Beyond ChatGPT: 5 Essential AI Tools for Women-Led Brands and Ecommerce
A few weeks back, I watched a masterclass where Gemma Bonham-Carter, an online business strategist, absolutely blew my mind walking through how she had built her own AI team. I was so inspired that I spent the next weekend going down a total rabbit hole on Claude: co-work, skills, and projects. (And I haven't even touched Claude Code yet!)
As deep as I am on AI, the thing I keep coming back to is that I don’t want to sound like everyone else. But what I am absolutely doing is figuring out how to use AI in the background. For research. For organizing what I've learned. For creating. And for moving way faster than I ever could without a full-on team behind me.
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Here are the five tools I've been obsessed with for building my business on fast-forward.
1. Wispr Flow
I'm a fast typer. The other night my husband and I were chilling on the couch after dinner, and he looked over at workaholic-me and said, "Geez, you type really fast." And I do. But I dialled up my speed even more by downloading Wispr Flow.
During an episode about AI on one of my favourite podcasts of all time, Aspire with Emma Grede, the guest, Allie K. Miller, talked about how she’d go on a 45-minute walk and just talk to AI the whole time. At first, it sounded kind of sad. Friends much? Then it flipped to brilliant. People hate getting generic responses from AI but that’s because they’re giving it generic inputs. Walk and talk to it in detail for 45 minutes about what you’re working on, giving it a ton of nuances and guardrails? Whole different level.
Photo Credit: Wispr Flow
So I’m sold. I talk a TON to Claude and Gemini (my homeboys) from the privacy of the walking pad in my office and that’s why I get really aligned outputs. Nevermind that I can talk into my phone (or my laptop, that one’s still unnatural for me) and watch my thoughts land on the screen as clean, organized text. It's not just talk-to-text the way we've had it before. It actually cleans up my ramblings and lays them out in a way that makes sense. I can go deeper in way less time.
Best for: Founders who think out loud, move fast, and hate losing a good idea because they didn't have time to sit down and type it.
It also feels less intimidating to ‘speak’ a skill into Claude, rather than trying to type it out. Speaking of…
2. Claude
Sorry ChatGPT, you’ve been downgraded to the free plan. I still love the handful of Custom GPTs I have on there, but with Claude’s skills and co-work, there’s no real reason to go back. I know some people love both tools, but for me it’s like moving onto Google, you just won’t use Yahoo again.
Watching co-work organize my downloads folder was WILD.
Getting my daily briefing in the morning is a new favourite.
The on-brand presentations and documents? I CAN’T EVEN.
And I’ll bet even with everything I’ve learned, I’m barely scratching the surface. This weekend I’ll delve into Claude Code, now that my usage has reset for the week LOL.
Best for: Founders who want an AI that works with them over time and builds real context around their business, not just one-off answers.
3. Gemini
Lately, my version of ‘light reading’ is going in on the history of and the case studies of my favourite stationery and mindset brands. I’ve loved the Deep Research function in Gemini.Give it a task, approve the research plan, grab a glass of water from the kitchen and come back to a customized essay.
I'm not trying to find and then read twenty articles on a Sunday. I want the synthesis. Gemini does that well, and it's become my go-to for any topic where I need to understand the full landscape.
Best for: Founders who need competitive research, market insights, or industry deep dives without spending half a day doing it manually.
4. NotebookLM
Good thing I didn’t get in a car accident trying this one for the first time.
Here’s what happened: I uploaded one of those business case studies into NotebookLM, and it turns them into an audio. So I get in the car, ready to listen to a robotic reading of the content while en route to my destination but oh no. It was a legit podcast. Like two hosts riffing on the content for fifteen minutes like they'd actually had a conversation.
My husband’s reaction was equally entertaining the first time he heard one too.
And for those of you whose learning mode of choice is not listening, NotebookLM also supports quizzes, flashcards, and infographics. It meets you where you are as a learner, which I think is pretty remarkable.
Best for: Founders who learn better by listening or who want to absorb research and content without being chained to a screen.
5. Notta
This is the newest addition to my toolkit. I'm working through a few courses and programs right now, and I really just like to fly through things. Supposedly it’s all about the journey, not the destination, but whatever I just want to get there faster.
And after spending minutes (or hours) learning the content, I don’t want to go back a second time to find something specific. Notta gives me a clean transcript and I’m going to pair that with Claude to create a checklist of action items so I can capture what I learned and what I need to implement; no rewatching required.
Then I’ll turn this into a skill in Claude and set it in motion!
Best for: Founders in learning mode who want to extract real takeaways from courses and coaching programs without losing hours to re-watching.
What a Time to Be Alive
It’s a joke with me and a friend that every time I leave him a message saying ‘What a time to be alive!,’ he knows it’s going to be AI-related.
My AI team is moving my business forward behind the scenes so that when I do show up to write or create, I'm not starting from zero. I've sped up the research, got the notes and have the transcript.
It’s your turn to put me on - I'd love to know what tools you're using in your business right now. Comment on this Instagram post and tell me what's working for you.
