Quick answer
The nine I use every week are ChatGPT or Claude, Tekmatix, Make.com, Notion AI, Canva, Descript, Fathom or Otter, Grammarly and CapCut. You don’t need all nine. Pick the few that match your biggest time drains.
Business owners often ask me which AI tools are actually worth paying for. It’s a fair question. There are hundreds of them, and most promise to save you hours.
After 13+ years of remote work, currently as Executive Assistant to a SaaS CEO, I’ve settled on nine tools I use every week to keep admin running. This is what each one does well, what it costs, and where it fits in a small business.
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Get the free AI Admin Audit1. ChatGPT or Claude: drafting and thinking
Good for: drafting emails, summarising long threads, research, writing SOPs
Price: free tiers; about USD 20 a month for paid plans
If you only try one tool, try this one. Most of my AI use is here: sorting the inbox, drafting replies in the right tone, turning meeting notes into action lists. It works best when you give it context (who the email is for, what you want to happen) and an example of the result you want.
2. Tekmatix: funnels, email and bookings in one place
Good for: landing pages, email marketing, online courses, booking calendars, CRM
Price: monthly plans, with a 7-day free trial
Many small businesses pay for five separate tools for pages, email, bookings, courses and contacts. Tekmatix puts them in one account, so a new lead lands in your CRM and gets your follow-up emails without anything to connect. I use it for my own opt-ins and booking calendar.
3. Make.com: connecting your apps
Good for: moving data between apps without copying and pasting
Price: free tier; paid plans from about USD 9 a month
When a form is filled in, Make can add the person to a spreadsheet, send a Slack message and create a task, all without anyone touching it. It’s a good fit for repeated, rule-based steps.
4. Notion AI: notes, SOPs and project tracking
Good for: one place for processes, client notes and projects
Price: free tier; AI included in paid business plans
Notion is where written processes live, so anyone helping you can follow the same steps. The AI can summarise pages and draft first versions of SOPs. I wrote more about it in Using Notion to manage freelance projects.
5. Canva with Magic Studio: everyday graphics
Good for: social posts, simple slides, resizing one design for several platforms
Price: free tier; Pro about USD 15 a month
Set up your brand colours and fonts once, and anyone on your team can make on-brand graphics without a designer for routine work.
6. Descript: editing video by editing text
Good for: cleaning up recorded videos, podcasts and webinars
Price: free tier; paid from about USD 12 a month
Descript turns your recording into a transcript. Delete a sentence in the text and it’s cut from the video. It also removes filler words. See How to edit videos for social media for more.
7. Fathom or Otter: meeting notes
Good for: recording calls and producing summaries and action items
Price: Fathom has a generous free plan; Otter from about USD 8 a month
Everyone can pay attention in the meeting instead of taking notes, and the summary is ready to share when the call ends. Ask people’s permission before recording.
8. Grammarly: a final check
Good for: catching typos and unclear sentences before anything goes out
Price: free tier; Pro about USD 12 a month
AI drafts still need a read-through. Grammarly catches the small things, and a person still checks that the facts and tone are right.
9. CapCut: short videos
Good for: reels and short clips with captions
Price: free tier; Pro plans available
If you post short videos, CapCut’s templates and automatic captions make it quick to turn a longer clip into several short ones.
Pick a few and use them well
The mistake I see most is signing up for lots of tools and using none of them properly. Start with one drafting tool and one place for your processes. Add automation once you know which tasks repeat every week.
If you’d rather not set these up yourself, my Admin Support Team can take routine admin off your plate, using these tools with every task checked by me.
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Get the free AI Admin AuditAbout the author
I’m Feby Lunag, based in Baguio City, Philippines. I’ve worked remotely for 13+ years, including as Executive Assistant to a SaaS CEO and about 9 years with a US publicly listed company, with 100% Job Success on Upwork. Today I help business owners set up AI-assisted admin, either hands-on or through my Admin Support Team.