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. iLovePDF's converter for pulling tables out of a PDF into a spreadsheet, alongside its JPG to PDF and PDF to JPG tools. ilovepdf.com Tool PDF to Excel iLovePDF
  2. Google's guide to the free spelling and grammar suggestions built into Docs, and how to accept or ignore them. support.google.com Article Check your spelling and grammar in Google Docs Google Docs Help
  3. The open-source style and grammar checker for 25+ languages behind languagetool.org, which you can run yourself. github.com Tool LanguageTool LanguageTool (open source)
  4. Apple's steps for one-click background removal in Preview, which converts the image to PNG, and for tracing part of an image to... support.apple.com Article Remove a background or extract an image in Preview on Mac Apple Support
  5. Touch and hold a subject in Photos, Safari or Quick Look to copy it, share it or make it a sticker, with the background left... support.apple.com Article Lift a subject from the photo or video background on iPhone Apple Support
  6. Adobe's free browser tool that isolates the subject and gives a transparent cutout to place on a new background. adobe.com Tool Free image background remover Adobe Firefly
  7. Canva's remover, on web, desktop and mobile: download the cutout as a transparent PNG or keep editing it into a design. canva.com Tool Background Remover Canva
  8. How to change an image's dimensions and reduce its file size in Preview. support.apple.com Article Crop, resize, or rotate an image in Preview on Mac Apple Support
  9. A free web app that resizes and compresses images in your browser, comparing formats and quality side by side. squoosh.app Tool Squoosh Google Chrome Labs
  10. The project's own privacy note: Squoosh does not send your image to a server, and all compression happens locally. github.com Tool Squoosh on GitHub Google Chrome Labs (open source)
  11. Apple's explanation of HEIC, the Most Compatible camera setting that saves JPEG instead, and how to export an existing photo to... support.apple.com Article Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices Apple Support
  12. Microsoft's free extension that lets Windows apps such as Photos open and save HEIC images. apps.microsoft.com Tool HEIF Image Extension Microsoft Store
  13. YouTube's own steps: in the description click Show transcript, follow along as it scrolls, and click any line to jump to that... support.google.com Article View video transcripts YouTube Help
  14. How a creator edits caption text and timing in YouTube Studio, including working from a downloaded caption file. support.google.com Article Edit or remove captions YouTube Help
  15. YouTube's definitions of a transcript, an automatic caption and a closed caption, and the languages its speech recognition covers. support.google.com Article Translation and transcription glossary YouTube Help
  16. YouTube Studio's free Face blur and Custom blur, with tracking, shape and timing controls, and the limit on editing videos with... support.google.com Article Blur your videos YouTube Help
  17. A security firm's demonstration, with an open-source tool, that pixelated text can be recovered, which is why secrets need a... bishopfox.com Article Never, ever, ever use pixelation for redacting text Bishop Fox
  18. How to add a filled shape over a screenshot or photo on an iPhone, the safe way to hide private details. support.apple.com Article Add text, shapes, stickers, and more with Markup on iPhone Apple Support
  19. Clipchamp's free tools for improving video by adjusting brightness and contrast and applying filters. clipchamp.com Tool Online video enhancer Microsoft Clipchamp
  20. A free machine-learning video super-resolution and frame interpolation framework you run on your own computer. github.com Tool Video2X Video2X (open source)
  21. YouTube's own export settings: H.264, variable bitrate, and the same frame rate the video was recorded in. support.google.com Article YouTube recommended upload encoding settings YouTube Help
  22. Apple's Clean Up tool for removing distracting objects, on an Apple Intelligence iPhone (15 Pro and later), with the regions... support.apple.com Article Clean up, extend, and reframe photos on iPhone Apple Support
  23. The US law that makes removing or altering copyright management information, such as a credit or watermark, unlawful when done... law.cornell.edu Article 17 U.S. Code 1202: Integrity of copyright management information Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
  24. Adobe's free AI filter for cleaning up spoken audio with a free account; Premium allows up to 4 hours a day and files up to 1 GB. podcast.adobe.com Tool Enhance Speech from Adobe Adobe Podcast

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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