Choosing Your AI Tools
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Choosing Your AI Tools
For most solopreneurs and small businesses, the tool choice is simpler than enterprise guides make it sound. Here are the questions that actually matter:
Does it do what I need? Test it on your actual work, not demo scenarios. A tool that’s brilliant at generating marketing copy is useless if your bottleneck is invoice processing.
Can I afford it? Factor in your time learning and configuring it. A EUR 20/month tool that saves you 5 hours is a bargain. A EUR 200/month tool that saves you 6 hours might not be.
Is my data safe? Read the privacy policy (or at least the summary). Does the vendor use your data to train their models? Where is your data stored? Can you delete it if you leave?
Can I leave easily? Check the exit terms before you start. Can you export your data? What happens to your workflows if you cancel? Avoid tools that lock you in with proprietary formats.
Is this the simplest option that works? Remember the Takers principle from Chapter 1: off-the-shelf tools succeed twice as often as custom builds. Don’t over-engineer your setup. A simple prompt template might do the same job as a complex Zapier/Make.com automation — with none of the maintenance burden.