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AI tools by category
Well-known AI tools mentioned in our playbooks and industry guides, grouped by the job they do. We are not paid by any of them. This is a map of the options, not a ranking: try one or two on a real task before you pay.
General assistantsResearchWriting and documentsMeetings and calendarEmailDesign and videoSales and marketingCustomer service and sellingAutomationFinanceTeams and HRPersonal organisationIndustry software
General assistants
ChatGPT
OpenAI’s general assistant for drafting, summarising, analysing files and brainstorming.
Industries Trades and home servicesReal estate agentsConstruction and contractorsProperty managers and landlords Playbooks Write product descriptionsReply to online reviewsPlan a month of social posts
Claude
Anthropic’s general assistant, good with long documents, writing and analysis.
Industries Insurance agenciesConsultants and coaches Playbooks Write product descriptionsWrite job ads and interview questionsWrite blog posts that answer real questions
Google Gemini
Google’s assistant, also built into Gmail, Docs and Sheets on Google Workspace plans.
Industries Nonprofits and charities Playbooks Reply to customer emails fasterReply to online reviewsGet answers from your spreadsheets
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft’s assistant, also built into Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams on Microsoft 365 plans.
Industries Retail shopsReal estate agentsAccountants and bookkeepersSmall law firms Playbooks Reply to customer emails fasterTurn meeting notes into tasksDraft quotes and proposals
Apple Intelligence
Writing tools, summaries and smarter notifications built into recent iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Playbooks Clear your inbox fasterWrite clearer emails and messagesOrganise your notes and ideas
Research
Perplexity
An AI search engine that answers questions with links to its sources.
Industries Travel agents and tour operatorsConsultants and coaches Playbooks Prepare for sales callsDo quick competitor researchFind what customers search for
NotebookLM
Google’s tool for asking questions about your own documents, with answers tied to the source.
Industries Tutors, trainers and small schools Playbooks Build an FAQ assistant from your documentsSummarise long documents and reportsLearn something new with an AI tutor
Julius AI
Upload a spreadsheet and ask questions about the data in plain English.
Industries Small manufacturers and workshops Playbooks Get answers from your spreadsheetsMake sense of customer feedback
Writing and documents
Gamma
Turns an outline or notes into a presentation, document or simple web page.
Industries Marketing and creative agenciesTravel agents and tour operatorsEvent planners and venuesConsultants and coaches Playbooks Draft quotes and proposalsMake presentations and pitch decks faster
Grammarly
Checks grammar, tone and clarity wherever you type, with AI rewriting.
Industries Freelancers and solo businesses Playbooks Reply to customer emails fasterWrite blog posts that answer real questionsRewrite your website pages
DeepL
High-quality translation of text and whole documents.
Industries Hotels, B&Bs and holiday rentalsTravel agents and tour operators Playbooks Translate messages and documents
Notion
Notes, wikis and project boards with built-in AI writing and search.
Industries Event planners and venuesConsultants and coachesArchitects and interior designersFreelancers and solo businesses Playbooks Turn meeting notes into tasksWrite standard operating proceduresPlan a project with a timeline
Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant
Ask questions about PDFs and get summaries inside Acrobat.
Playbooks Pull data out of PDFs and formsUnderstand a contract before you signSummarise long documents and reports
Scribe
Records you doing a task on screen and turns it into a step-by-step guide.
Industries Small manufacturers and workshops Playbooks Write standard operating proceduresCreate training guides and quizzes
Trainual
A home for SOPs and training, with AI help writing them.
Playbooks Write standard operating proceduresDraft an employee handbookCreate training guides and quizzes
Spellbook
AI contract drafting and review inside Microsoft Word, built for lawyers.
Industries Small law firms Playbooks Understand a contract before you sign
Meetings and calendar
Otter.ai
Records and transcribes meetings, then writes summaries and action items.
Industries Small law firmsConstruction and contractorsEvent planners and venuesConsultants and coaches Playbooks Turn meeting notes into tasksPrepare for meetings and calls
Fireflies.ai
Meeting notetaker that joins calls and produces searchable transcripts.
Playbooks Turn meeting notes into tasks
Loom
Quick screen-recorded videos with AI titles, summaries and chapters.
Playbooks Write standard operating procedures
Motion
Plans your tasks into your calendar automatically and re-plans when things change.
Industries Freelancers and solo businesses Playbooks Plan your week around what matters
Reclaim.ai
Protects focus time and habits in your calendar around your meetings.
Playbooks Plan your week around what mattersBuild a daily routine that sticks
Calendly
Lets clients book times that suit you without back-and-forth emails.
