throlson
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I test a lot of AI tools for this site. Most get cancelled inside a month. This is the short list that survived, meaning I pay for them with my own money and would notice tomorrow if they vanished.
Content production
AutoShorts.ai runs my faceless video experiments on autopilot. Of everything in the AI video space I have tested this year, it has the best effort to output ratio by a mile.
Business infrastructure
Google Workspace handles email and docs for the business. Unsexy, essential. Professional email at your own domain is still the cheapest credibility upgrade there is.
Security
NordVPN is on every device. I log into dozens of client hosting accounts, sometimes from coffee shop Wi-Fi. A VPN is not optional when other people’s websites are your responsibility.
Measurement
MonsterInsights connects the money question, which is whether any of this actually drives traffic and leads, to a dashboard my clients and I both understand.
The filter
My rule: a tool earns its subscription if it saves an hour a month or makes a sale a quarter. Everything else is a toy. Apply that ruthlessly and your stack stays small and sharp.
Full reviews of everything I test land in the AI tools directory. Need help picking a stack for your business? webguynick.com.