25 Must-Have AI Tools for Business Success and Growth
Before we begin, an important point. We haven’t covered every tiny piece of app functionality. We’re here with a single mission: to help you find the best AI features.
To that end, the reviews are concise, straightforward, and exclusively focused on intelligence of the non-human kind.
Once you’ve finished reading, you’ll have a full picture of what the AI landscape—OK, that’s our allowance of the word “landscape” used up for the rest of the article—currently looks like.
The aim is to help you put together your stack as quickly as possible and build a powerful, happily collaborating army of AI assistants.
But before we begin, check out our giant infographic:
Best AI Tools for Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing AI tools tend to focus on three main areas: lead prospecting, content creation, and outreach.
Traditional if-then rules are limited when it comes to automating these tasks. AI, on the other hand, can match—and in some cases outmatch—human inputs.
1. Artisan
Artisan is an outbound sales platform with extensive cold email and direct messaging features. Artisan’s AI sales development rep (SDR), Ava, can set up and run all aspects of an outbound campaign right up until a prospect responds.
It’s one of the fastest-growing platforms in the AI sales space and boasts a large lead database, powerful personalization tools, and the ability to optimize campaigns and improve open and response rates on autopilot.
Key features
Database of over 300 million leads
Advanced web scraping for data enrichment
Selection of relevant prospect data for personalization based on a waterfall process
Cold email and LinkedIn outreach automation
Email deliverability warmup
Ongoing optimization based on A/B testing
Data analysis dashboard
Pricing and subscription options
Artisan works on a custom pricing model so that sales teams can access the best prices based on their needs. Contact sales to book a demo and trial.
Customer reviews and ratings
Because it’s a new platform, reviews of Artisan are limited. To date, it has five stars on G2, and its user base is growing quickly.
2. HubSpot (Breeze)
HubSpot is one of the granddaddies of CRM software. It probably wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say it’s one of the world’s most well-known SaaS brands. HubSpot’s AI “copilot” is called Breeze, and offers a range of automation features.
Key features
Personalized outreach to your existing prospect database
AI content creation
Customer service agent
Analysis of sales and marketing performance across multiple channels
Pricing and subscription options
HubSpot offers different plans for sales, marketing, and customer service teams, with the option to bundle services. Consult the website for pricing. AI functionality is available on all plans.
Customer reviews and ratings
Hubspot generally has positive reviews: 4.4/5 on G2 and 4/5/5 on Capterra.
3. Jasper AI
Jasper AI is predominantly a content generation tool. It runs on ChatGPT (OpenAI) and a mix of other language learning models (LLMs). It can’t handle tasks like outreach and prospecting, but it can assist with the creation of a wide range of content types.
Key features
Content creation
Support for multiple languages
Brand voice adjustment
Search engine optimization (SEO) of content
“Jasper Chat” for research
Pricing and subscription options
Plans start at $49/month per seat (billed monthly). Custom-priced business plans are available.
Customer reviews and ratings
Jasper AI has good reviews: 4.7/5 on G2 and 4.8/5 on Capterra.
4. Reply.io
Reply.io is a full-package outbound sales platform for multichannel outreach via email, LinkedIn, phone, and SMS. It has a smaller database compared to similar apps but is well-suited to individuals who want to scale outreach because of its flexible pricing.
Key features
AI sales development representative SDR
Database of 89 million contacts
Multichannel outreach (email, LinkedIn, phone, and SMS)
Email outreach automation
Email warmup and deliverability optimization
Copilot mode that allows for human input where needed
Pricing and subscription options
Pricing starts at $259/month for 1000 active contacts (a contact is a single lead, not an email).
Customer reviews and ratings
Reply.io has a score of 4/6/5 on G2 and 4.6/5 on Capterra.
Best AI Chatbots
Chatbots constitute the most widespread AI use cases of the last several years. AI chatbots have proven incredibly effective in assisting with research for both businesses and consumers.
From a business perspective, APIs like those offered by ChatGPT mean that a variety of tools can be built on top of the core functionality, but this does require specialist knowledge.