Industries Freelancers and solo businesses
Superhuman
Fast email app with AI drafting, summaries and sorting.
Playbooks Reply to customer emails fasterClear your inbox faster
Design and video
Canva
Design tool with AI features for images, layouts, resizing and short copy.
Industries Restaurants and cafésRetail shopsSalons, barbers and beautyReal estate agents Playbooks Plan a month of social postsWrite an email newsletter people openCreate images for posts and ads
Adobe Firefly
Adobe’s image generator, designed for commercial use.
Industries Architects and interior designers Playbooks Create images for posts and ads
Adobe Lightroom
Photo editor with AI masking, noise reduction and object removal.
Industries Photographers and videographers
Aftershoot
AI culling and editing for photographers working through large shoots.
Industries Photographers and videographers
Imagen
Learns a photographer’s editing style and applies it to new shoots.
Industries Photographers and videographers
Descript
Edit video and podcasts by editing the transcript, with captions and clip tools.
Industries Marketing and creative agenciesPhotographers and videographers Playbooks Turn one video or talk into many posts
CapCut
Video editor with auto captions and templates for short social videos.
Industries Salons, barbers and beautyFitness studios and gyms Playbooks Plan a month of social postsTurn one video or talk into many posts
Synthesia
Makes training and explainer videos with AI presenters from a script.
Playbooks Create training guides and quizzes
Sales and marketing
HubSpot
CRM and marketing platform with AI writing, summaries and chat.
Industries Insurance agenciesRecruiters and staffing agencies Playbooks Prepare for sales callsWrite welcome emails for new customersFollow up on quotes without being pushy
Mailchimp
Email marketing with AI help on subject lines and content.
Industries Retail shopsFitness studios and gymsInsurance agencies Playbooks Write an email newsletter people openWrite welcome emails for new customers
Klaviyo
Email and text marketing for online shops, with AI segments and content.
Industries Online stores Playbooks Write an email newsletter people openWrite welcome emails for new customers
Buffer
Schedules social posts, with an AI assistant for drafting and repurposing.
Playbooks Plan a month of social postsTurn one video or talk into many posts
Semrush
Keyword and competitor research for search and ads.
Industries Marketing and creative agencies Playbooks Write blog posts that answer real questionsDo quick competitor researchWrite and test ad copy
Jasper
Marketing writing tool that keeps to your brand voice.
Industries Marketing and creative agencies Playbooks Write product descriptionsWrite and test ad copy
Textio
Helps write job ads and feedback that are clear and inclusive.
Industries Recruiters and staffing agencies Playbooks Write job ads and interview questions
Google Business Profile
Your listing on Google Search and Maps, where you post updates and reply to reviews.
Industries Restaurants and cafésTrades and home servicesSalons, barbers and beautyHealth and dental practices Playbooks Reply to online reviewsKeep your Google Business Profile active
Customer service and selling
Shopify Magic
AI features in Shopify for product descriptions, emails and store help.
Industries Retail shopsOnline stores Playbooks Write product descriptions
Tidio
Website chat with an AI agent that answers from your FAQs.
Industries Online stores Playbooks Build an FAQ assistant from your documents
Intercom Fin
AI customer service agent that answers from your help content.
Playbooks Build an FAQ assistant from your documentsSort and prioritise support requests
Zendesk
Help desk with AI for sorting tickets and suggesting replies.
Playbooks Build an FAQ assistant from your documentsSort and prioritise support requests
Gorgias
Help desk for online shops, with AI replies linked to order data.
Industries Online stores Playbooks Sort and prioritise support requests
Automation
Zapier
Connects thousands of apps so routine tasks run on their own, with AI steps.
Industries Property managers and landlords Playbooks Sort and prioritise support requestsAutomate a routine task between apps
Make
Visual automation builder for connecting apps, with AI modules.
Playbooks Automate a routine task between apps
Finance
QuickBooks
Accounting software with AI help on categorising, invoices and reports.
Industries Accountants and bookkeepersFreelancers and solo businesses Playbooks Sort expenses and receiptsChase unpaid invoices politelyGet your records ready for the accountant
Xero
Accounting software with bank feeds, invoicing and AI features.
Industries Accountants and bookkeepers Playbooks Sort expenses and receiptsChase unpaid invoices politelyBuild a simple cash flow forecast
Dext
Captures receipts and bills and pulls out the data for your books.
Industries Accountants and bookkeepers Playbooks Sort expenses and receiptsPull data out of PDFs and formsGet your records ready for the accountant
Nanonets
Extracts data from invoices, forms and other documents.
