Creative Task Automation

100+ tools is noise until you map each to a single job Start with the problem, not the tool Writing and editing • Draft: ChatGPT, Claude • Tighten and paraphrase: Grammarly, QuillBot • Scale copy: Jasper, Copy.ai Tip: measure output quality with a small A/B test on click or reply rates before rolling out. Presentations and storytelling • From outline to deck: Gamma, Tome, Pitch, Beautiful.ai • Add charts: Flourish, Visme • Keep slides current with notes: Notion, Tettra Tip: pair an outline-first workflow with one deck generator to avoid endless style tinkering. Images and creative assets • Concept exploration: Midjourney, Ideogram • Brand-safe and editable: Adobe Firefly, DALL-E, Recraft • Quick UI mocks: Uizard, Framer Tip: lock brand prompts and aspect ratios. Reuse prompt blocks to keep consistency across campaigns. Video for demos and promos • Fast scenes: Runway, Pika, Luma • Longform planning: LTX Studio • Edit and captions: Descript Tip: create a 60-90 second master video, then cut vertical clips. Draft scripts with your writing stack before touching video. Coding and data work • Code assist: GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Tabnine • Lightweight apps and agents: Replit • Data tables and formulas: Gigasheet, Rows AI, Formula Bot Tip: standardize on one code assistant per repo. Add unit tests for any generated function. Meetings to insights • Record and summarize: Fellow - AI Meeting Assistant, Otter, Fathom, Fireflies, Avoma • Noise control and turn-taking: Krisp, Equal Time Tip: define a notes template. Auto-push action items to your task system within 10 minutes after each call. Email and outreach • Inbox triage: Superhuman, Shortwave • AI replies and sequences: MailMaestro, Gemini for Workspace, Microsoft Copilot Tip: limit to two tones. Track positive reply rate, not send volume. Automation and glue • No-code flows: Zapier, Make, Integrately • Open-source flows: n8n • Scheduling: Calendly, Reclaim, Clockwise, Trevor AI Tip: start with one automation per team that saves at least one hour a week. Review monthly for drift. How to pick the right tool • Data fit: does it connect to your notes, CRM, or repo without hacks • Governance: role-based access, audit logs, admin controls • Cost clarity: per seat, per run, or token based • Exit plan: can you export prompts, assets, and history if you switch later Two sample stacks you can copy • Creator workflow: ChatGPT or Claude for drafts → Gamma for slides → Runway for short videos → Descript for captions → Zapier to post and archive. • GTM workflow: Gemini or Copilot in inbox → MailMaestro for replies → Avoma for call notes → Rows AI for quick analyses → Make to sync CRM fields. The carousel has the full list by category so you can build your own stack. Save it and map one tool to one job, then add only when a clear gap shows up.

Microsoft is launching a new AI-powered solution that automatically generates banner ads in seconds called Retail Media Creative Studio. Retail Media Creative Studio enables advertisers to generate banner ad creatives in seconds simply by inputting a product’s URL. The generative AI tools ensure that these creatives conform to each retailer’s style guide, streamlining the process and minimizing the necessity for manual resizing or frequent adjustments. But the most promising component of this new solution is what happens after the ads are live. Microsoft Retail Media will use AI algorithms for in-flight optimization, selecting the most effective banner creative based on key metrics like click-through rates and sales conversions. This eliminates the need for time-consuming A/B testing and can increase revenue. Advertisers can use Retail Media Creative Studio to: - Transform a simple product photo into a lifestyle image with a simple prompt such as “put this sofa in a cozy living room.” - Generate tailor-made headline options using preferred words and phrases. - Crop and clean up any unwanted background or words in an image with a single click. - Modify all banner elements from imagery to headlines. This solution could be a game changer for digital advertisers - it not only reduces the back-and-forth between creative and media teams during editing tasks and frees up time for increased investment in strategic activities, but also because it will allow for creative to be automatically updated on the fly based on how it's resonating in market. We've tested using AI for our ads on Meta and Google, but my dream of an automated feedback loop between performance and creative optimization has been a pipedream so far. It's clear based on Microsoft's announcement though that the pipedream will soon become a marketing reality.

