The 10 Best AI Tools For Business Owners - Iconic Digital Artificial Intelligence

The 10 Absolute “Must Have” AI Tools That Every Business Owner Needs!

I’m always being asked to speak on the subject of how to use AI to grow your business. Here at Iconic Digital, we’ve been using AI for almost three years, and we have observed significant evolution in the technology over the last few years. After all, artificial intelligence tools help automate tasks, analyse big data, and enhance interactions, which can dramatically increase productivity and efficiency.

For business owners seeking practical solutions to streamline operations, understanding and utilising the right AI tools can be transformative.

Here’s my personal guide to the top 10 AI tools, ranked from best to most practical, with insights into their use cases and links to get you started…

1. Google Gemini [formerly Bard] – https://gemini.google.com

Google Bard leverages the power of Google’s AI to provide conversational insights and information, making it ideal for enhancing customer support and content creation.

Use Case: An e-commerce platform uses Google Bard to generate product descriptions and respond to customer queries in real-time.
Our Tip: Use Bard to stay updated with the latest information by asking it to summarise complex topics relevant to your business.

2. ChatGPT by OpenAI – https://chat.openai.com

ChatGPT is a sophisticated language model that can generate human-like text, useful for automating customer service, creating content, and more. Check out GPT-4 for the fastest experience to automate tasks, write content, and optimise big data challenges.

Use Case: A marketing agency employs ChatGPT to draft and revise client communications, saving time on content generation.

Our Tip: Prompt ChatGPT with specific scenarios to create more targeted and effective content. For example, “Write me 10 clickbait subject lines for my business to boost engagement and get increased reach. Make the tone friendly and personalised, without compromising on the message.”

3. MidJourney – https://www.midjourney.com/home

MidJourney is an AI tool focused on generating high-quality images from textual descriptions, perfect for content creation and marketing materials.

Use Case: A graphic design firm uses MidJourney to quickly produce visuals for client campaigns based on specific briefs.

Our Tip: Use detailed prompts to guide the AI in generating images that closely match your vision. Don’t be afraid to play around with briefing the AI on colours and text. Watch this space as AI video starts getting better and better.

4. Read.ai – https://www.read.ai

Read.ai is my go-to meeting companion. I never miss actions or worry about writing up notes, especially at Board Meetings or with Clients, because Read.ai does it all. Read.ai also provides real-time analytics on customer interactions, enabling businesses to enhance customer service by understanding sentiment and engagement.

Use Case: A customer support centre utilises Read.ai to analyse call and email sentiments, improving their response strategies.

Our Tip: Integrate Read.ai with your CRM and Outlook calendars to get holistic insights into customer satisfaction and team performance. Automatically get Read.ai to join in Teams or Zoom calls with the paid service.

5. TensorFlow – https://www.tensorflow.org

TensorFlow is an open-source machine learning library that allows businesses to build and train bespoke models tailored to their needs.

Use Case: A fintech startup uses TensorFlow to develop predictive algorithms for stock market trends, enhancing investment strategies.

Our Tip: Start with TensorFlow tutorials to understand its capabilities in building and deploying AI models. This is seriously powerful but will take a while to get your head around.

6. Hootsuite Insights – https://www.hootsuite.com/en-gb/products/insights

Social listening, powered by AI, Hootsuite Insights offers real-time social media monitoring and analytics. This is ideal for understanding and engaging with your audience and to ensure your brand voice is constantly getting the right type of traction with your consumers.

Use Case: A social media manager uses Hootsuite Insights to track campaign performance and audience sentiment, tailoring content accordingly.

Our Tip: Monitor specific keywords and hashtags to gauge brand sentiment and identify emerging trends.

7. Grammarly – https://www.grammarly.com

Grammarly uses AI to improve writing by checking for grammar, style, and plagiarism, essential for maintaining professional communication. Use Grammarly to check your writing and ensure you get the right tone of voice in all communications.

Use Case: Content creators rely on Grammarly to refine their writing, ensuring clarity and engagement in their web content.

Our Tip: Enable Grammarly in your email and document editors to maintain professionalism in all communications. Integrate the AI keyboard on your phone to ensure you never make any spelling errors ever again.

8. IBM Watson – https://www.ibm.com/watson

Possibly the most powerful AI in the world, IBM Watson offers AI-powered tools for data analysis and natural language processing, enhancing decision-making and operational efficiency. It’s used in such a wide variety of settings, from medical hospitals through to military intelligence.

Use Case: A healthcare provider uses Watson to analyse clinical data and support diagnostic processes, improving patient outcomes.

Our Tip: Explore Watson Assistant for building conversational interfaces into any application or device. Consider using Watson for Marketing to enhance your email delivery or look for AI-generated subject lines that increase conversion.

9. Synthesia – https://www.synthesia.io

Create studio-quality videos with AI avatars from your text in over 130 languages. Use this tool to create custom avatars or explainer videos to support your business.

Use Case: A training company provides communication videos for their courses, saving thousands on video production from an AI video script generated by ChatGPT.

Our Tip: Video is constantly evolving. Play around with spaces in your script to add pauses and to enhance the avatars’ expression. Spending a few minutes tweaking expression can dramatically improve the sentiment behind the video.

10. Murf – https://murf.ai/

If you want text to speech with versatile voice generation, then Murf is your go-to AI tool. Murf offers over 120 voices in 20 languages to turn your text into voice. With simple controls to change pitch, emphasis, and pauses, you’ll have a quick way to add narration to your latest social media post or training video.

Use Case: A business owner wants to create an explainer video using AI but needs a marketing script written. They write the script in Murf and then push it to Synthesia to generate the video.

Our Tip: Murf is great for voiceover talent but if you want added music then consider using Splash Pro to generate the background music for your video or audio file. Find out more on the Splash Pro site at https://www.splashmusic.com.

Embracing the Future of AI in Business

As we explore these powerful AI tools, it’s important to remember that the landscape of artificial intelligence is constantly evolving. New advancements and technologies are emerging regularly, promising even greater efficiencies and opportunities for innovation. Keeping up with these changes is not just beneficial; it’s essential for maintaining a competitive edge in today’s digital world.

At Iconic Digital, we are committed to staying at the forefront of AI advancements to help you leverage the most cutting-edge solutions. For free help and advice on integrating AI tools into your business strategy, and to ensure you’re using the best and most relevant technologies, don’t hesitate to speak with our experts. We’re here to help you navigate the complexities of AI so that you can focus on what you do best—running your business.

Contact us today or book me to speak at your next event to learn more about how AI can transform your operations and drive your business forward into the future.