There's a specific kind of overwhelm that's become very common lately.
You hear about a new AI tool on a podcast. You see someone on LinkedIn talking about their "full AI stack." You sign up for something, poke around for twenty minutes, and then quietly stop using it. A month later you're reading about the next thing, and the cycle starts again.
At some point it starts to feel like you're behind. Like everyone else figured out a system and you're still experimenting.
Here's what's actually true: most people who are getting real value from AI are using one or two tools consistently. Not ten. Not a custom stack. One writing and thinking tool they've built some habits around, and maybe a second one for a specific job. That's it.
The rest is noise. And the noise is intentional. There are a lot of companies with a lot of marketing budget trying to convince you that you need their tool too. You probably don't.
This issue is about cutting through that and landing on something simple you'll actually use.
🗞️ THIS WEEK IN AI
1. A new AI tool is launching every single day, and most of them do the same thing
The number of AI tools on the market has grown faster in the last 18 months than anyone predicted. Product directories that used to track a few hundred tools now list thousands. A significant percentage of them are wrappers around the same underlying models with a different interface and a slightly different pitch.
Why this matters: More options are not making it easier to decide. They're making it harder. If you've been feeling like you can't keep up, that's not a personal failure. It's an accurate read of the market. The way out is not to evaluate everything. It's to stop evaluating and start using something consistently.
2. The gap between the best AI models is narrowing
Twelve months ago there was a noticeable quality difference between the top models and everything else. That gap has closed significantly. Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini are all genuinely capable of handling the kinds of tasks most professionals need: writing, summarizing, structuring information, working through decisions, drafting communications.
Why this matters: The choice of model matters less than it used to. If you've been holding off on building AI habits because you weren't sure you'd picked the right tool, that friction is mostly gone. Pick one, learn it well, and you'll be fine. The skill of prompting clearly and consistently is worth far more than the specific platform you're on.
3. AI is getting built into tools you already use
Microsoft, Google, Notion, HubSpot, Canva, and dozens of other platforms have spent the last year integrating AI directly into their products. You may already have access to AI features inside tools you use every day without thinking of them as AI tools.
Why this matters: This changes the calculus on adding new standalone AI tools. Before you sign up for something new, it's worth checking whether your existing stack already covers the job. The less you have to context-switch between tools, the more likely you are to actually use them.
🛠️ THIS WEEK'S TRICK
Audit Your Weekly Tasks and Map Them to the Smallest Useful AI Stack
This is not about finding the perfect tools. It's about stopping the tool-chasing loop and landing on a setup you'll stick with.
Here's how to do it.
Step 1: List your actual recurring weekly tasks
Spend five minutes writing down the things you do every week. Not what you think you should do. What you actually do. Good candidates:
Writing things (emails, updates, proposals, social posts, reports)
Researching things (looking up competitors, reading about a topic, checking facts)
Planning things (prioritizing work, scheduling, thinking through a decision)
Processing information (summarizing a document, pulling out key points, reviewing notes)
Communicating things (drafting messages, prepping for meetings, following up)
Keep the list short and honest. You're looking for the real recurring work, not a job description.
Step 2: Paste the list into your AI tool with the Prompt of the Week
Use the prompt from this issue (see below) to get an opinionated recommendation for the smallest useful stack. You're asking for one primary tool, one optional second tool, and a list of things you can ignore. Ask it to be specific and not to hedge.
Step 3: Commit to the recommendation for 30 days
Whatever comes back, use it. Don't audit it. Don't compare it to other options. Just use the tools it recommends for the tasks it maps them to, for one month, before you reassess.
The point of the exercise is not to find the optimal answer. It's to stop the evaluation loop and build actual habits. You can optimize later. Right now you need reps.
What you're looking for:
One general-purpose writing and thinking tool you can go to for almost anything
Possibly one second tool for a specific job that your first tool doesn't cover well
A short list of things you can officially stop evaluating and ignore
That's the whole system. Two tools max. One job per tool. Consistent use beats perfect selection every time.
🔧 TOOL OF THE WEEK
Perplexity: perplexity.ai
If you already have a writing and thinking tool (Claude, ChatGPT, or similar), Perplexity is the strongest candidate for a second tool.
Perplexity is an AI-powered search and research tool. It answers questions in plain English like a regular AI, but it pulls from live web sources and shows you the citations for every claim. You can see where the information came from, click through to the original source, and quickly tell what's solid versus what needs a closer look.
This makes it particularly good for a specific set of jobs:
Sanity-checking a claim before you repeat it in writing or a presentation
Getting a quick background on a company, person, or topic you don't know much about
Gathering sources on a subject without spending an hour on Google
Keeping up with what's happening in an area without following fifty different sites
Where it fits differently from your main AI tool: a general-purpose AI like Claude or ChatGPT is better for writing, structuring, and thinking things through. Perplexity is better when you need current information, sourced answers, or a fast research pass on something you're not sure about.
Price: Free plan is genuinely useful. Perplexity Pro runs around $20 per month and adds access to more powerful models and higher usage limits. For most people, the free version is enough to test whether the tool fits.
Best for: Anyone who finds themselves doing a lot of research, fact-checking, or "let me quickly look that up" tasks as part of their regular work. If your main AI tool is strong on writing but you've noticed it sometimes makes things up or gives you outdated information, Perplexity is the natural complement.
Worth trying? Yes. It's one of the few second tools that actually earns its spot in a minimal stack.
💡 PROMPT OF THE WEEK
Use this to get a clear, opinionated recommendation on the smallest AI stack that fits your actual work. Paste in the list of weekly tasks you wrote in the Trick above.
Here are the recurring tasks I do each week:
[list them]
Recommend the smallest useful AI stack for me.
I want the fewest tools possible.
Tell me:
1. which one tool I should start with
2. which second tool, if any, is worth adding
3. which popular tools I can ignore for now
4. what job each tool should own
Keep it simple and be opinionated.One note on getting better output: if the recommendation feels too generic, add one line of context about your work before the task list. Something like "I run a small marketing agency" or "I'm a solo consultant who works mostly on strategy and client communication." That context helps the AI give you a recommendation that's actually calibrated to your situation rather than a generic answer that could apply to anyone.
👋 THAT'S A WRAP
You don't need a full stack. You need two tools you'll actually open.
The professionals getting the most out of AI right now are not the ones who've evaluated the most options. They're the ones who picked something reasonable and got enough reps in to use it well. That's the whole advantage.
Pick your primary tool. Try Perplexity as a second one if research is part of your weekly work. And officially stop reading about everything else for now.
If this was useful, forward it to someone who's been meaning to "figure out AI" and keeps getting distracted by every new launch. Sometimes all someone needs is permission to stop looking and start using what they already have.
See you next Friday.