Hey creator friends 💜

My name is Jess and I'm a subscription hoarder. 🙈

So every month, I have to go through my subscriptions and decide what stays and what goes.

I sign up for AI tools constantly, test them, keep them if they're worth it, cancel them if they're not.

Some tools are permanent fixtures - like ChatGPT, Claude and n8n (which I can’t live without).

The others, I keep in a library under “great tool for X” or ”waste of time/money”.

After testing 50+ AI tools over the past few years, here are the 15 best I've found.

I don't keep active subscriptions to all of these, but they're best-in-class for what they do. If you need a cheat sheet for "what's the best AI tool for X?" - this is it.

TL;DR - today’s lineup:

1. One Serious Deep Dive 💡:

2. Copy-Paste Prompt 🤖:

3. Piping  Hot  AI  Tea 🫖:

💌 Your say genuinely shapes this newsletter: there’s a one‑click feedback poll at the very end. I genuinely check for feedback like a maniac after I send this out because I really want to know what you honestly think. So thank you!

15 best-in-class AI tools that are actually worth your money

These 15 tools are best-in-class for what they do. I've tested them, I use them, or have used them enough to know they're a SOLID option, and I'm giving you the honest breakdown.

A TIER: The Must-Haves (Pick At Least One)

These are the foundation. If you're using AI at all, you need at least one of these three.

1. ChatGPT - Best for voice mode, deep research, personal life

I use ChatGPT mostly in voice mode for everything in my personal life. Planning my week, thinking through decisions, working through ideas while I'm walking. The voice mode is genuinely incredible.

Try ChatGPT here >

2. Claude - Best for creative work, writing, business

This is my workhorse for everything business-related. I work in digital marketing, copywriting, and content creation - and Claude is hands-down the best for creative work.

It follows instructions better than ChatGPT, and the writing feels more natural. I use it for drafting newsletters (like this one), creating content, and anything where the output needs to be creative and sound human.

Try Claude here >

3. Gemini - Best for multimodal tasks, learning, rapidly improving

Gemini is coming up fast. I still use ChatGPT and Claude more often, but Gemini is excellent for anything involving images, video, or multimodal processing. It's also really good for learning new topics quickly.

If you're deciding between the three: try all of them and see which one fits how you work. They're all worth having.

Try Gemini here>

B TIER: Most People Should Use These

4. NotebookLM - Best for learning anything fast

Last week I wrote a newsletter about how NotebookLM turns any source material - PDFs, YouTube videos, articles, transcripts - into 9 different learning formats: audio overviews, flashcards, quizzes, mind maps, slide decks, data tables, and more.

I’m using NotebookLM more and more to learn new skills, understand complex topics and train chatbots on specific topics I’m interested in. It's based on your documents, so there's minimal hallucination.

It’s free, Google-powered and definitely a hugely underrated tool.

Try NotebookLM here>

5. Perplexity - Best for accurate research + internet browsing

Perplexity gives you direct answers with inline citations, remembers your questions so you can ask follow-ups, and has zero ads.

I use it when I need fast, reliable information that I can actually fact-check. I also occasionally use Comet (their AI browser), which is safer than OpenAI’s Atlas (but still comes with some privacy/security risks so use with caution).

Try Perplexity here>

C TIER: Best-In-Class For Specific Jobs

6. Gamma - Best for generating presentations

Type a prompt, choose the number of slides, pick a style, and Gamma creates a complete presentation in minutes.

I don't make presentations often, but when I do, Gamma is a great tool. Claude can also do this decently, but Gamma is purpose-built for it.

Try Gamma here>

7. Nano Banana Pro - Best for image generation

The new Nano Banana Pro has the best prompt understanding, consistent characters, and aesthetic quality I've found. Of course there are endless AI image generators, but Nano Banana Pro truly stands out for its understanding of context, text handling and realistic quality.

Try Nano Banana Pro here>

8. ElevenLabs - Best for realistic audio and voice cloning

ElevenLabs generates human-like speech from text, clones voices, and creates sound effects and music.

I haven't subscribed to the paid version yet, but the voice cloning samples are wild. If you need voiceovers or audio content at scale, this is the tool.

Try ElevenLabs here>

9. HeyGen - Best for video avatars (even though I don't recommend them)

Here's the thing: I don't like avatars or AI clones of yourself. It goes completely against how I approach building a personal brand using AI, which for me is about scaling your own thoughts, ideas and authenticity + showing up as yourself.

That said, if you want to create video avatars or translate videos into 175+ languages while syncing lip movements, HeyGen is the best tool for that.

Just because I don't use it doesn't mean it's not good at what it does.

Try HeyGen here>

10. Napkin AI - Best for turning text into visuals

Paste text, click generate, and Napkin creates mind maps, diagrams, and illustrations in seconds.

This is a tool I just recently discovered and I’m truly blown away by it! I can’t wait to play around with it more!

Try Napkin AI here>

11. Suno - Best for music generation

Suno creates full songs with vocals and instrumentation from text prompts. The AI-generated music is almost indistinguishable from human-made tracks now.

I don't use this regularly, but when I've tested it, the results are impressive. If you need background music for content, this is a great tool.

Try Suno here>

12. Lovable - Best for vibe coding

If you have an idea for an app, tool or website you’d like to create - look no further than Lovable.

Vibe coding means you describe what you want in plain English, and the AI builds it for you. No coding knowledge required. So instead of writing code - you're describing the vibe, the functionality, what it should do. The AI handles the technical stuff. It's wild how fast you can go from "I have an idea" to "here's a working prototype." If you've been sitting on a side project idea but don't know how to code, Lovable is the tool that makes it possible.

