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. Attio's launch of an SQL engine and data connectors so agents can query the whole CRM, with weighted pipeline forecasts as a... attio.com Article Introducing the architecture for agentic revenue Attio In 2 answers
  2. Notion's release notes for 3.8 (agents connected to 150+ tools through MCP) and the rebuilt Notion Agents with their own... notion.com Article What's New: Notion releases Notion In 2 answers
  3. Reports LinkedIn's July 2026 changes in its product chief's own words: a member flag for AI slop, new feed classifiers and a... cybernews.com Article "Seems like AI slop" button introduced on LinkedIn Cybernews In 2 answers
  4. Anthropic's own guide to the add-in: ask about a workbook with cell-level citations, change assumptions without breaking... claude.com Guide Use Claude for Excel Anthropic (Claude docs) In 2 answers
  5. Naukri's explanation of its AI agents that take a role from job opening to shortlist on its own candidate database, for... naukri.com Article Introducing AI REX: Naukri's Agentic AI Talent Sourcing Platform Mann Gupta (Naukri) In 2 answers
  6. Describe a deck or one-pager and Claude builds it on brand, then exports to PowerPoint, PDF or HTML or sends it on to Canva;... claude.com Tool Claude Design Anthropic In 2 answers
  7. What Copilot does inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on each Microsoft 365 plan, against the free version. microsoft.com Tool Microsoft Copilot Plans for Individuals Microsoft In 2 answers
  8. xAI's own page for Grok: chat, voice and search that reads the web and posts on X as they happen. x.ai Tool Grok xAI (SpaceXSI) In 2 answers
  9. Video Gemini vs. ChatGPT vs. Claude vs. Grok vs. Perplexity! (The Best Way To Use Each One) Paul J Lipsky In 2 answers
  10. Video ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini: Which AI Is Worth $20 in 2026? Great Learning In 2 answers
  11. What the $8 Go plan adds over Free, that it may show ads, and that its Think option runs a lighter model than Plus. help.openai.com Guide What is ChatGPT Go? OpenAI Help Center In 2 answers
  12. Which plans may see ads (Free and Go), which never do, and the settings that turn off ad personalisation. help.openai.com Guide Ads in ChatGPT OpenAI Help Center In 2 answers
  13. Video ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini: Which $20 AI Plan Is Worth It? Parker Prompts In 2 answers
  14. The terms of Airtel's free year of Perplexity Pro and the date it ended, 16 January 2026. perplexity.ai Guide Perplexity Pro Airtel Promo Perplexity Help Center In 2 answers
  15. What ChatGPT remembers, where to review and correct it, and how to delete a memory rather than only the chat it came from. help.openai.com Guide Memory in ChatGPT OpenAI Help Center In 2 answers
  16. How Gemini's memory works, who can use it, how to turn it off and how to correct what it has learned. support.google.com Guide Get personalization with memory of your past Gemini chats Google (Gemini Apps Help) In 2 answers
  17. Where Claude's model and effort menu is, what Low to Max effort means and the trade-off with usage limits. support.claude.com Guide Change the model, effort, and thinking settings Anthropic (Claude Help Center) In 2 answers
  18. Where to set standing instructions on the phone and the web, and the character limits on each plan. help.openai.com Guide ChatGPT Custom Instructions OpenAI Help Center In 2 answers
  19. Google's launch post for Guided Learning, built on its LearnLM models, with ready-made example sessions. blog.google Article Guided Learning in Gemini: From answers to understanding Maureen Heymans, Google In 2 answers
  20. Where Guided Learning sits in the Gemini app and how it uses images and YouTube videos to explain a topic. support.google.com Guide Use learning tools in Gemini Apps Gemini Apps Help In 2 answers
  21. How the Learning style reached every Claude.ai user from the style menu, and the two coding versions in Claude Code. engadget.com Article Anthropic brings Claude's learning mode to regular users and devs Engadget In 2 answers
  22. Anthropic's documentation for the Explanatory and Learning styles, including the TODO(human) spots it leaves for you. code.claude.com Guide Output styles Claude Code Docs In 2 answers
  23. The field experiment behind the 48% and 17% figures, and the hint-giving tutor that protected learning. hamsabastani.github.io Article Generative AI Without Guardrails Can Harm Learning: Evidence from High School Mathematics Hamsa Bastani, Osbert Bastani, Alp Sungu and others (University of Pennsylvania) In 2 answers
  24. A Wharton professor's plain reading of the research on AI and learning, with a tutor prompt you can copy. oneusefulthing.org Article Against "Brain Damage" Ethan Mollick (One Useful Thing) In 2 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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