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 278 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. A living, battle-tested prompt methodology with real example projects. github.com Guide EnzeD/vibe-coding: the vibe coding kickstart guide Nicolas Zullo
  2. A designer's method: describe design intent in steps, not specs. medium.com Article From prompt to prototype: get the most out of Lovable Stefan Klocek
  3. How a non-engineer at Meta structures work so Cursor delivers. lennysnewsletter.com Guide The non-technical PM's guide to building with Cursor Zevi Arnovitz via Lenny's Newsletter
  4. Small phrasing changes that visibly change output quality. prettypromptai.substack.com Article Prompting hacks for vibe coding in Lovable Pretty Prompt
  5. Sees Harper's workflow applied to a concrete project end to end. zacharynielsen.com Article LLM development workflow example Zach Nielsen
  6. Top security researchers dissect the biggest vibe-coded breach yet. wiz.io Article Hacking Moltbook: AI social network reveals 1.5M API keys Wiz Research
  7. The mainstream account of what unreviewed AI code cost. fortune.com Article Moltbook is a 'live demo' of how the new internet could fail Fortune
  8. The most practical pre-launch checklist written for non-engineers. aikido.dev Guide Vibe check: the vibe coder's security checklist Aikido Security
  9. First-party guide to the built-in scanners and what they catch. lovable.dev Guide A founder's guide to Lovable security Lovable
  10. The scan data plus engineers explaining exactly how leaks happen. news.ycombinator.com Article 11% of vibe-coded apps are leaking Supabase keys (HN discussion) Hacker News
  11. Step-by-step hardening you can do without an engineer. fencer.dev Guide How to secure your vibe coded app: security checklist for founders Fencer
  12. Based on an audit that found 10.3% of Lovable apps leaking data. hacknope.com Guide Security checklist for Lovable apps: 15 things to check before launch HackNope
  13. Compares the scanners that check your app automatically. vibeappscanner.com Guide Best AI security scanner for vibe-coded apps Vibe App Scanner
  14. An independent bake-off, not vendor claims. dev.to Article I tested every vibe coding security scanner: here's what actually works DEV Community (solobillions)
  15. The security-industry read on the breach mechanics. infosecurity-magazine.com Article Vibe-coded Moltbook exposes user data, API keys and more Infosecurity Magazine
  16. Fresh scan data on how many live apps still have RLS off. supaexplorer.com Article Vibe coding cybersecurity insight report SupaExplorer
  17. A vibe-coding platform's own pre-launch warnings. getcreatr.com Article Vibe coding security risks: what founders need to know before going live Creatr
  18. The most honest account of the prototype-to-production gap. x.com Thread Karpathy on vibe coding a full web app: 'messy for anything of importance' Andrej Karpathy
  19. Exactly which 30% of the work you must still own. addyo.substack.com Article Beyond the 70%: maximizing the human 30% of AI-assisted coding Addy Osmani
  20. The checklist separating apps that survive launch from those that do not. geminatesolutions.com Guide Lovable to production: 10-point readiness checklist Geminate Solutions
  21. RLS, secrets, auth hardening, and performance in one sequence. kaizenaiconsulting.com Guide From prototype to production: taking your Lovable app live Kaizen AI Consulting
  22. How to package your project so a professional can take it over. sourcetoad.com Guide Getting your Lovable app into production: a practical hand-off guide Sourcetoad
  23. Step-by-step scaling considerations for a real launch. technologyrivers.com Guide Deploy AI app with Lovable: from prototype to production Technology Rivers
  24. The cleanest hosting migration path when you outgrow built-in deploys. digitalapplied.com Guide Lovable to Vercel: prototype to production, zero config Digital Applied

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 15 Databases & Internal Tools 11 AI Agents 15 Design & Prototyping 12 AI in Your Product 13

Research & Knowledge

Search & Research 13 Market Research 13 Data Analysis 13

Marketing & Growth

Content Creation 12 Video, Image & Audio 14 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 3 Workflows & Automation 3

Strategy & The AI-Native Founder

Fundraising 6 Prompting 3 Building Your AI Stack 3 AI as a Thinking Partner 4

Everyday AI

Choosing Your AI Assistant 8 Learning with AI 7 Working with AI Agents 7 Using AI Safely 8 AI in Indian Languages 7
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →