Air fryers definitely are very different than ovens or pan frying, it's hard to explain, but it's definitely more comparable to frying in that it crisps up food

Air fryers definitely are very different than ovens or pan frying, it's hard to explain, but it's definitely more comparable to frying in that it crisps up food by removing the water from the outside of stuff quickly. By this logic it's particularly good at cooking food that otherwise would be better fried, but outside of that it does vegetables like brussel sprouts or small filets of fish particularly well leaving the inside soft and the outside cooked.