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Microsoft Copilot Start here Freemium AI assistant built into Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and Windows.
Use it for: First drafts, summarising long email threads and meetings, rewriting in a set tone.
Don't: Trusting its figures or citations blind — always check numbers and facts it pulls in.
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ChatGPT Start here Freemium General-purpose chat assistant for writing, analysis, and brainstorming.
Use it for: Drafting, explaining a hard concept simply, turning messy notes into structure.
Don't: Anything where being confidently wrong is costly without you checking the source.
Visit site Google's assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Search.
Use it for: Working inside Google Workspace, quick research with links you can verify.
Don't: Assuming its search answers are complete — open the sources it lists.
Visit site Assistant known for careful long-document reading and writing.
Use it for: Long reports, policy docs, structured writing where nuance and tone matter.
Don't: Live web facts on the free tier — it isn't a search engine by default.
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Perplexity Start here Freemium Answer engine that cites its sources as it responds.
Use it for: Quick research when you want the answer AND the links to check it.
Don't: Deep original analysis — it's a research shortcut, not a strategist.
Visit site Google tool that answers questions grounded only in documents you upload.
Use it for: Q&A over your own PDFs, notes, and reports — answers stay tied to your sources.
Don't: General knowledge questions — it only knows what you give it (that's the point).
Visit site Writing assistant for grammar, clarity, and tone across apps.
Use it for: Cleaning up tone and errors in email and docs before you hit send.
Don't: Relying on it for facts — it fixes how you write, not whether you're right.
Visit site Live transcription and summaries for meetings and calls.
Use it for: Capturing action items so you can be present in the meeting, not typing.
Don't: Recording people without telling them — check consent and your policy first.
Visit site Marketing-focused writing tool with brand-voice and campaign templates.
Use it for: Scaling on-brand copy across ads, emails, and landing pages.
Don't: Publishing unedited — it's a fast first draft, not a finished campaign.
Visit site AI copywriter for short-form marketing and sales content.
Use it for: Blasting out subject lines, ad variants, and social captions to test.
Don't: Long-form thought leadership — quality thins out past short copy.
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Canva Magic Studio Start here Freemium AI features inside Canva for design, image edits, and copy.
Use it for: Non-designers making decent social graphics and decks fast.
Don't: Brand-critical hero assets — bring a designer for the flagship work.
Visit site Edit audio and video by editing the transcript, like a doc.
Use it for: Cutting podcasts and clips without learning a full video editor.
Don't: High-end broadcast production — it's for speed, not finishing polish.
Visit site Realistic AI voice generation and voice cloning.
Use it for: Voiceovers for explainer videos and ads without a recording booth.
Don't: Cloning any voice you don't have clear permission to use.
Visit site Turns a script into a video with an AI presenter.
Use it for: Training videos and product explainers at scale, in many languages.
Don't: Emotional or brand-defining stories — avatars still read as synthetic.
Visit site Optimises content against what's ranking for a target keyword.
Use it for: Briefing and grading blog posts so they have a shot at ranking.
Don't: Writing for the algorithm at the cost of something a human wants to read.
Visit site High-quality AI image generation from text prompts.
Use it for: Concept art, mood boards, and striking original imagery.
Don't: Precise brand assets, real logos, or anything needing exact text in-image.
Visit site Records and analyses sales calls to surface what wins deals.
Use it for: Coaching reps and spotting risk in the pipeline from real call data.
Don't: Skipping consent — call recording has legal rules by region.
Visit site A
Apollo.io Start here Freemium Prospecting database plus AI outreach and sequencing.
Use it for: Building targeted lead lists and drafting first-touch emails fast.
Don't: Spraying generic AI emails — personalise or it hits spam and hurts your domain.
Visit site Enriches lead lists and automates research with AI on top.
Use it for: Turning a thin list into rich, personalised outreach at scale.
Don't: Using it before you can do the research manually — garbage in, garbage out.
Visit site Real-time coach that scores and improves your sales emails.
Use it for: Tightening cold emails so they're shorter and get more replies.
Don't: Treating its score as truth — a high score isn't a guaranteed reply.
Visit site AI baked into HubSpot's CRM for drafting, summarising, and forecasting.
Use it for: Logging, follow-ups, and content if you already live in HubSpot.
Don't: Buying the CRM just for the AI — the value is in the CRM being your system.
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Copilot in Excel Start here Paid Generates formulas, analysis, and charts from plain-English asks in Excel.
Use it for: Getting un-stuck on a formula or exploring a dataset without deep Excel skills.
Don't: Trusting outputs on real numbers without checking — verify every figure.
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ChatGPT Data Analysis Freemium Upload a spreadsheet and it runs analysis and makes charts for you.
Use it for: Ad-hoc analysis and quick charts when you'd struggle to write the formulas.
Don't: Sensitive or confidential data — know your company's rules before uploading.
Visit site A spreadsheet with AI and live data connectors built in.
Use it for: Dashboards that pull live data without wiring up a BI tool.
Don't: Replacing your system of record — treat it as a fast analysis layer.
Visit site Ask questions of your dashboards and build reports in plain English.
Use it for: Getting a narrative summary of a report for people who won't read the charts.
Don't: Assuming the summary caught the nuance — read the underlying data too.
Visit site Analyses job posts and reviews for biased or off-tone language.
Use it for: Writing inclusive, effective job ads and performance feedback.
Don't: Outsourcing judgment — it flags language, it doesn't make the call for you.
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Copilot for HR drafting Start here Freemium Using Copilot or ChatGPT to draft JDs, policies, and comms.
Use it for: First drafts of job descriptions, offer emails, and policy summaries.
Don't: Putting real employee data into a public tool — anonymise first.
Visit site Meeting summaries plus engagement and sentiment signals.
Use it for: Recaps and action items across a lot of internal meetings.
Don't: Reading too much into 'sentiment' scores — they're a hint, not a verdict.
Visit site AI inside Notion for writing, summarising, and querying your workspace.
Use it for: Turning meeting notes into docs and asking questions across your wiki.
Don't: Relying on it if your Notion is messy — it answers from what's there.
Visit site Z
Zapier AI Start here Freemium Automates workflows across apps, now with AI steps and an assistant.
Use it for: Wiring up 'when X happens, do Y' between your tools without code.
Don't: Automating a broken process — fix the process first, then automate it.
Visit site Visual automation builder for multi-step workflows across apps.
Use it for: More complex automations than Zapier, laid out visually.
Don't: Starting here if you're new — it's powerful but steeper to learn.
Visit site Meeting notetaker that records, transcribes, and summarises calls.
Use it for: A searchable record of decisions and actions across many meetings.
Don't: Auto-joining every call — tell attendees, and skip sensitive ones.
Visit site AI inside ClickUp for summarising tasks, docs, and project updates.
Use it for: Status updates and doc drafting if ClickUp is your project hub.
Don't: Adopting a new PM tool just for the AI — the AI follows your workflow.
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