5 AI Tools I Use Every Day

I'm not writing another "top 50 AI tools" post. This is only what I open every single day. Each of these tools saves me hours.

Key points

Claude Code runs in the terminal and reads CLAUDE.md context files - I built this site, a client site, and several internal tools with it.
Claude chat handles everything non-code: strategy, copywriting, competitor analysis, call prep. Separate projects hold separate context.
NotebookLM from Google handles PDFs, articles, and long documents - useful for competitor landscape work and heavy reading.
Perplexity replaced Google for research. Fast answers with sources when I need fresh data or a fact check.
Cursor and Windsurf fill the 20% of coding work where I want a visual IDE instead of a terminal.

1. Claude Code

My main tool. I write code, build websites, refactor projects. It runs right in the terminal and understands project context through CLAUDE.md files.

I built this site, a client site, and several internal tools - all through Claude Code.

For everything that isn't code. Strategy, copywriting, competitor analysis, call prep. I keep projects in separate chats with context.

The key is describing your context well upfront. The more Claude knows about your project, the better the answers.

Google's tool for working with documents. Upload PDFs, articles, notes - and it creates podcasts, answers questions, finds connections.

I use it for competitor landscape analysis and processing large documents.

Replaced Google for research. Fast answers with sources. When I need to verify something or find fresh data - this is where I go.

For projects where I need an IDE. Claude Code covers 80% of my needs, but sometimes I want to see file structure and work visually.

None of these tools existed 2 years ago. Now I can't imagine a workday without them.

If you haven't integrated AI into your workflow yet - you're already falling behind. Not behind technology. Behind the people who use it.