New AI tools launch every single week, and every landing page promises to save you ten hours. Most of them won't. Some are genuinely great. The trick is telling them apart without burning a month of subscription fees.
Here's the checklist I run through before I enter a card number.
The 7 questions
1. What exact task will this replace?
If you can't finish the sentence "I'll use this to ___ every week", you don't need it yet. Vague excitement is the most expensive feeling in tech.
2. Can a tool I already pay for do 80% of it?
Your notes app, your design tool and your browser may already have built-in AI features. Try those first.
3. What does the free plan actually let me do?
Test the free tier on a real task, not a demo prompt. If the limits hit before you finish one job, you'll know what you're paying for.
4. Where does my data go?
Check whether your inputs are used for training and whether you can opt out. If you work with client material, this one decides everything.
5. Can I export my work?
If cancelling means losing your projects, treat that as a price tag too.
6. Is it still alive in a year?
Look at the update history, the team behind it and how often they ship. A tool that hasn't changed in months is a red flag in a field that moves this fast.
7. What would I do without it?
Go through the task manually once. If the AI version isn't clearly faster or better, cancel the trial.
A simple rule
Give every new tool one real task and a seven-day window. If it earns a place in your routine, keep it. If you forgot it existed by day five, you have your answer.
What's the one AI tool you'd keep if you could only have one? Tell me in the comments.