1. ChatGPT Team and Enterprise
ChatGPT started it all. Well, not quite. AI was a thing before ChatGPT. But OpenAI’s offering was what pushed AI into public awareness.
ChatGPT Team and ChatGPT Enterprise are OpenAI’s business offerings and come with an array of additional features compared to the consumer chatbot.
Key features
Enterprise-level security
Data privacy (OpenAI doesn’t train its AI on your business data)
Access to APIs for custom solutions
Integrations with third-party tools
Usage analytics dashboard
Pricing and subscription options
Pricing for the ChatGPT Team is $30/month per user billed monthly. Enterprise pricing isn’t published online (but is likely around the $50/month per user mark).
Customer reviews and ratings
Both ChatGPT Team and Enterprise have good reviews (above 4.5/5) on G2 and Capterra.
2. Perplexity Enterprise Pro
Perplexity positions itself as the more accurate version of ChatGPT, with fact-checking mechanisms built into its model. Most reviewers confirm this. On the other hand, ChatGPT is generally said to be more creative.
Like ChatGPT, Perplexity has both business and consumer versions of its software. The business version is called Enterprise Pro.
Key features
Data privacy and enhanced security
Unlimited searches and file uploads
Longer, more comprehensive answers compared to individual version
User administration controls
Pricing and subscription options
Pricing starts at $40/month per seat. Custom plans for teams above 250 people are available.
Customer reviews and ratings
Reviews of Perplexity Enterprise Pro are somewhat limited, but Perplexity’s consumer version has received mainly positive feedback on G2 and Capterra.
3. Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is another big name in the world of AI assistants. Like its competitors, Microsoft offers a business version.
The main draw is that Copilot syncs smoothly with Teams and the Microsoft 365 suite of products, so if you use these in your business, it’s well worth considering.
Key features
Integrates with Microsoft 365 apps and Teams
Supports multiple languages
Can access data within the Microsoft apps
Administration tools beyond content generation
Pricing and subscription options
Copilot costs $30/user per month when paid annually. Your business must have a preexisting license to an eligible Microsoft 365 plan.
Customer reviews and ratings
Microsoft Copilot has generally good reviews, with 4.3/5 on G2 and 4.4/5 on Capterra.
Best AI for Project Management
Project management has become one of the big AI business use cases, and it’s easy to see why.
One of AI's most important current applications is handling time-consuming manual tasks. Project management jobs like meeting scheduling, data entry, and notifications are prime opportunities for automation.
1. Asana
Asana calls its AI an “AI teammate,” a nice spin on “digital worker”. Asana AI integrates into the Asana dashboard and provides workflow optimization suggestions, automation of routine tasks, information about projects, and content generation (such as for reports).
Key features
Workflow suggestions
Complex automation
AI chatbot with access to project data
Content generation and editing
Pricing and subscription options
Asana AI is included in all paid plans, which begin at $10.99/month when billed annually. Enterprise and Enterprise+ custom plans for larger teams are also available.
Customer reviews and ratings
Asana is a very popular project management app with over 10,000 reviews (average of 4.4/5) on G2.
2. ClickUp Brain
ClickUp is something of a rising star in the world of project management apps, with many businesses praising its intuitive dashboard and straightforward workflows.
ClickUp Brain, perhaps a little excessively described by ClickUp as the “one AI to rule them all,” has three main features: knowledge request, process automation, and content generation.
Key features
Information requests based on project data
Task and notification automation
Automated data entry
Content creation
Pricing and subscription options
ClickUp Brain is included in all paid plans, which start at $10/month per user. Enterprise plans for larger teams are priced on a custom basis.
Customer reviews and rating
ClickUp has one of the highest average scores of all the apps reviewed. It has an average score of 4.7/5 on G2 and 4.6/5 on Capterra.
3. Notion
Notion AI is available as an add-on for existing users. It has search functionality that integrates with Google Drive and Slack (among others), along with content generation and analysis tools. The chat feature provides access to ChatGPT and Claude.
