The flood of AI tools hasn't slowed down; if anything, it's become a tsunami. Every day brings new apps, platforms, and models promising to revolutionize your business. It's overwhelming, and frankly, most of it is noise. As I said years ago when I first wrote about my preferred tools, you don't need 99% of what's out there.
The key isn't collecting tools; it's carefully selecting a stack of tools that deliver real value, integrate well (enough), and align with a smart business philosophy. My philosophy remains simple: maximize value, minimize recurring costs (Lifetime Deals rule!), ensure tools are practical and personally vetted, and increasingly, use specialized tools for specialized tasks.
Forget the hype. Here's the core suite of AI and automation tools that are actually running key parts of my business right now in 2025.
My Philosophy: Value, Ownership, and Specialization
Before diving into the tools, my criteria haven't fundamentally changed, but they have adapted:
- Personal Use & Vetting: I only recommend what I actively use and have tested thoroughly. No theoretical endorsements.
- Value Over Everything: Does it provide more value than it costs? Is there a Lifetime Deal (LTD) option to eliminate recurring fees? Low overhead is key to profitability.
- Practicality: Does it solve a real business problem efficiently without unnecessary complexity?
- Specialization (New Emphasis): The "all-in-one" dream rarely works perfectly. My stack increasingly relies on using the best tool for a specific job, rather than expecting one tool to do everything adequately.
The Brains: My Core LLM Stack
No single LLM is perfect for everything. I rely on a layered approach:
- Google Gemini Pro 2.5 (See Enterprise Review): This has become my primary workhorse for complex text generation, reasoning, and tasks requiring large context windows. Its structured output and improving capabilities make it my current go-to for heavy lifting.
- ChatGPT-4o (Still the Silent King): While Gemini often takes the lead, the latest upgraded GPT-4o remains incredibly valuable. It's often faster for straightforward tasks, sometimes has a better "creative" flair, and serves as a crucial second opinion or alternative when Gemini struggles.
- Perplexity (Reviewed Here): For research requiring up-to-date information and citations, Perplexity is unmatched. It directly answers questions with sourced links, replacing traditional search engines for most of my research needs.
- LMStudio (The Open Source Lab): For testing open-source models locally, experimenting with different parameters, and tasks where maximum privacy is needed, LMStudio is invaluable. It allows me to run powerful models directly on my Mac Studio without relying on external APIs.
The Connective Tissue: Automation Hubs
Automation glues everything together. Again, specialization wins:
- Pabbly Connect (Why I Switched): My engine for reliable, cost-effective automation of standard business processes. The Lifetime Deal is unbeatable value, and the fact that internal steps like filters and routers are often free means my task allowance goes incredibly far. Perfect for connecting web forms, email marketing, payment processors, and membership sites.
- n8n (The Agent Builder): When workflows get complex, especially those involving multiple AI steps, conditional logic, and custom scripting, n8n's visual canvas and flexibility shine. It's my choice for building sophisticated AI agents or intricate internal process automations where Pabbly might be too linear.
The Commerce Engine: Selling & Delivering
These haven't changed much because they work and align with my low-overhead philosophy:
- ThriveCart (Still the Champ): Six years after I initially (and wrongly) dismissed it, ThriveCart remains the core of my sales process. The one-time payment LTD model has proven sustainable, and it handles payment processing and digital product/course delivery flawlessly. It just works.
- Skool (Community Focus): While ThriveCart handles the sale and initial access, Skool has become my preferred platform for hosting the actual community around my courses and memberships. It excels at engagement.
Making Things Look Good: Visual Tools
My visual toolkit has evolved, leaning towards integrated AI features:
- Canva (The Daily Driver): I admit, Canva has won me over for everyday tasks. Its AI photo editing features, background removal, and vast template library handle 80% of my graphic needs quickly and easily now. The fact they acquired Affinity Photo (my previous offline choice) cements its position.
- Midjourney (AI Art Powerhouse): When I need truly unique, high-quality, or artistic AI-generated images, Midjourney remains the undisputed king. Its image quality and control are still unmatched for creative work.
- Ideogram (For Text & POD): If I need reliable text within an AI image, or specific styles suitable for Print-on-Demand products, Ideogram 3.0 is now my go-to. It finally fixed its major flaws.
- Topaz Gigapixel (The Upscaler): When AI generates something slightly too small or low-res, Gigapixel is magic for upscaling without significant quality loss.
Running the Show: Essential Utilities
Beyond the big categories, these tools handle specific, crucial tasks:
- Descript: Still the best for editing podcasts and videos like text documents. The AI transcription and filler word removal are huge time-savers. (Gling is a solid #2, especially if you do many retakes).
- Opus: Automatically extracting short, shareable clips from long video recordings (like webinars or interviews) for social media. Brilliant content repurposing.
- Feedly: Using its AI features to filter and prioritize industry news and blog feeds, ensuring I see what matters without information overload.
- Spark: An email client with AI features that help me process my inbox faster (summaries, quick replies).
- Harpa.ai / Merlin: Browser extensions that bring AI capabilities (summarization, writing assistance, data extraction) directly onto any webpage. (Harpa primary, Merlin good backup).
- TidyCal: Simple, effective appointment booking. Often available on LTD.
- Blue.cc: My current choice for straightforward project management without excessive bloat.
- LayerPath: Fantastic for creating step-by-step guides, video demos, and interactive product walkthroughs simultaneously – great for course creation or software tutorials.
Build Your Own Stack, Focus on Value
This is my current stack, refined through constant testing and focused on delivering value efficiently. Your perfect stack might look different. The key principles, however, remain the same: Be ruthless in evaluating tools based on the actual value they provide versus their cost (especially recurring costs). Don't chase hype. Use specialized tools for specialized jobs where needed. Test everything yourself. Prioritize tools that integrate well or can be connected via robust automation platforms. Choosing the right AI tools is about building a coherent system that works for your business, not just collecting shiny objects.
I keep an updated list of my favorite AI tools right here, so you can always see what I'm using.
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