Industries Accountants and bookkeepersSmall manufacturers and workshops Playbooks Pull data out of PDFs and forms
Float
Cash flow forecasting connected to Xero or QuickBooks.
Playbooks Build a simple cash flow forecast
LivePlan
Business plan and forecasting tool with guided templates.
Instrumentl
Finds and tracks grant opportunities for nonprofits.
Industries Nonprofits and charities Playbooks Draft grant applications
Teams and HR
Deputy
Staff scheduling and time tracking with automatic rota suggestions.
Playbooks Plan staff rotas faster
Lattice
Performance reviews and goals, with AI help summarising feedback.
Playbooks Prepare for staff reviews
Personal organisation
Todoist
To-do list app that can break big tasks into steps.
Playbooks Plan your week around what mattersBuild a daily routine that sticks
Goblin.tools
Small free tools that break tasks into steps, estimate time and adjust the tone of a message.
Playbooks Write clearer emails and messagesRehearse a difficult conversationBuild a daily routine that sticks
Readwise Reader
Save articles, PDFs and newsletters to read later, with AI summaries and Q&A.
Playbooks Summarise long documents and reportsOrganise your notes and ideas
Speechify
Reads documents and web pages aloud.
Wanderlog
Trip planner that maps your plans, with an AI assistant for ideas.
Industries Travel agents and tour operators Playbooks Plan a trip
Teal
Job search tracker with AI help tailoring CVs to job ads.
Playbooks Update your CV and write cover letters
Monarch Money
Budgeting app that links accounts and categorises spending.
Playbooks Make a personal budget you will stick to
YNAB
Budgeting app built around giving every dollar a job.
Playbooks Make a personal budget you will stick to
Industry software
Jobber
Quotes, scheduling and invoicing for home service businesses, with AI features.
Industries Trades and home servicesCleaning companies Playbooks Draft quotes and proposalsFollow up on quotes without being pushy
Housecall Pro
Field service software for trades: booking, dispatch, invoices and reviews.
Industries Trades and home servicesCleaning companies
ServiceTitan
Field service platform for larger trades businesses.
Industries Trades and home services
Procore
Construction project management with AI search across project documents.
Industries Construction and contractors
Buildertrend
Project management for home builders and remodelers.
Industries Construction and contractors
AppFolio
Property management software with AI for leasing and maintenance requests.
Industries Property managers and landlords
Buildium
Property management software for smaller portfolios.
Industries Property managers and landlords
EliseAI
AI leasing assistant that answers prospect questions and books tours.
Industries Property managers and landlords
Cloudbeds
Hotel management system for bookings, channels and guest messaging.
Industries Hotels, B&Bs and holiday rentals
Canary Technologies
Guest messaging, check-in and AI webchat for hotels.
Industries Hotels, B&Bs and holiday rentals
Matterport
3D virtual tours of properties, with automatic floor plans.
Industries Real estate agentsArchitects and interior designers
Square
Payments and point of sale with AI features for menus, marketing and reports.
Industries Restaurants and cafésRetail shops
Vagaro
Booking, payments and marketing for salons and fitness studios.
Industries Salons, barbers and beautyFitness studios and gyms
Mindbody
Class booking and membership software for gyms and studios.
Industries Fitness studios and gyms
Weave
Patient calls, texts, reviews and payments for dental and medical practices.
Freed
AI scribe that drafts clinical notes from a recorded visit.
Industries Health and dental practices
ScribbleVet
AI scribe that drafts veterinary records from a recorded appointment.
Industries Veterinary clinics
Tekmetric
Shop management for auto repair: estimates, inspections and customer texts.
Industries Auto repair shops
Shopmonkey
Auto repair shop software for estimates, invoices and scheduling.
Industries Auto repair shops
MaintainX
Maintenance and work orders for factories and facilities.
Industries Small manufacturers and workshops
Khanmigo
Khan Academy’s AI tutor and teaching assistant.
Industries Tutors, trainers and small schools Playbooks Learn something new with an AI tutor
MagicSchool
AI tools for teachers: lesson plans, rubrics and feedback.
Industries Tutors, trainers and small schools Playbooks Create training guides and quizzes
Quizlet
Flashcards and practice tests, with AI to make study sets from notes.
Industries Tutors, trainers and small schools Playbooks Practise a language
Product names are trademarks of their owners. Features, plans and data terms change often; check the provider’s own site. Before putting customer or staff data into any tool, read keeping customer data safe.