"AI Tools"
The Core Concept
AI Tools are the application layer of artificial intelligence. While "AI" is the technology, the "Tool" is the product packaged for a specific use case.
Examples include Canva (AI design), Grammarly (AI editing), Otter.ai (AI transcription), and SurferSEO (AI content optimization). These tools democratize access to advanced machine learning capabilities for non-technical users.
Why It Matters
Efficiency: Tasks that took hours (transcribing a meeting) now take minutes.
Skill Augmentation: A bad writer becomes a decent writer; a non-designer can create decent graphics.
Tech Stack Overload: Marketers must be careful not to subscribe to too many tools that do the same thing.
Key Components
API: Most AI tools are wrappers around OpenAI or Anthropic APIs.
User Interface: The value add is often the workflow UI, not the underlying AI model.