Key features
Search tool that integrates with third-party apps
Editing assistant with support for multiple speech and programming languages
Data privacy and security protections
General content generation
Pricing and subscription options
Notion AI is an add-on feature that costs $10/member per month when billed monthly.
Customer reviews and ratings
Reviews of Notion’s AI functionality are few and far between, but as a platform, Notion is generally well-reviewed, with a 4.7/5 rating on G2.
Best AI for Image and Video Creation
Artificial intelligence algorithms are getting better by the day at creating high-quality images. They’re also proving to be invaluable video editing and creation tools, giving business owners the ability to create compelling content marketing assets that are typically extremely costly to produce.
1. DALL-E
DALL-E is ChatGPT’s native image creation tool. All users of ChatGPT—irrespective of whether they’re using the personal or business version—have access to it. It’s widely acknowledged as one of the premier AI-driven image generation tools.
Key features
Image generation
Image editing
Improved resolution and realism compared to previous versions
Pricing and subscription options
DALL-E is available as part of the ChatGPT Team and Enterprise plans. ChatGPT Team costs $30/user per month.
Customer reviews and ratings
DALL-E 3 (the latest version at the time of writing) has received generally positive reviews from publications like CNET and PC Guide.
2. Descript
Descript is a comprehensive AI video editing tool suitable for working with customer-facing and internal assets. The dashboard makes it easy for users to switch between AI and human editing. Keep in mind that Descript is an editing platform. It’s not for creating AI-generated videos from scratch.
Key features
Video editing
Clip selection
Addition of captions to videos
Screen and meeting recording
Pricing and subscription options
Descript has two pricing packages in addition to a free plan and a custom enterprise option. Plants start at $30/month per user when billed monthly.
Customer reviews and ratings
Descript has a rating of 4.6/5 on G2 4.8/5 on Capterra.
3. Riverside
Riverside is a recording and post-production editing tool with AI functionality. It’s targeted at professional producers. It has an array of advanced tools, including multi-track recording and live streaming. Note that AI functionality only covers some areas, like transcription and clip selection.
Key features
AI transcriptions of podcasts, webinars, interviews, etc.
AI voice generator (create speech overlays in your own voice)
AI summaries of recording
AI clip selection
Pricing and subscription options
Paid plans start at $19/month per user when billed monthly. The live-streaming feature is available as an add-on.
Customer reviews and rating
While not as well-known as some other apps in the video editing space, Riverside is a very popular tool. It scores 4.8/5 on G2.
Best AI-Powered Social Media Tools
The functionality of AI social media tools generally focuses content creation. Most also offer a handful of process automation features, such as selection of the best time to post and predictive analytics.
1. Buffer
Buffer’s AI assistant is essentially an AI writing tool. It helps with brainstorming, generated content, and repurposing content for posts within Buffer’s normal social media management dashboard. It doesn’t offer any process of workflow automation features.
Key features
Brainstorming
Post creation
Content repurposing
Predictive analytics to gauge the likelihood of content going viral
Pricing and subscription options
Buffer’s AI tools are available as part of its normal plans, which start at $5/month per user.
Customer reviews and ratings
Buffer is a popular social media management platform with a rating of 4.3/5 on G2.
2. FeedHive
Feehive’s AI assistant offers a little more in the way of functionality compared to Buffer. In addition to filling the role of writing assistant, it also analyzes follower activity to identify the best times to post. It runs on ChatGPT.
Key features
Content brainstorming, creation, and optimization
Audience analysis to identify best posting times
Predictive analytics for virality
Pricing and subscription options
Feedhive AI is available on all plans, but features are limited on the Creator plan (which costs $19/month). The Brand plan costs $29/month. AI use is limited by credits.
Customer reviews and ratings
Fedhive has a score of 4.7/5 on G2 and 4.9/5 on G2.
3. Flick (Iris)
Flick’s AI assistant is called Iris, and it’s designed to help with multiple parts of the social media marketing process, not just copywriting.
In reality, this means that it can help with content strategy in addition to post creation. Flick says its AI has been trained on thousands of successful social marketing campaigns.
