Living resource · Updated 2026-07-04

My AI Stack

The living list of AI tools I personally use, pay for, canceled, switched from, and recommend.

Personally testedEditor's pickEditor favorite

How the stack works together

One general assistant, one research layer, one creation layer, then automation only after the workflow is proven.

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Subscriptions stay only if they earn a clear role in the weekly workflow.

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Stack by workflow area

Writing · Daily

Claude

It is the tool I trust most for thoughtful drafts, editing, positioning, and long-form reasoning.

4.5

What I replaced: Most standalone AI writing apps
What I love: It handles nuance better than generic writing templates and rarely needs a heavy rewrite.
Downsides: It does not generate native images and can hit usage limits on heavy writing days.

Try Claude Full review

Research · Daily

Perplexity AI

Citations make it faster to move from a question to a source-backed working brief.

4.4

What I replaced: Manual Google tab sprawl
What I love: It keeps sources visible, which makes verification easier.
Downsides: It is a starting point, not a substitute for reading the underlying sources.

Try Perplexity AI Full review

Coding · Daily

Cursor

Codebase-aware edits are more useful than simple autocomplete when building real features.

4.5

What I replaced: Generic coding autocomplete
What I love: It can reason across multiple files and turn rough implementation notes into working changes.
Downsides: It can be too aggressive, so every diff still needs review.

Try Cursor Full review

Marketing · Weekly

Canva AI

It helps create practical campaign assets without turning every visual request into a design project.

4.3

What I replaced: Ad hoc one-off design requests
What I love: Templates keep repeatable assets fast and consistent.
Downsides: Advanced creative direction still needs a designer's eye.

Try Canva AI Full review

Video · Project-based

Descript

Transcript-based editing makes spoken content much easier to clean up and repurpose.

4.5

What I replaced: Manual audio/video cleanup
What I love: Editing a recording feels closer to editing a document.
Downsides: Complex productions still need dedicated editing workflows.

Try Descript Full review

Images · Weekly

Midjourney

It is still my favorite when visual quality and style matter more than perfect interface polish.

4.7

What I replaced: Stock image searches for concept visuals
What I love: The output has a stronger creative point of view than most image tools.
Downsides: The workflow is less approachable than Canva or Adobe tools.

Try Midjourney Full review

Automation · Project-based

Zapier AI

It is useful once a process is proven and repeated often enough to deserve automation.

4.3

What I replaced: Manual handoffs between apps
What I love: It connects everyday business tools without custom engineering.
Downsides: Automating a messy process usually makes the mess faster.

Try Zapier AI Full review

Meetings · Weekly

Fathom

It captures decisions and follow-ups so meetings produce usable records.

4.5

What I replaced: Handwritten meeting summaries
What I love: It reduces the admin burden after calls.
Downsides: Sensitive meetings still need consent and human judgment.

Try Fathom Full review

Productivity · Weekly

Notion AI

It keeps notes, decisions, project context, and lightweight AI help in one workspace.

4.2

What I replaced: Disconnected notes and scattered prompts
What I love: It is strongest when the workspace already contains useful context.
Downsides: It is not the best standalone AI assistant if your knowledge base is thin.

Try Notion AI Full review