Boost Your Day with AI: Simple Tools Everyone Is Using
AI is everywhere. What are they doing? Is it really useful? We asked tech professionals at the AI2 incubator barbecue party in Seattle how they use AI to help them in their daily lives and work. These answers show that when you work with AI, the tools do more than just look cool; they save time and make difficult tasks easier.
AI for Coding: Faster and Smarter
AI can help developers fix bugs and write code more quickly.
Joe Heitzeberg is the founder of AI Tinkerers
Favorite Tools: Granola & Amp
What he does: "Granola attends my meetings, and takes notes in my place. Amp is great for coding. It is a great tool for coding.
Darian D. Parrish, CEO PwrOn
Favorite tool: Poe
How to use it: I can now combine many AI models into one program. Cursor and Replit let me build software 30 times faster.
Xuchen YAO, CEO of Seasalt.ai
Favorite tool: Warp
How he utilizes it: I use Warp for giving instructions in the terminal. I also translate blogs in many languages and perform code reviews."
Robert Mao, Architect at AIGNE
Favorite tool: AIGNE
How he uses: "I love coding, but I hate writing documents." AIGNE transforms my code or ideas into design documents."
AI for Research: Learn New Things Fast
AI can also be a powerful tool in research. It allows people to find and understand information more quickly.
Joe Golden is the CEO of Paper2Audio
Favorite tools: Google Gemini Flash 2.0, OpenAI o3
What he does with them: Gemini Flash 2.0 "is fast and inexpensive. It's what I use to convert research papers into audio. For deep learning, I use o3--it even helped me study cancer research for my family."
Mamtha Banerjee, Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase
Favorite Tool: Perplexity comet
What she says about it: It feels like a browser that is smart. It allows me to search and learn new things in an entirely different way.
Gayathri Venkataraman (G3), CEO of Dodda AI
Favorite tools: Perplexity, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot
What she does: I ask AI to double-check my plans, so that I don't forget anything. I use it to travel and shop."
Writing with AI: No more blank pages
It's hard to write when you don’t know where to begin. AI can give you ideas and first drafts.
Beth Kolko is a Partner at Pioneer Fund
Favorite tool: Claude
What she does: I use Claude to plan my travels. I upload my drafts, and it helps me to write better."
Gregory Kennedy is the Chief Vibe Marketer for Vibe Your SaaS
Favorite tools: Claude, Canva
What he does with them: Claude feels like a trainee. It provides me with drafts and I edit them. Canva's AI is amazing for creating quick graphics."
Elizabeth Russo, CEO of adyn
Favorite tool: Claude
What she does: I use Claude to send emails to investors. Even if it's not perfect, the draft helps me start."
AI for Video: Simple, Fast and Easy Editing
AI isn't just for writing code and programming. Video editing is also made easy with AI.
Markiesha Patrice is the Startup Community Lead for Nebius
Favorite tool: Descript
She uses it in this way: you can edit videos even if you're not a techie. It saves me so much time."
AI for Everyday Life: Your Personal Assistant
AI is not only for the workplace. AI tools can also be used to help with daily tasks.
Ti Zhao, Partner at Pack Ventures
Favorite tool: Claude
What she does with it: I use Claude to plan workouts, meals, parties, and fun activities for the children. It gives me an idea of where to start so I'm not stuck.
Why AI Productivity Tools are Important
AI tools are a great way to save time, reduce anxiety, and do more. AI is not a replacement for people, but a tool that helps them. It can give ideas, write drafts, take notes and even plan trips. These tools aren't the future. These tools are available now and make life easier.
FAQs: Simple Tools Everyone Is Using
1. What are AI productivity tools?
AI productivity tools can be apps or software which use artificial intelligence in order to make people more productive. They can assist with writing, research, coding, video editing and more.
2. Do I have to be a tech expert to use AI tools?
No.
3. AI: Can it really save you time?
Yes. Software is built faster by developers. Writers claim that AI helps them get started quickly. Even video editors say that AI cuts down editing time by half.
4. Are AI tools free?
Many are free but have paid versions that offer more features. Usually, you can start out with a free version and then upgrade later.
5. AI will replace humans?
No. AI tools don't replace humans. They make people's work easier by automating the tedious parts and providing new ideas.
