The AI tools worth paying for in 2026 (and the ones quietly wasting your money)
There's an AI tool for everything now — and most of them are a subscription you'll forget you're paying for. How to tell the genuine time-savers from the shiny distractions.
Every app has bolted 'AI' onto its pricing page. Some of it genuinely gives you an hour back a day. A lot of it is a feature you'll use twice and pay for forever. Here's how we help clients tell them apart.
The only test that matters: value vs. effort
Forget the demo dazzle. Plot any AI tool on two axes — how much time it genuinely saves, and how much faff it takes to fit into your day. The winners are obvious once you do.
Usually worth it
- Transcription + meeting notes — near-zero effort, saves everyone the write-up.
- Writing assistants — first drafts of emails, proposals and content in seconds.
- A grounded assistant on your own data — the RAG kind, when built around a real job.
Usually a waste
- Tools that add a step instead of removing one.
- Per-seat 'AI suites' where you use one feature out of forty.
- Anything you bought because a competitor mentioned it.
Don't buy AI because it's clever. Buy it because it gives you time back — then cancel everything that doesn't.
Not sure what's worth it for your team?
We'll look at how you actually work and point you at the two or three tools that'll pay for themselves — and build the custom bit if it's needed.
Talk to us →Frequently asked questions
How do I stop paying for AI tools we don't use?
Audit your subscriptions quarterly and apply one test: did this save real time this month? If nobody can point to the hours saved, cancel it. We're happy to run that review with you.
Should a small business bother with AI tools at all?
Yes, selectively. A couple of low-effort tools (transcription, drafting) give small teams a genuine lift. The trick is resisting the shiny stuff and sticking to tools that remove steps.
Off-the-shelf AI tool or something custom?
Start off-the-shelf for common jobs. Go custom only when the valuable task is specific to your business and no tool does it well — that's usually a grounded assistant on your own data.