Some of the tools we use.
Ideas to help your business.

The most widely used AI assistant in the world. You type a question, task or prompt — it writes, explains, summarises, or problem-solves. Free to use, with a paid plan for faster access and more advanced features. If you only use one AI tool, make it this one.

Made by Anthropic, Claude is widely regarded as one of the best AI assistants for writing, analysis and nuanced tasks. It's particularly good at following complex instructions, maintaining a consistent tone, and producing longer-form content without losing quality. A strong alternative to ChatGPT worth having in your toolkit.

Google's AI assistant is deeply integrated with Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive — making it particularly useful if your business already runs on Google Workspace. It can summarise email threads, draft replies, generate content in Docs, and answer questions using your own files as context.

Microsoft's AI assistant is embedded across the entire Microsoft 365 suite. Draft emails in Outlook, summarise documents in Word, generate formulas in Excel, and create presentation slides in PowerPoint — all using natural language. If your business runs on Microsoft, Copilot is worth exploring.

Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine that gives you direct answers to questions — with sources linked so you can verify the information. It's great for market research, competitor lookups, and fact-checking without wading through pages of Google results. Particularly useful for business owners who want reliable, referenced answers fast.

Ollama lets you download and run powerful AI models — like Llama and Mistral — directly on your own computer, with no internet connection required. Everything stays completely private, nothing is sent to the cloud. Great for business owners who handle sensitive data and want the power of AI without sharing anything externally. Free and open source.

Notion is a popular workspace tool for notes, plans and documents. The built-in AI layer can summarise pages, generate content, turn bullet points into full text, and help you write SOPs and training guides directly inside your workspace.

A drag-and-drop design tool used by millions of small businesses. Create social posts, flyers, menus, presentations and more using templates. The AI features (Magic Write, background remover, image generator) make it even faster to produce polished content.

Adobe's AI image generator, designed to be commercially safe — meaning images it creates won't land you in copyright trouble. Great for generating product visuals, backgrounds, and creative assets without needing a photographer or graphic designer.

A simple one-trick tool that does its job perfectly. Upload any photo and it automatically removes the background — ideal for product shots, profile pictures, and social media graphics. Free for standard use, with paid options for bulk or high-resolution exports.

A free video editing app (desktop and mobile) built for short-form content. Trim clips, add captions, apply effects, and use AI features like auto-subtitles and background removal. Widely used by small business owners to create TikToks, Reels and YouTube Shorts.

A website builder with an AI layer that can generate entire site layouts from a description. Useful for getting a professional-looking site live quickly without coding. Good for landing pages, portfolios and service businesses that need an online presence fast.

One of the most popular email marketing platforms for small businesses. Send newsletters, automated sequences and promotional campaigns to your customer list. The AI writing assistant helps you draft subject lines and email copy, and the free plan is generous for businesses just starting out.

A social media scheduling tool that lets you plan and queue posts for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and more — all from one place. The AI assistant helps generate post ideas and captions. Free for up to 3 channels, making it ideal for small businesses.

An audience research tool that shows you what websites, podcasts, social accounts and topics your target customers engage with. Useful for competitor research, understanding your market, and figuring out where to focus your marketing efforts.

A beginner-friendly SEO tool that shows you what people are searching for, how competitive keywords are, and how your website ranks. Good for finding local search terms to target and understanding what content will help you get found on Google.

A customer messaging tool that adds live chat and an AI-powered chatbot to your website. It can automatically answer common questions, qualify leads and capture contact details — even when you're not available. Free plan available for small volumes.

A scheduling tool that removes the back-and-forth of booking appointments. Share your Calendly link and customers pick a time that works — it syncs with your calendar and sends automatic confirmation and reminder emails. Free for one event type.

The business version of WhatsApp lets you set up a business profile, create quick reply templates, set away messages, and organise customer conversations with labels. It's free, and most of your customers are already on it — making it one of the most effective communication tools for local businesses.

A form and survey builder known for its conversational, one-question-at-a-time format — which gets significantly higher completion rates than traditional forms. Use it for customer feedback, lead capture, intake forms and post-visit surveys. Free plan includes unlimited forms.

One of the most widely used accounting tools for small businesses. Create and send professional invoices, track expenses, manage payments, and get an overview of your finances. Integrates with most UK banks and has AI-assisted categorisation to save time on bookkeeping.

The UK's most visited job site. Post a role for free and get applications directly to your inbox. Paid options boost your listing's visibility. AI-assisted job description tools help you write more effective adverts that attract the right kind of candidates.

A free tool from Google that controls how your business appears in local search results and Google Maps. Add your hours, photos, services and location — and respond to reviews. Keeping it updated is one of the single most impactful things a local business can do for free.

A local SEO and reputation management tool that helps you generate, monitor and respond to reviews across Google and other platforms. Particularly useful if you want to automate review requests and track your reputation over time across multiple locations.

A free tool from Google that lets you upload your own documents, PDFs, notes or URLs and then ask questions about them. It only answers from what you've given it — so there's no hallucination. Great for summarising research, understanding contracts, building training materials from your own content, or making sense of large documents quickly.