💡 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 — 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝘁 I talk a lot about automation, but not because I want everything to run on autopilot. I’m here for the real goal: 👉 Freeing up headspace for strategy, innovation, and creative thinking. Here’s how I approach automation in my business (and how I recommend clients do the same): ✔️ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. I automate admin, scheduling, and handoffs — not brainstorming or ideation. ✔️ 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝘆. I intentionally leave blank space in my calendar to think, reflect, and pivot. No back-to-back chaos. ✔️ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. When you remove friction, your team can focus on what actually matters: building, solving, creating. ✔️ 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆. Templates and SOPs are great, but I don’t let them dictate the direction. That’s still human-led. I believe in automation with intention. Because the truth is, efficiency means nothing if you lose the magic that makes your business unique. What’s your approach? Are you using automation to unlock more creativity, or just to do more faster? Let’s build smarter, not colder. 👇 #AutomationGuy #ScaleThroughAutomation #MindfulAutomation #CreativityInBusiness #EfficiencyWithPurpose #AutomationLeadership #WorkSmarterNotColder #HumanCenteredAutomation #StrategicAutomation #ProductivityTech #AIandInnovation #SmartScaling #AutomationWithHeart #WorkplaceCulture #TimeToThink → Follow me for AI & Automation updates and resources: https://lnkd.in/gb3Dxw8G → Also follow https://lnkd.in/gnbJgRW8 to discover more AI and Automation insights

Being creative with AI isn't a talent—it's a skill you build through deliberate practice. Here's what I've learned about making AI a powerful creative partner: 🛠️ Set yourself up for success: Make AI accessible everywhere. Pin it in your browser, add it to your sidebar, install the Raycast extension, and get the mobile app. The key is reducing friction. When AI is one click away, you'll use it more often and learn faster. 🧠 Rewire your habits: Whenever you reach for Google, try AI instead. Same goes for repetitive tasks like writing emails, filling in spreadsheets, doing research, and drafting content. Over time, you'll develop an intuition for what AI excels at and where it’s better to use another tool. 🎯 Think of AI as a focused collaborator: Ai is best at handling one clear task at a time. Don't dump ten requests into one prompt. Instead, give clear, specific instructions with relevant context and an example of what you want. Iterate from there. This is why "GPT columns" are so powerful—you can repeat the same prompt multiple times, tweaking just one variable to get different outputs. 💡 Pro tip: Break complex tasks into smaller chunks. Instead of asking AI to reinvent your entire workflow, start with one piece. Perfect it. Then move on to the next. The practices above have helped me do a *ton* more in the last 30 days, for way less effort. Here are some of the use cases I’ve seen the best results for: 📝 Generated email patterns for domain research 💓 Calculated threshold heart rates from workout data 🧠 Crafted witty website copy 🧑💻 Debugged command line errors 📅 Built a Raycast command for calendar management ⛰️ Solved API integration challenges The power of AI isn't in occasional brilliant insights—it's in the daily practice of finding new ways to leverage it to make your life easier. 🚀 If you’ve been practicing with AI lately, what has been your biggest lesson learned so far? For folks who haven’t meaningfully practiced with it yet, what repetitive task is the biggest time–or soul–suck on your plate today? Do you think you could hand it off to AI? Also - special shout out to Visual Electric for the image for this post. It's been a fun creative outlet to play around with their tool as well.

AI didn't take my job... It helped me get promoted. It also came up with that hook. 🤖 Now that I know you are invested in learning about AI, I want to show you some tools I am using to maximize my efficiency in my new fractional remote role. Like most people, I used to juggle countless apps, lists, and notes, only to end my day feeling overwhelmed and underproductive. But integrating AI into my workflow has completely changed the game. Here's the 3 tools that I currently use the most: Notion.so : Organize & Streamline Notion: Effortlessly structures my ideas, projects, and plans in one cohesive space. UseMotion.com : Prioritize & Schedule Motion: Transforms chaotic task lists into clear, prioritized schedules, reducing stress and boosting productivity. The automatic scheduling and rescheduling of tasks, directly into my Google Calendar has been incredibly powerful. Here in the next couple weeks I plan on integrating several more members of my Heron Labs team into the app as well so that all of our projects and tasks are immediately visible to eachother. No more back and forth emails trying to schedule a call. (A note here, Google Calendar recently rolled out a new native feature for scheduling calls based on your calendar that works really well too) ChatGPT.com : Create & Inspire ChatGPT: Fuels my creativity, quickly turning rough ideas into polished content and captivating visuals. By delegating routine decisions and overcoming creative roadblocks with AI, I've been able to assume more professional responsibilities without sacrificing personal family time or neglecting my farm/homestead chores. Time is my most valuable resource. AI tools help me me spend it wisely. How are you leveraging AI to optimize your time?