How I use AI and why I still love software
AI has not taken over my favorite products...yet
Like many folks in startups, I have started using AI for a number of different tasks. But, AI is still becoming productized. I love having general purpose AI at my fingertips, and software that solves a very specific problem is still worth it for me to pay for.
Where I use AI:
ChatGPT: I use Chat GPT daily for research tasks. If I need to understand something quickly or summarize a long PDF. Each new model gets better and better at analysis. And now that it applies context from my other chats, the results are far more useful for me.
Otter.ai: Real time transcripts are so helpful. Of course, they aren’t perfect, but I find the ability to search meetings or conference notes in real time a real asset for my work. I still prefer to write my own summaries, but AI helps me find the content I’m looking for quickly.
Vibes DIY: As a non-technical founder, I am very into vibe coding. I love seeing ideas come to life, and I have a new appreciate for my engineering friends! I’ve tried Cursor (best for technical folks) and Loveable (best design output). Both work very well. I like https://vibes.diy best so far because it can actually get my apps working to share with others and not just looking pretty.
Business finances: I still love Quikcbooks (I have so much data and categorization in there, I just can’t quit it), but I love uploading my business data into ChatGPT. It helps me answer questions about my business and create financial models. I know I am in finance, but I hate building financial models. Tools like Copilot make it easy to feel like I am more of an excel ninja than I really am.
Where I don’t use AI:
Writing: I’ve stopped using AI to help me write emails and blog posts. I was using it to spell check my work, but I found that it made my writing sound less like…me. I also love to write; it helps me think out loud and process information. I’ve also noticed that emails and blog posts where I used an AI-assistant get fewer views and are often sent to spam. I now use AI for the research phase (shoutout to all the typos in this post!)
Where I still love software:
Personal Finances: For me, I need to do it myself to learn what’s going on. Monarch is my favorite personal finance app, but for me, nothing beats a spreadsheet and financial model.
Taxes: Maybe it’s the control freak in me, but I prefer to do my own taxes. I used an accountant to set up my business taxes, but given the simplicity of my current business, I much prefer to do it on my own. TurboTax still rocks. I found myself using AI for questions, but still working directly with accountants on TurboTax for very specific tax questions.
I’ll update this post as I build more with AI and other software tools.