If you check your email and feel instant dread at the five “revolutionary” AI tools that launched overnight, you’re not imagining things. The AI tool deluge is real, and the paradox of choice is the number one reason most business owners give up before they start.
Here’s the truth: you don’t need 47 tools. You need a core stack and the confidence to ignore the rest. Our AI experts have spent thousands of hours testing these tools so you don’t have to. We’ve narrowed down a list of AI tools worth your time, plus creative ways to use them that go beyond the obvious.
P.S. We even wrote this blog using multiple AI tools (ChatGPT for structure, Claude for depth, Perplexity for fact-checking). Why? Because like a carpenter with a hammer and a saw, each tool has specific strengths.
THE CORE TOOLS WORTH YOUR TIME
#1: CHATGPT
If you’re new to AI, start here. ChatGPT is the most popular LLM for a reason. It’s fast and versatile, and it has the largest community (more than 800 million active users). It’s strong at code generation, includes image generation and has the best mobile app. ChatGPT is the standard tool with the most support and online tutorials.
- Pros: Fastest model, great mobile app, includes image generation, huge community
- Cons: Can be overly verbose, sometimes tries too hard to be creative
- Use it when: You’re new to AI, need quick drafts or want coding assistance
#2: CLAUDE
Claude excels at handling very long documents. It can read an entire book, about 75,000 words, in less than a minute (compared to the average human taking five hours). It’s known for thoughtful, nuanced and detailed responses, making it superior for analysis and research. Use Claude when you need strategic thinking, not just quick answers.
- Pros: Handles massive context, thoughtful responses, great for legal work and research
- Cons: Slower for quick tasks, smaller community than ChatGPT
- Use it when: You work with long documents like contracts or research papers and need deep analysis
#3: GEMINI
Gemini’s superpower is its deep integration with the Google ecosystem. It can talk to your files in Google Drive, your emails in Gmail and your events in Calendar. Ask Gemini to “summarize all emails from this client,” and it will. Tell it to “find that presentation I worked on last Tuesday,” and it knows where to look.
- Pros: Direct access to your Google files, real-time information, included with Google Workspace
- Cons: Only useful if you live in Google Workspace, not as strong for creative tasks
- Use it when: You live in Google Workspace and want an AI that can access your actual files
#4: PERPLEXITY
Perplexity is an answer engine that uses all the major LLMs to give you a single, comprehensive answer with cited sources. Think of it as “Google meets ChatGPT.” It searches the web in real time and provides a summarized answer with links to its sources. You can ask follow-up questions and even switch which LLM model it uses.
- Pros: Real-time web search, cited sources, fewer hallucinations
- Cons: Not great for creative work, dependent on internet connection
- Use it when: You need current information, competitive analysis or fact-checking
PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS THAT CHANGE THE GAME
NOTEBOOKLM
NotebookLM allows you to upload ANY specific documents (PDFs, Google Docs, web pages), and it creates an AI that only answers based on the sources you provided. It won’t hallucinate information or pull from the broader web. It sticks strictly to what you give it. You can then ask it questions, and it will only answer based on what you gave it.
- Pros: Grounded in your sources only, free, generates audio summaries
- Cons: Limited to Google ecosystem, newer tool with fewer features
- Use it when: You do a lot of research, need to synthesize information from multiple documents or want an AI assistant trained only on your data
Insider tip: Use Perplexity to research a topic and gather sources, then drop those sources into NotebookLM to create a custom AI expert on that subject. Now you have a research assistant who knows exactly what you need.
GRANOLA
Granola is for people who like taking their own notes but want AI to fill in the gaps. It’s a Mac-focused app that listens to your system audio (no bot joins the call) and automatically enhances your bullet points with details, action items and context. It works across all meeting platforms and doesn’t require you to give up your note-taking process. You write what matters to you, and Granola jots down what you might have missed.
- Pros: No bot joining meetings, enhances your notes instead of replacing you, works across all platforms
- Cons: Mac-focused, requires you to take some notes yourself
- Use it when: You like taking notes, want AI augmentation and prefer that no bot joins your private meetings
Stop Collecting Tools, Start Using Them
The AI landscape changes weekly. What’s cutting-edge today can become obsolete next month, and keeping up while running your business is exhausting.
At 1905 New Media, our specialized AI team has mastered these tools and built custom workflows for businesses like yours. We help you audit your processes, select the right stack, set up automations and train your team so AI saves you time instead of creating more work.
If you’re ready to cut through the noise and build an AI strategy that works for your business, we can help. Contact us today to get started.
