AI tools & automation · used before we write
AI tools, minus the hype
We read the pricing pages, check the small print and write the short version: what the tool does, what it really costs, where it breaks, and who should skip it.
AI made it easy to look busy and hard to finish anything. Our job is to shorten the list to the handful of tools that pull their weight, and to say plainly when one does not.
Where we dig
7 beats we coverAI writing & content
Drafting, editing and research tools that save real hours instead of just sounding clever.
Automation & workflows
Connect the apps you already use and hand the boring part of the day to a workflow.
Chatbots & assistants
Which assistant is worth paying for, and what to actually use it for at work.
AI image & video
Generation, editing and upscaling tools, judged on output you can publish, not demos.
Voice & audio
Transcription, meeting notes, dubbing and voiceover tools that keep up with you.
Comparisons & pricing
Two similar tools, priced apart, decided with a table instead of a sales pitch.
How-to & prompts
Short, repeatable recipes you can copy into your own work the same afternoon.
Every guide carries
Four things, no exceptionsWhat you actually pay
Plan tiers, free-tier ceilings, seat costs and the upgrade you get pushed into after week one.
What breaks
Export limits, locked features, data handling, and the tasks where the tool quietly gives up.
Steps you can copy
If a job can be automated, we write the actual clicks, not a promise that it can be done.
Buy, wait, or skip
A straight call at the end, including the reader who should not spend the money at all.
Latest guides
All guides →AI writing tools
ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Jasper, Copy.ai and Notion AI compared on price and editing quality.
Read →Zapier vs Make vs n8n
The billing trap nobody explains, and which automation platform fits your volume.
Read →ChatGPT Plus vs Claude Pro
Both cost $20. Here is which one wins for writing, limits, media and code.
Read →AI video generators
Veo, Runway, OpusClip and Pictory, with the real cost per second of video.
Read →AI meeting notes apps
Fathom, Fireflies, Otter and Granola compared, including free-tier caps.
Read →What $0, $50 and $200 buys
Three realistic AI subscription stacks, and the four places budgets leak.
Read →25 ChatGPT prompts
Copy-paste prompts for strategy, content, social, sales and operations.
Read →Stuck on a task?
Send it over. Reader questions are how most of our guides start, and the good ones get answered publicly.
Put a task on our list →