I tested about 100 AI tools over the last two years. Nine of them stayed. Each one replaced something I used every day, and together they changed how my week runs.
Below is the full list, swap by swap: what I stopped using, what I use now, and why. Where a tool is worth a prompt, the prompt is right there with a copy button.
The tools that made you efficient in 2025 won't make you competitive in 2026.
My 9 swaps
- 1Google→PerplexityResearch
Google gives me ten blue links. Perplexity gives me the answer and the sources behind it, so I can check them before I quote anything.
Prompt · Client prep · PerplexityGive me the download on [TOPIC OR COMPANY] for a meeting with [WHO] tomorrow. Cover: what changed in the last 6 months, the 3 numbers that matter most, and the questions a smart outsider would ask. Cite every claim. If sources disagree, show me both.
Go deeper: My go-to research prompts
- 2ChatGPT→ClaudeJudgment
ChatGPT is still in my stack for fast work. Anything with my name on it, a strategy, a hard email, a positioning doc, goes to Claude, because it pushes back.
Go deeper: How I set up Claude and ChatGPT
- 3Zapier→n8nAutomation
n8n builds the same kind of workflows on a visual canvas, and you can host it yourself. Once a workflow runs many times a day, that difference adds up.
- 4PowerPoint→Claude DesignDecks
Claude Design turns my notes and a brief into a designed client deck in minutes, in my brand colors. I spend my time on the story, which is where the thinking is.
Prompt · Notes to deck · Claude DesignBuild a [7]-slide deck for [AUDIENCE] from the notes below. One idea per slide. Headlines as full sentences that state the point. Keep body text under 30 words per slide. Use my brand colors and fonts. Before you build, tell me the story in 3 bullet points and wait for my OK. Notes: [PASTE YOUR NOTES]
Go deeper: How I built a client deck in 4 minutes
- 5Keyboard→Wispr FlowWriting
I talk faster than I type. Wispr Flow turns what I say into clean text in whatever app I'm in, so first drafts happen on walks and between calls.
- 6Google Scholar→NotebookLMDeep reading
I drop in the reports, transcripts and PDFs, and NotebookLM answers from those sources only. It can also turn them into an audio briefing I listen to on a walk.
Go deeper: My NotebookLM workflow
- 7Otter→GranolaMeetings
Granola sits in my calls and gives me the decisions, owners and follow-ups when we hang up. I stay present with the person in front of me.
Go deeper: My Granola setup
- 8Premiere→Opus ClipVideo
One long conversation becomes a week of reels. Opus Clip finds the best moments and my team picks the winners.
Go deeper: My Opus Clip workflow
- 9Ideogram→Nano BananaImages
Google's image model inside Gemini. I use it to edit a photo or make a visual without starting from a blank canvas.
Prompt · Post visual · Gemini (Nano Banana)Create a clean, minimal image for a LinkedIn post about [TOPIC]. Style: editorial, lots of white space, one strong focal point, no text in the image. Colors: [YOUR BRAND COLORS]. Format: 4:5 portrait.
Don't swap all nine at once
Pick the one task that eats the most of your week and change only that tool. For me it was research, so Perplexity came first. Use it every day for two weeks before you add the next one. A stack you actually use beats a long list of logins.
If research eats your week
Start with Perplexity, then add NotebookLM for the long documents.
If meetings eat your week
Start with Granola, then Wispr Flow for the follow-up emails.
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