How Founders Use AI

How people use AI, and the tool for each job.

The AI map of which tool is for which job, checked on 29 October 2026, what changed since July, and every video, thread, guide, podcast and tool behind 360 answered questions on putting AI to work.

The AI map: which tool is for which job, as of 29 October 2026

Models and assistants AI assistants Frontier models Open-weight models Decision models

Building with AI Coding agents App builders Design and presentations Spreadsheets, data and internal tools

Agents and research Agents that do tasks for you AI browsers No-code automation with AI steps Research and search Meeting notes and everyday productivity

Making media Video generation Images Avatars and voice Music and audio Video editing

AI at work Prospecting and sales Marketing, ads and AI search Customer support agents Legal and contracts Finance and accounting Hiring and HR

What changed since July

  1. 28 Oct 2026 GitHub began including Copilot with GitHub Enterprise licences and added projects to the Copilot app, where several agents work across repositories. Coding agents github.blog
  2. 27 Oct 2026 n8n released the 3.0 beta, a reliability and security release with breaking changes; self-hosting now runs on Docker only and the stable release is due in early December. No-code automation with AI steps blog.n8n.io
  3. 27 Oct 2026 Hex released Hex 4.0, rebuilt for analysts and AI agents working together, with a $100 million raise. Spreadsheets, data and internal tools hex.tech
  4. 26 Oct 2026 Replit launched Replit for Business, and the next day Cloud Agents that let non-engineers propose changes to a company codebase. App builders blog.replit.com
  5. 26 Oct 2026 OpenAI released GPT-6.1 Terra at $1 / $5 per million tokens, half the price of GPT-6.1 Sol. Frontier models openai.com
All 108 changes

What founders use most, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. Anthropic's comparison of Claude Free, Pro and Max, including memory, voice mode and the number of projects each plan allows. claude.com Tool Plans & pricing | Claude Anthropic In 26 answers
  2. OpenAI's own table of Free, Go, Plus and Pro: what each includes, from GPT-6 chats and memory to voice, projects and deep... chatgpt.com Tool ChatGPT Plans and Pricing OpenAI In 18 answers
  3. Google's plans from AI Plus at $4.99 to Ultra, all on Gemini 4 Argon, for comparing against ChatGPT and Claude. gemini.google Tool Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra plans Google In 12 answers
  4. A Wharton professor's regular guide: any free model for low-stakes questions, ChatGPT or Claude for real work, and where... oneusefulthing.org Article An opinionated guide to which AI to use to do stuff Ethan Mollick (One Useful Thing) In 11 answers
  5. Survey finding that 24% of US AI users use an agent regularly and 32% have let AI act for them without final approval, which is... menlovc.com Article 2026: The State of Consumer AI Menlo Ventures In 10 answers
  6. How to give Gemini an ongoing task on a schedule, such as watching prices or pulling cited research into a file, which is the... support.google.com Guide Manage your tasks & workflows in Gemini Apps Google In 10 answers
  7. The same page as shown in India, in rupees: free plan on a Flash-Lite model with Deep Research, Gemini Live and Gemini... gemini.google Tool Google AI plans (India) Google In 7 answers
  8. Shows the new shape of delegation: a standing agent that investigates bugs, keeps plans moving and prepared an unsent invoice... openai.com Article Introducing dots OpenAI In 6 answers
  9. Covers Codex in the cloud: tasks keep running after you close the laptop, with shared environments, code review and Codex... openai.com Article DevDay 2026 Recap OpenAI In 6 answers
  10. Explains the three Pro plans (Pro 100, Pro 200, Pro 500) introduced in September 2026, so you know what the $100-plus tiers buy. help.openai.com Guide About ChatGPT Pro tiers OpenAI Help Center In 6 answers
  11. Microsoft's own post on Copilot in Excel's newest features: get data, clean data, skills you teach it once, and an interactive... techcommunity.microsoft.com Article Beyond Analysis: Copilot Gets to Work in Excel Microsoft Excel team (Brian Jones) In 6 answers
  12. OpenAI's dated log of changes: GPT-6 Sol for Plus and GPT-6 Luna for Free and Go (7 October 2026), ChatGPT for Word on every... help.openai.com Article ChatGPT release notes OpenAI Help Center In 6 answers
  13. A free browser editor with watermark-free 1080p exports, captions and a voice recorder, enough to assemble the clips. clipchamp.com Tool Microsoft Clipchamp pricing Microsoft In 6 answers
  14. The clearest primary definition: workflows run on predefined code paths, agents let the model direct its own process and tools,... anthropic.com Guide Building effective agents Anthropic In 5 answers
  15. Tested comparison across avatar, text-to-video, and editing tools. zapier.com Guide The 16 Best AI Video Generators Zapier In 5 answers
  16. Anthropic on letting Claude act in the browser without approving each step, with a safety classifier checking every action. claude.com Article Claude in Chrome is generally available Anthropic In 5 answers
  17. Anthropic's post on handing Claude a whole report or deck from any conversation and letting it finish after you close the laptop. claude.com Article Claude Cowork and chat are now one Claude Anthropic In 5 answers
  18. Which file types count as sources and the free plan's limits of 50 sources and 500,000 words each. support.google.com Guide Add or discover new sources for your notebook Gemini Notebook Help In 5 answers
  19. Google's plan page in rupees, including which plan unlocks tasks in Gemini. gemini.google Tool Google AI Pro & Ultra: get access to Gemini 4 Argon & more Google In 5 answers
  20. OpenAI's learning hub: the AI Foundations course (about 70 minutes, self-paced, with a completion certificate), Applied AI... openai.com Course OpenAI Academy OpenAI In 5 answers
  21. The concise, always-current version of the Bible. docs.lovable.dev Guide Prompting best practices (Lovable docs) Lovable In 4 answers
  22. The written breakdown of the same case, with the operating model you can copy. lennysnewsletter.com Article We replaced our sales team with 20 AI agents (essay version) Lenny Rachitsky In 4 answers
  23. Weekly operator demos of AI workflows, including the Amplitude internal-data episode. podcasts.apple.com Podcast How I AI with Claire Vo Claire Vo In 4 answers
  24. 1,700+ real court cases where fake AI citations got people sanctioned; the best cautionary tale on the internet. damiencharlotin.com Tool AI Hallucination Cases Database Damien Charlotin In 4 answers