Try Lovable here>

13. Sandcastles AI - Best for reverse-engineering viral content

I’m currently testing Sandcastles to find high-performing outlier videos on social media, transcribe them, and generate hooks and scripts based on what's actually working.

If you're creating content and want to understand what's going viral before you film, this tool is great (but I’m unsure if it’s worth the steep subscription).

Try Sandcastles here>

14. Sora 2 & Veo 3 - Best for AI video generation

Full transparency: I don't generate AI video regularly. But I've tested both Sora 2 and Veo 3, and they're the current best-in-class for video generation.

The quality is genuinely insane - physically accurate, realistic, and you can even insert yourself into videos with Sora's cameo feature. If AI video is part of your strategy, these are the tools to try.

Try Sora 2 here>

Try Veo 3 here>

15. 8n - Best for automation and AI agents

This is the tool that changed everything for me.

n8n is a low-code workflow automation tool that connects different apps and services. I’m now using it with Notion to automate my entire video posting process across 8 platforms.

I create content once, and n8n handles the distribution everywhere - TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Threads, Pinterest. All of it.

The learning curve is steeper than tools like Zapier, but it's open-source, self-hostable, and gives you way more control. For anyone serious about scaling content or automating work, this is essential.

Try n8n here>

Here’s the auto-posting system I’ve built below:

Want to see exactly how I built this system?

I’ve created a done-for-you content ideation, creation, management and publishing system to help you leverage AI to 10x your content creation (without losing your authenticity in the process).

It’s called the AI Content Multiplier and the waitlist is now open - join now and I’ll send you a 30% off early bird discount as soon as it launches (which is soon).

The "Tool Audit" Prompt

Use this to figure out which tools you actually need (and which ones are wasting your money):

I want to audit my current tool stack and identify gaps or redundancies.

Here's what I'm currently paying for:
[LIST YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS]

Here's what I'm trying to accomplish:
[YOUR MAIN GOALS - e.g., "create content faster", "automate repetitive tasks", "learn new skills"]

Here's how much time I spend on these tasks weekly:
[ROUGH ESTIMATE - e.g., "5 hours on content creation, 3 hours on admin work"]

Analyze this and tell me:

1. Redundancies: Are any of these tools overlapping? Which ones can I consolidate or cancel?

2. Gaps: What am I trying to do manually that I could automate or improve with a better tool?

3. ROI Check: Based on my goals and time spent, which subscriptions are actually worth keeping?

4. Recommendations: Suggest 2-3 tools I should consider adding (free or paid) that would have the highest impact on my workflow.

Be ruthless. I don't want to keep paying for tools I don't actually need.

1. Grok's Explicit Image Problem

Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot is facing a massive problem: it's generating sexualized images, often of women and children, and sometimes even non-consensual deepfakes. Wired reported that Grok is generating content "far more graphic than what's on X," leading to countries like Indonesia and Malaysia blocking it. Regulators are launching investigations, and critics are calling it the "monetisation of abuse." This isn't just a tech glitch; it's a stark reminder of the ethical tightrope AI companies walk and the real-world consequences when guardrails fail.

Read more →

2. OpenAI's Audio-First Future: Your AI Bestie is About to Get a Voice

OpenAI is quietly reshaping its teams to rebuild core voice models, aiming for an audio-first future tied to a personal AI device expected next year. This isn't just about better voices; it's about making conversation feel like the default way you interact with AI. We're talking longer memory, natural pauses, and real back-and-forth so talking feels closer to a human exchange than issuing commands. As wearables and screen-light devices grow, audio becomes the layer that is always on and always with you. This is a massive bet that voice, not screens, becomes the main way you live with AI.

Read more →

3. Robots Are Now Making Babies. 🤖👶 (Yes, Really.)

A new fertility lab, Conceivable, is using AI-guided robots to run key steps of IVF. This isn't sci-fi; the system has already helped produce 19 human births by automating tasks usually done by expert embryologists. Robotic arms guided by machine vision handle egg fertilisation with extreme precision, aiming for consistency and fewer mistakes. This shifts reproduction from a hands-on craft toward standardised infrastructure, potentially making IVF more accessible and effective globally. It's a wild, ethically complex step into the future of human creation.

Read more →

4. Apple Just Made Its Biggest AI Move Yet (And It Involves Google)

Apple, famously tight-lipped about its AI strategy, just announced a multi-year partnership with Google to power upcoming AI features, including a new version of Siri expected later this year. Google’s Gemini models and cloud systems will plug directly into Apple’s Foundation Models plan. This isn't a surface-level tweak; Apple reviewed several paths and chose Google because the tech gave it the strongest base for next-phase AI features. With Google’s market value recently passing Apple’s for the first time since 2019, this deal could reshape how Apple competes in the next era of platform battles.

Read more →

5. AI Is Spotting Cancers Doctors Might Miss

Doctors at a California hospital are now using AI as a second reader for mammograms. This AI reviews scans alongside radiologists, looking for subtle signs of cancer that can be hard to see, especially in dense breast tissue. In one real case, the system flagged a one-centimeter lesion that could have slipped past routine review. Doctors say cancers found at two centimeters or smaller have cure rates near 90 percent, and these tools are detecting about 20 percent more cancers, often two to three years earlier, while also reducing false positives. Radiologists still make every final call, with AI acting as an added safety layer - a true digital guardian angel in healthcare.

Read more →

If you enjoyed today's newsletter AND got to the end of it, I’d love a quick click on the poll below to let me know what you think 💜.

See you next week,

Jess xx