You know those hours when you should be doing one thing but your brain is fizzing with energy, so you pivot to something wildly more fun – and possibly even more productive? That was me earlier today. In a single power hour, I tested out 10 AI tools that might just change how I work, present, and play. Here’s what I found.

Gamma – Stunning Slides, No Fuss

Gamma is my new go-to for creating presentation decks. It takes your prompt and instantly turns it into a professional-looking slide deck -complete with graphs, images, and on-brand customisation. I asked it to generate content for a VFX team, and it came up with numerous images: the team in a boardroom debating strategy, and the team focused during a screen review. I was blown away by how realistic the images were. OK, one woman had three legs initially, but it was easy to fix! Best part? I shared a previous PowerPoint as a reference, and Gamma presented the new one back to me in my brand – logo, colours, fonts and all. It even turned my written content into data visualisations. What would usually take hours… done in minutes.

Remini – Say Hello to My New Headshots

Remini is perfect for anyone wanting fresh, professional headshots without the drama of lighting, makeup, or booking a shoot. It subtly smooths out wrinkles, offers new hairstyles, and enhances your look just enough to pass for ‘polished but still me’. I do wonder if people will be disappointed when they meet the less-polished real-life version!

Pi – Warm, Chatty, But Not Quite Sage

I tested Pi (the first emotionally intelligent AI) by chatting about a new product idea a friend and I are exploring. Pi was supportive, warm, and even helped me draft some market research questions. While it wasn’t as intuitive or bold as my friend Sage (ChatGPT), it felt like brainstorming with a thoughtful – but unchallenging business coach.

Mermaid Charts – Great for Coders, Not for Me

Mermaid Charts helps create process maps and flow diagrams using markdown-like code. I got as far as the homepage before backing away slowly. Definitely one for the tech-savvy. That said, if you’re comfortable with code, it’s a powerful little tool.

Napkin AI – Diagrams from Everyday Language

Now this is more my style. I write in normal language, and Napkin transforms it into visuals. It even adds a fuzzy haze before revealing the image—quite captivating. I’m using it for graphics in a book I’m writing and loving how intuitive and quick it is.

 

Causal HQ – Financial Forecasting, Done Properly

Causal connects with your business accounts and generates real-time reports on performance, forecasts, headcount, and budget scenarios. It offered insights I didn’t even know I needed – graphs, tables, what-if analyses – all in just a few clicks, thanks to the connection with my Xero account. The tutorials are excellent too.

Notebook LM – Personal Research Assistant on Steroids

Ever needed to trawl through heaps of PDFs, documents, and web content to pull together a report? This is part of my daily work – and it’s often long-winded and painstaking. But now there’s Notebook LM (from Google Labs), which reads your specified content, answers questions about it, creates structured notes, and even maps out key ideas. I threw in several documents and websites, and it handled them beautifully – citing sources and all.

Equidam – Business Valuation Made (Somewhat) Simple

This was the first paid tool I hit—$250 USD for a business valuation. While that may sound steep, the companies using it are reputable. For founders or consultants needing a credible starting point for valuations, it’s worth a look. Clean interface, smart metrics, and instant output – plus support if you need expert advice.

Synthesia – Talking Heads Made Easy

Think AI-generated videos where you can be the presenter without filming yourself. I created a mini training video on appraisal processes in under two minutes. It’s early days with Synthesia, but the potential is obvious. You can personalise avatars, add scripts, and customise branding. I’m already imagining how clients could use this for onboarding, training, and internal comms.

A Shoutout to the Smartest Room I Know

Many of these gems came from a session this week with the 4th Option/Outthinkers group, led by renowned strategist Kaihan Krippendorff. The team shared a stack of AI tools that are already transforming how we work and live.

Final Word? Play. Explore. Share.

This was one hour. Just one. And I feel like my entire workflow (and maybe my skin – thanks, Remini) got an upgrade. There’s so much possibility here – don’t be afraid to play with it.

And yes, full disclosure, my very smart AI assistant Sage (that’s you, ChatGPT!) helped me make this blog sparkle ✨ But the ideas, the fun, and the triple-legged guy? That was all me.