Show the next 24

Playbooks

A goal, and the route through it a step at a time.

Start using AI well Pick an assistant, learn with it, hand it real work, and keep yourself and your data safe. 5 steps Build your product with AI From a prompt to a shipped product: prototype, build, and wire AI into what you ship. 6 steps Code and ship with AI Write, ship, and maintain real software as a founder, with AI as your pair. 4 steps Design and prototype with AI Go from idea to a clickable prototype without a designer. 3 steps Build AI agents and automations Wire up agents and internal tools that do real work for you. 3 steps Put AI inside your product Ship AI features users actually feel, not a bolted-on chatbot. 3 steps Research your market with AI Size the market, study competitors, and read data in hours, not weeks. 3 steps Market and grow with AI Content, creative, and distribution: fill the top of the funnel without a big team. 5 steps Create content with AI Write, film, and design a content engine that runs without a team. 3 steps Get found in AI search Show up when founders and buyers ask AI, not just Google (AEO/GEO). 3 steps Run ads with AI Brief creatives, read the numbers, and optimize spend with AI. 3 steps Find and serve customers with AI Research the market, prospect, close, and support, with AI doing the heavy lifting. 4 steps Sell and prospect with AI Find leads, personalize outreach, and run better sales calls. 3 steps Support customers with AI Answer faster and deflect tickets without losing the human touch. 3 steps Run the back office with AI The unglamorous grind: workflows, finance, legal, and hiring, automated where it counts. 5 steps Automate your workflows Stitch your tools together so the busywork runs itself. 3 steps Hire and manage your team with AI Source, screen, and onboard faster, and keep the team in sync. 3 steps Handle legal and finance with AI Draft contracts and stay on top of the numbers without a big spend. 2 steps Be more productive with AI Get more done and think sharper with AI as a daily habit. 3 steps Become an AI-native founder The meta-skills: build your stack, prompt well, and use AI to research, think, and decide. 6 steps Build your AI stack Pick the tools worth paying for and the prompts worth reusing. 3 steps

The questions, by topic

Building & Product

Vibe Coding 20 Databases & Internal Tools 11 AI Agents 15 Design & Prototyping 14 AI in Your Product 15

Research & Knowledge

Search & Research 16 Market Research 13 Data Analysis 13

Marketing & Growth

Content Creation 14 Video, Image & Audio 27 Getting Found in AI Search (AEO/GEO) 12 Ads & Performance Marketing 14 Social & Community 12

Sales & Customers

Sales Prospecting 13 Customer Support 6 CRM & Sales Calls 12

Operations & Back-office

Legal & Contracts 13 Finance & Accounting 3 Hiring & HR 3 Productivity 5 Workflows & Automation 3

Strategy & The AI-Native Founder

Fundraising 6 Prompting 4 Building Your AI Stack 5 AI as a Thinking Partner 5

Everyday AI

Choosing Your AI Assistant 15 Learning with AI 8 Working with AI Agents 8 Using AI Safely 9 AI in Indian Languages 8 Quick Fixes for Files, Photos and Video 26 AI for Your Line of Work 12
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