7 Best AI Tools for Founders on the Market Right Now
At this month’s virtual mastermind session, members came together for a focused discussion on AI and digital marketing, overseen by experienced advisor and coach – David Haimes.
The conversation was both practical and candid from start to finish. Founders openly shared the effectiveness and limitations of AI tools, particularly in the context of automation, with rising employment costs in the UK adding urgency to the debate.
The group also explored the ongoing challenge of staying consistent with digital marketing – acknowledging it as critical for business expansion, but often difficult to prioritise amid competing demands.
The session highlighted seven standout tools that are already helping founders save time, scale faster, and focus on higher-value work:
1. For social media consistency: Later
Later was highlighted as a reliable app for scheduling posts across multiple digital marketing platforms. “It’s simple, effective, and keeps us consistent,” one founder noted – consistency being a recurring challenge in the discussion on digital marketing.
2. For mastering SEO: HikeSEO
HikeSEO is helping small businesses punch above their weight. Its AI-driven features – particularly the new automated tool, Kit – are making SEO execution more accessible and less resource-heavy. For founders struggling with limited bandwidth, tools like this provide a way to stay visible without needing a full-time specialist.
3. For email efficiency: Shortwave
Email remains a huge time drain for CEOs, but Shortwave’s AI assistant is changing that. One member shared: “It drafts responses, summarises long threads, and keeps my inbox organised. And the search tool is a lifesaver for digging up old conversations.”
4. For workflow automation: n8n / OpenRouter / Perplexity
Workflow automation was a hot topic in the session. These tools are being combined to orchestrate data pipelines and API integrations. While some expressed doubts about the limits of automation, others shared how the visual workflow builder has freed their teams from repetitive tasks – allowing more time for strategic growth.
5. For code completion and refactoring: Cursor
Several founders have made the switch from VS Code to Cursor, citing its AI-powered code completion and refactoring suggestions. One member said it’s been particularly helpful for working with complex APIs: “The suggestions are excellent – it feels like having an extra engineer in the room.”
6. For faster coding: GitHub Copilot
Another founder explained that GitHub Copilot has become “essential for our dev team.” By handling boilerplate code and test writing, it’s delivered around a 30% productivity boost in engineering output. For fast-moving startups, that’s a significant competitive advantage.
7. For complex analysis and code review: Claude & Claude Code (Anthropic)
Finally, one founder described Claude as their “go-to for complex analysis and code review.” It’s being used extensively to review data science models, generate documentation, and keep property data projects on track. The Projects feature, which maintains context across conversations, is proving especially powerful for multi-step initiatives.
Final Thoughts
What stood out in this workshop, was how AI is already deemed a practical enabler of growth for business leaders – whether that’s automating workflows, speeding up product development, or helping founders finally get a grip on their digital marketing.
As David reminded the group, investing in expertise – whether that’s a tool or a person – can unlock scalable lead generation and free founders to focus where it matters most. And the more we experiment, share what works, and learn collectively, the more agile we become as a community.
If you’d like to be part of these important conversations – and gain fresh, founder-to-founder insights every month – click here to find out more about All Together’s memberships.
