The AI Tool Fatigue Problem
Every week there's a new "revolutionary AI tool" that will "change everything." Most of them are mediocre wrappers around the same APIs, solving problems nobody actually has.
After testing dozens, here are the five I actually use daily.
Tools That Deliver
1. ChatGPT Plus ($20/month)
Yes, the obvious one. But for good reason. I use it for:- Drafting emails (paste in context, get a response)
- Explaining technical concepts
- Brainstorming (terrible at original ideas, great at expanding yours)
- Code review and debugging
2. Notion AI
If you already use Notion, this is worth the extra $10/month. It's excellent for:- Summarizing long documents
- Generating first drafts in your existing workspace
- Creating action items from meeting notes
3. Otter.ai
Meeting transcription that actually works. Otter joins your Zoom/Meet calls, transcribes everything, and creates summaries. I haven't taken manual meeting notes in 6 months.The game-changer: Searching old meetings for "what did we decide about X" takes 10 seconds instead of 10 minutes.
4. GitHub Copilot ($10/month)
If you write code, Copilot is the real deal. It's not replacing developers, but it's absolutely making them faster. Autocomplete on steroids.5. Descript
Video/audio editing that feels like editing a document. Transcribes your video, and you can edit by deleting text. Remove filler words in one click.What I Stopped Using
- Jasper: Too expensive for what it does, ChatGPT is better
- Copy.ai: Same problem
- Most image generators: Fun for playing, but rarely useful for real work
- AI scheduling tools: My calendar isn't that complicated
The Takeaway
The best AI tools do one thing well and integrate into your existing workflow. If a tool requires changing how you work, it better be 10x better than the alternative.
ChatGPT Plus is the only "must-have" on this list. Everything else is situational.
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This is our top recommendation for a reason.
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