Key features
High-level strategy creation
Post brainstorming and creation
Inclusion of product descriptions in posts
Trend suggestions for new posts
Pricing and subscription options
Flick pricing starts at £141/month per user and runs up to £68/month (it’s a UK company, hence the pounds). There is a free plan, but you’ll need to purchase a subscription to access all AI features.
Customer reviews and ratings
Flick is a smaller player in the social media management space but has a loyal following and good reviews on G2 (4.7/5) and Capterra (5/5).
Best AI Grammar Checker Tools
Grammar checkers cause a lot of debate among writers. Some swear by them, whereas others prefer good ol’ manual proofreading. Whatever your opinion, there’s no doubt that grammar checkers are now ubiquitous. They’re here to stay.
1. Grammarly
Grammarly is the undisputed king of grammar checkers. It’s introduced several AI features into its platform, including editing adjusted to brand voice and full content generation. It also integrates with various apps, allowing you to use it off-platform.
Key features
Content editing
Writing tone and voice replication
Content generation
Integrations with email clients, word processors, and social media
Pricing and subscription options
Grammarly plans start at $30/user per month. Content generation is limited by credits on all but the Enterprise plan.
Customer reviews and ratings
Grammarly is a highly regarded app with a rating of 4.7/5 on G2 and 4.7/5 on Capterra.
2. Hemingway App
Hemingway is Grammarly’s closest competitor. It’s gained a loyal following for its pared-down, Hemmingwayesque style. In a rather embarrassing experiment, one of Hemmingway’s actual pieces of writing was flagged as having a rather large amount of errors. But that’s a story for another time.
Key features
Editor that can adjust to brand tone
Review of text and feedback
Option to ask for custom changes
Privacy rules and a “no training on user’s data” policy
Pricing and subscription options
The team plan costs $15/user per month. It includes unlimited Grammar fixes and 10,000 AI sentence rewrites.
Customer reviews and ratings
Hemmingway is a popular app with a loyal following. It has a score of 4.5/5 on G2.
3. ProWritingAid (AI Sparks)
ProWritingAid’s AI assistant is called AI Sparks. It’s very good at generating original ideas and content as well as making grammar and syntax edits. It’s a good option for writers who envision using AI to make substantial edits.
Key features
Advanced editing and rewrite options
Content generator to extend existing text
Integrations with third-party tools
Full content critiques
Pricing and subscription options
ProWritingAid’s “Teams” plan costs $12/month per user. A custom Enterprise plan for organizations with more than 100 employees is also offered.
Customer reviews and ratings
ProWritingAid has a score of 4.5/5 on G2 and 4.7/5 on Capterra.
Best AI Tools for Content Creation
Editing is one thing. But what about full-fledged content creation? For most content creators, ChatGPT alone won’t do, and dedicated tools typically offer much more in the way of quality and functionality.
1. Copy.ai
Copy.ai bills itself as the first “Go-To-Market (GTM) AI Platform.” Its supposed capabilities include content creation, lead prospecting, and lead data enrichment.
The reality is that Copy.ai remains largely a content generation tool. It can do a lot—including SEO optimization, email sequences, social media posts, and more—but “GTM AI” is pushing it a little.
Key features
Data analysis from CRM
SEO content
Ad content
Article and blog post content
Content repurposing (including transcripts)
Pricing and subscription options
Pricing starts at $36/month per seat and includes unlimited projects and access to the latest language models.
Customer reviews and ratings
Copy.ai has a 4.7/5 rating on G2 and 4.⅘ on Capterra.
2. Clearscope
Clearscope is primarily an SEO platform. It uses machine learning to streamline and simplify the process of SEO writing. It has three main features: content audits, content reports (which indicate the appropriate keywords to include in an article), and keyword research.
Key features
Audits of existing content
Keyword density reports
Keyword research
Integrations with third-party tools
Pricing and subscription options
Clearscope has two plans: Essentials for $189/month and Business for $399/month. A custom plan is available.
Customer reviews and ratings
Clearscope has excellent reviews. It has a rating of 4.9/5 on G2.
3. Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO is similar to Clearscope in that it focuses on SEO. The main difference is that Surfer SEO can research and write entire articles. The quality of those articles is…questionable. But many use Surfer SEO primarily for keyword research and optimization rather than all-out creation.
Key features
Content creation
Content audits
Content humanization
AI detector
Pricing and subscription options
Plans run from $89/month to $219/month.
Customer reviews and ratings
Surfer SEO has a rating of 4.8/5 on G2 and 4.9/5 on Capterra.
Best AI Business Communication Software
Like content creation, customer support is another major use case of generative AI and natural language processing. AI is saving large amounts of money for organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to international enterprises, while providing improved customer experiences.
1. Nextiva
Nextiva is a big platform. At its core sit a cluster of messaging and outreach features for running marketing and customer support. It unifies customer interactions across channels, including live chat, email, SMS, social, and more.
It has introduced AI-powered tools across the platform, including its contact center and knowledge base. AI-driven automation also assists with repetitive tasks.
Key features
AI real-time chatbot for lead capture, sales, and support
Omnichannel AI communication
AI-generated answers based on knowledge base
AI interactive voice response (IVR)
Pricing and subscription options
Plans range from $250/month per user to $75/month per user.
Customer reviews and ratings
Nextiva has a score of 4.5/5 on G2 and 4.5 on Capterra.
2. Intercom (Fin)
Intercom’s AI assistant is called Fin. It’s a customer support agent with an array of capabilities and can handle complex queries and requests for tutorials. It integrates with Intercom’s other AI features, such as analytics for generating valuable insights, and is easy to set up and configure.
Key features
Customer support answers based on data from multiple sources
Omni-channel chatbot
Communicates in 45 languages
AI chatbot integration with Intercom workflows
Support for human agents
AI analytics and insights
Pricing and subscription options
Plans subscriptions cost between $39/month per user and $139/month per user. Fin “Copilot” and Fin “Agent” are included in all subscriptions, with some limited functionality on the entry-level plan.
Customer reviews and ratings
Intercom has a score of 4.5/5 on G2 and 4.5/5 on Capterra.
3. Zoom
Ah, Zoom. We all know it. So, how exactly do AI models assist with meetings? Surely they’re a human affair.
Well, not quite. Zoom’s AI “companion” helps with an array of background tasks. It can summarize meetings, update latecomers, create backgrounds, compose emails, and even help schedule meetings.
Key features
Meeting summaries for review and decision-making
Recording editing (splitting into sections)
Team chat content generation and summarization
Meeting scheduling assistance
Pricing and subscription options
Zoom subscriptions start at $13.32/month per user. A custom business plan is available. The Zoom AI companion is included in all paid plans.
Customer reviews and ratings
Zoom has a rating of 4.5 on G2 (from a whopping 55,000 reviews).
Maximize Your Business Potential with AI Tools
The advantages of AI tools are undeniable. They speed up large portions of your workflow, reduce the manual work of a year into days, help you hit KPIs, and assist your employees in becoming substantially more productive.
But it’s also vital not to over-complicate your stack. A well-chosen, slimmed-down collection of tools is far more powerful than subscribing to every platform in the AI-verse. Purchasing the right amount also makes the task of integrating your stack much more straightforward.
Many AI tools are now multifunctional. For example, Artisan—and its virtual sales rep Ava—can run whole sections of an outbound sales team's workflow.
Here’s a quick recap of Artisan’s features:
Access to a database of over 300 million leads (larger than many alternatives)
Advanced data scraping and enrichment using sources from across the web
Personalization at scale with a unique waterfall methodology that prioritizes the most timely and relevant lead data
Automated sending, follow-up, and optimization of cold email campaigns
Cold email templates
Email domain warm-up
Outreach through social media (LinkedIn) as well as email
Automated A/B and multivariate testing
Analytics showing open rates, response rates, deliverability, and more
Artisan is leading the way in automated outbound sales. It’s one of the fastest-growing apps on the market. Why? Because it delivers outcomes, nothing less. If you’d like to see Artisan in action, get in touch to book a demo.
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