The tools I use.

I useAnthropic - Claude.ai

Chat-based AI from Anthropic — my daily-driver for thinking, writing, and coding.

Claude reads my voice better than the others. I paste a transcript, a half-thought, a messy email — and what comes back sounds like me. That's the moat. The other ones write generic; Claude writes me.

Anyone — this is the place to start if you haven't picked an AI yet.

I useGoogle - Gemini

Chat-based AI from Google — my daily-driver for images, youtube summaries, audio/video generation

Gemini just works. It is connected to email, Google Drive, and calendar. It is also my favorite for searching since it can connect to YouTube. I love how creative it is and the built-in photo/video tools.

Anyone

I useOpenAI - ChatGPT

Chat-based AI from OpenAI — the one most people know.

I personally use ChatGPT the least, however it can generate images if you do not have Google Gemini. They do have some strong models for coding, and use it to double check my code as a 2nd opinion.

Anyone who wants a familiar starting point with strong image generation.

I useMeetGeek

AI meeting transcription + searchable history of every call.

I've had every "what did Danny say in the call last month?" question answered by a one-line search. The summaries are good enough to send to a client immediately. Used to do this manually — never going back.

Anyone doing 5+ calls a week.

I useLoom

Screen + face recording for quick walkthroughs.

I send three Looms a day. Faster than typing it, more useful than a meeting. The AI summaries on the recordings turn into great SOPs.

Anyone who manages a team or explains things to clients.

I recommendGranola

AI meeting notes with a different UI than MeetGeek.

Cleaner interface; some operators prefer the notebook-style flow. I've put it on three client stacks and gotten zero complaints.

Operators who want notes without the meeting bot.

I usePlaud

A pocket AI voice recorder that transcribes everything you say.

I tested four. Plaud won because it actually works one-tap, the hardware is small enough to forget about, and the transcription quality holds up in a noisy room. The summaries beat the raw transcript half the time.

Anyone who has thoughts in the car, the shower, or on a walk.

I useVimcal

Calendar app for fast scheduling.

Cuts the "what about Tuesday at 3?" loop down to seconds. Slot picker that pastes into a thread, conflict detection that's smart, mobile that doesn't feel like a downgrade. Calendars are about speed — this is fastest.

Anyone scheduling more than three calls a week.

needs: You already keep a calendar — that's it.

I useGoHighLevelaffiliate

CRM + marketing automation + scheduling all under one roof.

I run my entire client business on GHL — and most of my clients' businesses too. Once you're past spreadsheets and Mailchimp, this is the next floor. I'm in the top 1% of users on the platform; I'll set yours up faster than you can read the docs.

Service businesses past spreadsheets, ready to operationalize.

needs: CRM + marketing automation experience helpful. Deep platform — there's a learning curve. I'll shortcut it for you if you want.

I useGoHighLevelaffiliate

CRM + marketing automation + scheduling all under one roof.

I run my entire client business on GHL — and most of my clients' businesses too. Once you're past spreadsheets and Mailchimp, this is the next floor. I'm in the top 1% of users on the platform; I'll set yours up faster than you can read the docs.

Service businesses past spreadsheets, ready to operationalize.

needs: Landing pages, funnels, and forms are drag-and-drop. No automation knowledge required to ship a campaign page.

I useCanva

Design tool that doesn't require you to be a designer.

Not for the magazine cover. For the proposal hero image, the LinkedIn slide deck, the one-pager the client needs by 2pm. AI features now actually useful.

Operators who need pixel output without hiring a designer.

needs: No design background needed — templates do most of the work.

I recommendLovableaffiliate

AI-assisted website builder — describe what you want, get a working site.

For operators who need a landing page or a small site without hiring a designer, this is the web builder I recommend starting with. It understands better than most tools I have tested and can even handle applications. If you want to build a website, it is my top choice for starting a new site or redesigning an existing one.

Operators without a designer who need a site live this week.

needs: Some product / web-design instinct. No code required, but you'll need to describe what you want clearly.

I useVercel

Deployment platform — where onlydans.ai and most of my client sites live.

I push code, the site goes live. Preview URLs per branch make review trivial. If you build a Next.js site, this is the host.

Anyone shipping a modern web app.

needs: Some dev background — knows git, comfortable in a terminal, has shipped a web app before.