A curated selection of practical AI tools for small businesses and nonprofits
Claude is an advanced AI assistant created by Anthropic, designed to handle complex tasks while maintaining high accuracy and ethical standards. What sets Claude apart is its ability to understand context deeply and provide nuanced, well-reasoned responses.
Strengths: Exceptional at writing, analysis, and coding tasks. Handles complex documents well and excels at explaining difficult concepts clearly. Known for high accuracy and careful, nuanced responses.
Best For: Document analysis, content creation, coding assistance, research synthesis, and detailed explanations. Particularly valuable for businesses needing thoughtful, well-researched responses or help with complex documents.
Data Cutoff: The training data was cutoff April 2024.
Price: Free for individuals to get started. Pro plan ($20/month) adds projects to organize documents and chats and additional language models.
ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a versatile AI chatbot that's become synonymous with accessible AI technology. It offers both free and premium versions, making it a flexible choice for organizations with different needs and budgets.
Strengths: Excellent at general knowledge tasks, creative writing, and basic coding. The premium version (GPT-4) offers enhanced capabilities and can analyze images.
Best For: General content creation, brainstorming sessions, customer service scripts, and basic research tasks. Ideal for organizations just starting with AI implementation.
Data Cutoff: The training data was cutoff September 2021.
Price: Free to Start. The Plus Plan ($20/month) extends the limits for messages and file uploads, and includes image generation and voice mode.
Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) combines the power of OpenAI's GPT-4 with real-time web access and deep integration into Microsoft's suite of tools. It stands out for its ability to provide current information while leveraging Microsoft's extensive business and productivity expertise.
Strengths: Real-time web searching, image analysis capabilities, and seamless integration with Microsoft Office tools. Free access to GPT-4 capabilities. Particularly strong at tasks involving current events and data analysis when combined with Excel.
Best For: Research requiring current information, document creation in Microsoft Office, image analysis, and data analysis tasks. Ideal for organizations already using Microsoft tools who want to enhance their productivity with AI assistance.
Data Cutoff: The training data was cutoff early 2022.
Price: The Pro Plan costs $20 per month and offers higher usage limits. If you're using Microsoft 365 Personal or Family Plans, CoPilot can be added for an extra $3 per month. This brings the total cost to $9.99 per month for the Personal Plan or $12.99 per month for the Family Plan.
NotebookLM by Google is a specialized AI tool designed for deep document analysis and note-taking. It excels at maintaining context across long documents and helping users organize information effectively.
Strengths: Outstanding at document comprehension and maintaining context. Creates detailed, organized notes and summaries. Excellent citation tracking.
Best For: Research projects, document analysis, report writing, and maintaining organized notes from multiple sources. Particularly useful for nonprofits working with grants or policy documents.
Data Cutoff: Data is uploaded by the user, ensuring it is always up to date.
Price: Free. This is part of the Google family of products and is free to use, like Gmail and Google Drive.
Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine that combines the power of large language models with real-time web searching. It provides detailed, cited answers while maintaining transparency about its sources.
Strengths: Real-time information access, clear source attribution, and comprehensive answers. Excellent at finding current information and trends.
Best For: Market research, competitive analysis, trend tracking, and fact-checking. Ideal for organizations needing up-to-date information with reliable sources.
Data Cutoff: The training data was cutoff December 2023.
Price: Free to get started. Professional plan ($20/month) adds 300 "Pro" searches, the ability to upload unlimited files, and graphics generation.
Suno represents the cutting edge of AI music generation, allowing users to create original songs complete with lyrics and vocals. It's making music creation accessible to organizations that previously couldn't afford professional music production.
Strengths: Creates complete songs with vocals, allows style customization, and requires no musical expertise.
Best For: Creating background music for videos, developing jingles, producing podcast intros, and generating custom music for events. Perfect for small businesses needing original music on a budget.
Data Cutoff: Music is created in real-time, ensuring it is always up to date.
Price: Basic (free) for 50 credits/day (about 10 songs). Pro ($10/month) includes 2500 credits/month, and Premier ($30/month) includes 10,000 credits/month.
Clipdrop offers a suite of AI-powered image editing and generation tools, making professional-grade image manipulation accessible to everyone. It's particularly useful for organizations without dedicated design teams.
Strengths: Easy-to-use interface, professional-quality results, and a wide range of image editing capabilities including background removal and image enhancement.
Best For: Product photography enhancement, social media content creation, marketing materials, and basic design tasks. Ideal for small businesses needing professional-looking visuals without a full-time designer.
Data Cutoff: Images are created in real-time, ensuring they are always up to date.
Price: Free to start with some restrictions on the number of image tools available. The Pro Plan ($15/month) opens access to all image tools.