The ULTIMATE list of AI tools for dev and marketing [UPDATED]
I’m sharing my go-to list of AI tools for coding, research, media, and lead generation. These power our client projects and internal work. Here’s what I recommend based on our experience, all opinions are mine. Try them out or share your own picks below.
Large Language Models (LLMs)
For brainstorming, drafting, or problem-solving:
- ChatGPT: Reliable all-rounder for quick answers
- Claude: Great for detailed, safe outputs
- Gemini: Solid for multi-purpose tasks
- Grok: My pick for creative, outside-the-box thinking
- LLaMA: Lightweight and customizable if you’re technical
- DeepSeek: Underrated for deep dives and accuracy
Research
When we need data or insights fast:
- Perplexity: Our go-to for quick, cited research – beats Google for niche topics
- Any LLM’s Deep Research Mode: Most LLMs have a research setting; we use it for client rynek analysis
Image Generation
For client visuals or marketing assets:
- Sora: Early fave for high-quality stills
- Flux: Fast and flexible – we’ve used it for mockups
- Midjourney: The gold standard for polished, creative images
Video Generation
For promo videos or lead gen campaigns:
- Kling: Simple and effective for short clips
- Runway: Versatile for editing and generation
- Sora: Promising for video (still testing)
- Hailuo: Decent for quick prototypes
- Google Veo 2: High potential, we’re watching this one
Coding/Development
Where we save time building:
- Cursor: Our top pick for clean, framework-aligned code
- GitHub Copilot: Classic for autocompleting boilerplate
- Windsurf: Lightweight and dev-focused
- Replit: Great for collaborative prototyping
- Bolt: Speedy for small projects
- Lovable: Niche but useful for UI-heavy work
- Cline: Handy for CLI-based tasks
- Roocode: Solid for quick scripts
Sound/Speech
For audio in lead gen or client demos:
- ElevenLabs: Best for realistic voiceovers
- Suno: Quick music generation for video backgrounds
Lead Generation
For driving client growth and outreach:
- Syndr.ai: AI-powered lead gen. It automates finding leads on social media
- Apollo.io: Great for finding and targeting leads with AI-driven filters
- Hunter.io: Simple tool for scraping emails to build lead lists
- Lemlist: AI-enhanced email campaigns
- Instantly: Solid for scaling cold email outreach with AI optimization
- Clay: AI-powered lead enrichment