Discovering the best AI tools
We’re going to talk about:
How to identify the best tools.
How to use the best tools.
If you’re a human, you struggle to keep up with all the AI tools out there.
We’re going to talk about how find the best ones. And why it’s so hard in the first place.
So get this:
Yesterday, in preparation for this newsletter, I decided to count the number of “Hot New AI Tools To Try!!” in the AI newsletters I read.
I counted….
Twenty seven.
Twenty!! Seven!! Every single day.
You want me to test twenty-seven AI tools per day, you better strap me into one of those Matrix chairs and inject them into the back of my skull.
Friends - let’s take a deep, cleansing breath.
You can safely ignore this ridiculousness.
No more bookmarking lists. No more saving “Top Fifty AI Tools!!”
Time for a rational, practical, AI Mindset approach.
STEP ONE:
IDENTIFY THE BEST TOOLS FOR YOU
I hate to tell you this, but the reason we are inundated with a billion AI tools a day from newsletters and social media is because….
We like it.
Our brains can’t resist them.
Lists of this nature send a signal to our scarcity-minded brains that this is our ONE CHANCE to change our life.
When you press “bookmark,” you’re picturing yourself with 8 laptops and 16 arms whirling like pinwheels, working at warp speed. All thanks to the magic of AI Tools.
Your brain’s limbic system gets hit with dopamine: A quick reward assuring you that you’ve done something right. You will soon be a Super Human Productivity God!!
Except that’s not what happens.
Truth is, you stop testing these tools after a while. Because they’re hard to use. Or too expensive.
Or you realize you don’t need to create 800 pieces of content per day for a podcast you don’t actually have.
But that doesn’t matter. We have such overwhelming FOMO that we keep begging for more AI Tools. That will fix it, right??
How do break this cycle? How do we actually use AI to our advantage?
We start here:
FOMO = Choice Paralysis
Studies show that too much choice leads, counterintuitively, to unhappiness. Our brains aren’t wired for that much choice.
That overwhelming environment triggers something called “cognitive overload” in our brains (read: FOMO.)
So what do we do?
We turn to the animal kingdom, of course.
Falcons hunt starlings. Starlings, defensively, form massive, shifting flocks (called a murmuration for you bird nerds). Falcons must pick out ONE in that sea of distraction, or they’re unable to feed their young.
Let’s use the falcon’s strategic approach to cut through the confusion.
1. Narrow Your Focus:
Begin by defining:
a) What You Do.
b) What You Need.
Don’t get distracted by the swirling starlings.
Just because there is a really cool AI tool for creating subtitled clips for a TikTok channel does NOT mean you should start a TikTok channel.
What do YOU do?
What drives value for YOU?
Do you need help in business? Creativity? Personal use? Education? That’s the AI tool you are looking for. That’s your target bird.
When you know what you're looking for, it's easier to ignore what you're not.
Example: Are you an independent coach or consultant, looking for clients on LinkedIn and ways to monetize that? Look for content creation tools and analytics tools for measuring post-performance.
Target that bird.
2. Use Pattern Recognition:
Look for patterns in the AI news and tools that align with your focus. Subscribe to the newsletters, follow influencers, use news aggregators that cater to YOUR specific interest.
This way, you’re filtering out the noise - and tuning in the signal - that's relevant to you.
3. Stay Adaptable:
The AI field is always evolving. What’s relevant today might not be tomorrow. Once you find one or two tools that work, stick with those. But remember to peek out every once in a while to see what comparable tools are out there. What are others talking about?
But again - don’t get distracted. Stick with your tool until there’s a highly compelling alternative.
4. Manage Expectations:
No source or tool will give you the whole picture of AI or solve all your challenges. It’s okay to miss out on information in order to focus on what’s important.
5. Learn from Experience:
Reflect on the information and tools you've used. What’s been helpful? What hasn’t? Use this to refine your AI journey. Over time, you’ll develop a great sense for what's valuable and what's not.
STEP TWO:
PUT TOOLS TO USE
I can hear you right now.
“But there are so many tools out there!” you’re shouting at me. “You’re saying to ignore them? Are you a sociopath??”
I’ve got good news for you, friend.
The best AI tool is very likely the one you are already using.
If your favorite tool doesn’t already have AI built into it, it will very soon.
Use Microsoft Office? They are integrating Copilot. Same with Google Workplace - all kinds of AI built in.
Use Canva? Canva has incredible AI tools already. No need to learn a new software.
Same with Zoom. And Microsoft Teams. And Notion.
Or maybe you learn everything from YouTube? With the press of a button (on a Chrome extension), you can download the entire transcript into ChatGPT and have it summarized for you.
Here’s the point:
You don’t want to invest heavily in learning some random tool. Let the other suckers vet it. Ultimately one or two will rise above the rest.
That’s what happened with ChatGPT.
And Perplexity (web search).
And ElevenLabs (voices).
And Midjourney (image generation).
Let AI come to you. As we’ve learned in every Hallmark movie, the love of your life may just be right there in front of you, this whole time.
Big Takeaways
Remember the AI Mindset approach:
This all comes down to how your brain works, rather than the tools.
Your brain will chase every tool because it’s looking for quick rewards. It gets overloaded because of cognitive overload.
Rinse, repeat.
Don’t let AI tools distract you from what drives value for you, your company, your personal brand.
Also: make sure you master ChatGPT. The Truth about Prompting is a good place to get started.
AI news of the week
Agents are Coming.
We’ve been speculating what’s next for OpenAI. Building GPTs into conversations is big. But Sam has bigger plans. Looks like they’re working on software where agents will take over your device and do the work for you. This probably won’t get weird, right?Mastercard’s Minority Report.
Remember the precogs in Minority Report? Well, Mastercard has a new AI system that processes data from Mastercard's network - including history of a cardholder's merchant visits - to identify whether a transaction is likely to be legitimate or fraudulent. Predictive analytics indeed.Microsoft (hearts) Journalists.
MS (and OpenAI) is joining forces with news platform Semafor to form a partnership between AI and journalists. AI does the research and stuff, journalists do the writing. Seems great. Doesn’t really answer the copyright legal issues, but they’re building something.
Generative AI Tips
If you’re not using GPT-4, but still on the free version of ChatGPT, it’s like you’re riding a bike and being all like “Look how fast I’m going compared to pedestrians!” And meanwhile Formula One drivers are flying past you.
I know $20 per month can be a lot. I get it. Do me a favor. Just try it, if you can.
See if the answers aren’t way better. Drag and drop PDFs and spreadsheets. Use Vision and Voice. Create images with Dall-E and make personalized GPTs.
Honestly - ChatGPT Plus is the best money I spend every month. No lie.
That’s all for today!
Would love to know what you liked, what you didn’t, and if you tend to eat beets. My wife Liz hates them and thinks everyone else should too.
Thanks for reading, and share with anyone you think can benefit! We gotta learn together!
See you next time!
