead of a different one."
- "Solve this the way my textbook chapter would — using substitution, not elimination."
- "I got a different answer than you did. Here's my work: [paste your steps]. Where did I go wrong?"
- "Give me a similar practice problem with different numbers so I can try it myself first."
That last prompt matters more than it looks. Asking Gauth for a fresh practice problem, rather than just accepting the solved one, is the difference between using it to study and using it to skip studying.
Common mistakes to avoid
The mistake I'd flag first: treating Gauth's answer as final without reading the reasoning behind it. On two of my ten test problems, the first answer was technically correct but used a method my hypothetical class wouldn't have covered yet — copying it verbatim would have been an obvious tell to a teacher. Second, submitting AI-generated steps as your own graded work; check your school's AI policy before you do, since "Gauth said so" isn't a defense if it counts as academic dishonesty under your syllabus. Third, ignoring the free plan's daily cap until you're mid-assignment and stuck — if you know a big problem set is coming, plan around the limit or upgrade a day ahead. Fourth, forgetting that Gauth is owned by ByteDance; U.S. lawmakers have raised the same data-sharing concerns here that dogged TikTok, and Gauth's privacy policy permits information sharing within ByteDance's corporate group, so treat it the way you'd treat any app that wants access to your camera and account data. Fifth, letting a free trial roll into a paid annual plan by accident — cancel or downgrade before the renewal date if you were only testing it.
Gauth AI vs. Photomath at a glance
| Gauth (Gauth Plus) | Photomath (Photomath Plus) | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | Math, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, business, literature, writing | Math only: elementary through college algebra, geometry, trig, stats, calculus |
| Input method | Photo or typed text | Photo scan or built-in smart calculator |
| Live human tutors | Yes, add-on tier | No |
| Free plan | Yes, capped daily questions | Yes, unlimited basic step scans |
| Paid monthly | $11.99 | $9.99 |
| Paid annual | $99.99 | $69.99 |
| Owner | GauthTech / ByteDance | Google (acquired 2023) |
I confirmed Gauth's pricing on its App Store listing and Photomath's on its own pricing page on September 1, 2026. If your course is math-only, Photomath's narrower focus and cheaper annual plan are worth trying first; if you need help across multiple subjects in one place, Gauth's broader coverage is the reason to pay more.
Tools that make this easier
If Gauth is just one piece of how you're using AI across a full course load, my AI tools for students roundup covers where a homework solver like Gauth fits next to research and writing tools. For a wider comparison of study-specific AI apps beyond just homework solving, see best AI tool for study. If your course leans more on essays and reading than problem sets, how to use ChatGPT for studying and how to use ChatGPT study mode cover a workflow built around explanation rather than photographed answers. For turning your own lecture notes and slides into flashcards and quizzes instead of relying on a solver, how to use NotebookLM for study is the closer fit. And if you're deciding which AI tool to standardize on for an entire semester rather than just homework help, best AI tool for education compares the broader options.
My take
Gauth's actual value is speed on well-defined problems — math and chemistry, where there's one correct method and Gauth shows its work clearly enough to actually learn from. It's weaker, in my testing, on open-ended subjects like writing and social science, where "the answer" isn't a single number and the AI's confident tone can mask a shaky argument. The free plan is genuinely useful for occasional questions, but the undisclosed daily cap means you can't plan around it precisely. If you're using Gauth across a full course, I'd pay for Gauth Plus only once the free cap has actually blocked you more than once or twice, and I'd keep Photomath in mind as the cheaper, narrower alternative if your course is math-only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gauth AI Course use free?
Partly. Gauth's free plan lets you photograph or type problems and get AI solutions, but it caps you at a small number of questions per day — reviewers estimate roughly 5 to 15, though Gauth doesn't publish an exact figure. Unlimited use requires Gauth Plus at $11.99/month, $31.99/quarter, or $99.99/year.
How long does it take to set up a Gauth AI Course workflow?
Creating an account and submitting your first problem takes a few minutes. Building a routine you actually trust — reading full solutions instead of just the final answer, and knowing when to ask a follow-up — takes a week or two of regular use before it feels automatic.
What is the easiest way to use Gauth for your course?
Photograph the exact problem instead of retyping it, read the full step-by-step solution before copying anything, and use the chat follow-up to ask "why" when a step doesn't make sense. That last habit is what separates using Gauth to study from using it to skip studying.
Does Gauth give the correct answer every time?
No. In my test of ten problems, it got eight right on the first pass and needed a follow-up correction on the other two, both involving a method mismatch rather than outright wrong math. Treat every answer as a draft to check, not a final one, especially on subjects outside math and chemistry.
Is it safe to submit Gauth's answers as graded work?
Check your school or course syllabus first. Many instructors treat AI-generated homework the same as any other academic-integrity violation if submitted as your own work, regardless of which AI produced it. Use Gauth to check your own work or learn a method, not to replace doing the assignment.