Top 10 AI tools for business in 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an absolutely powerful technology—one that will reshape the world and help us solve society’s toughest problems. But it will also help with the little things—it will improve our day-to-day experience, especially in the workplace.

Whether it’s for developing the perfect marketing campaign or optimizing processes across departments, there is no shortage of AI tools that can help you take your business to the next level. In this article, Forbes Advisor discusses a variety of AI tools on the market that help small business owners and managers level up their business.

list of the top 10 AI tools for business in 2024, along with their work descriptions, founders, and the year they were founded:

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an advanced AI language model developed by OpenAI. Here are some in-depth details about ChatGPT:

Overview

• Developer: OpenAI
• Launch Year: 2022
• Purpose: To generate human-like text based on input it receives, allowing it to engage in a wide range of conversational tasks.

Key Features

• Natural Language Understanding: ChatGPT is designed to understand and generate human language in a way that feels natural and intuitive. It can comprehend context, infer meaning, and respond appropriately.
• Conversational Abilities: It can engage in detailed and dynamic conversations, making it suitable for applications such as customer support, virtual assistance, and interactive chatbots.
• Text Generation: ChatGPT can generate coherent and contextually relevant text, which can be used for content creation, drafting emails, writing code, and more.
• Versatility: It can perform various tasks, such as answering questions, providing explanations, making recommendations, and even engaging in creative writing.

Applications

• Customer Support: Automating responses to common queries, providing assistance, and offering 24/7 support.
• Content Creation: Assisting with drafting articles, blog posts, marketing copy, and other written materials.
• Education: Providing explanations, tutoring students, and generating educational content.
• Programming: Helping developers with code generation, debugging, and providing programming advice.
• Entertainment: Engaging users in interactive storytelling, games, and other entertainment applications.

Technical Aspects

• Architecture: Based on the transformer architecture, which allows it to process and generate text efficiently.
• Training: Trained on a diverse dataset comprising text from various sources, enabling it to understand a wide range of topics and contexts.
• Learning: Continuously improved through iterative updates and fine-tuning, incorporating feedback from real-world usage.

Limitations

• Context Length: ChatGPT has limitations on the length of context it can maintain, which can affect the coherence of very long conversations.
• Understanding Nuance: While it excels at generating text, it may sometimes struggle with highly nuanced or complex queries that require deep understanding.
• Creativity: While capable of creative text generation, it relies on patterns learned from data and does not possess true creativity or consciousness.

Claude AI

Claude AI is an advanced AI language model developed by Anthropic. It is designed to be safe, accurate, and secure, making it suitable for a wide range of tasks2. Here are some key details about Claude AI:

Overview

• Developer: Anthropic
• Launch Year: 2023
• Purpose: To perform complex cognitive tasks, enhance productivity, and ensure safety and alignment in AI interactions.

Key Features

• Natural Language Understanding: Claude AI excels in understanding and generating human-like text, making it useful for tasks such as drafting documents, coding, and creating infographics.
• Safety and Alignment: Designed with a focus on preventing adverse and prejudiced outcomes, Claude AI aims to be more cautious and transparent in its interactions.
• Versatility: Capable of performing tasks like transcribing and analyzing images, translating between languages, and creating structured data from images.
• Integration: Can be integrated into various workflows and platforms, including Google Workspace and Amazon Bedrock.

Applications

• Content Creation: Assisting in drafting and iterating on documents, websites, graphics, and code.
• Collaboration: Enabling team collaboration by sharing and working on projects together.
• Data Analysis: Analyzing complex documents, including legal and financial reports, with a focus on text and visual elements.
• Translation: Translating between various languages in real-time and creating multi-lingual content.

Recent Developments

• Claude 3.5 Sonnet: The latest version, released in June 2024, enhances natural language understanding and can analyze PDF files with images and tables.
• Computer Use: A new feature that allows Claude AI to perform tasks like browsing the internet and booking flights autonomously.

DALL-E

DALL-E is an advanced AI model developed by OpenAI, designed to generate images from textual descriptions. Here are some key details about DALL-E:

Overview

• Developer: OpenAI
• Launch Year: 2021
• Purpose: To create realistic images and art based on natural language descriptions.

Key Features

• Text-to-Image Generation: DALL-E can generate images from text prompts, allowing users to create visual content from their ideas.
• Creative Flexibility: It can combine unrelated concepts, render text, and apply transformations to existing images.
• High Resolution: DALL-E 2, the improved version, generates more realistic and accurate images with four times greater resolution than the original.
• Safety Measures: OpenAI has implemented safety measures to prevent the generation of harmful or inappropriate content.

Applications

• Art and Design: Creating unique artworks, illustrations, and designs based on textual descriptions.
• Marketing and Advertising: Generating visual content for campaigns, social media, and promotional materials.
• Education: Assisting in creating educational materials and visual aids.
• Entertainment: Producing images for games, movies, and other entertainment media.

Technical Aspects

• Architecture: Based on the transformer architecture, similar to GPT-3, allowing it to process and generate text efficiently.
• Training: Trained on a large dataset of text-image pairs, enabling it to understand and create a wide range of visual concepts.
• Improvements: DALL-E 3, the latest version, offers even more nuanced and detailed image generation capabilities

ClickUp AI

ClickUp AI is a comprehensive AI-powered tool designed to enhance productivity and streamline workflows within the ClickUp platform. Here are some key details about ClickUp AI:

Overview

• Developer: ClickUp
• Launch Year: 2023
• Purpose: To provide AI-driven solutions for task management, project planning, and content creation within ClickUp.

Key Features

• ClickUp Brain: Acts as an AI knowledge manager, providing instant answers to questions about tasks, documents, and people within the platform.
• AI Project Manager: Automates project updates, progress reports, and action items, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency.
• AI Writer for Work: Assists in creating content, drafting emails, and generating quick replies with the appropriate tone.
• Automations: Streamlines business processes by automating repetitive tasks, such as onboarding employees, handling IT requests, and managing expense reimbursements.
• Role-Based AI Tools: Offers over 100 fully-templated prompts tailored to specific roles, making it easy to extract immediate business value from AI technology.

Applications

• Project Management: Automates project summaries, progress updates, and task planning.
• Content Creation: Assists in drafting documents, creating templates, and generating tables with rich data.
• Customer Support: Provides quick replies to customer inquiries and creates status reports.
• Marketing: Helps in creating ad copy, summarizing meeting notes, and drafting project plans.

Recent Developments

• Role-Based AI Assistant: Launched in May 2023, ClickUp AI is the world’s only role-based AI assistant, offering role-specific prompts and commands to enhance productivity.
• Productivity Boost: Users have reported a productivity increase of up to 50% by leveraging ClickUp AI’s capabilities.

FireFlies.ai

FireFlies.ai is an AI-powered tool designed to help teams transcribe, summarize, and analyze meetings. Here are some key details about FireFlies.ai:

Overview

• Developer: FireFlies.ai
• Launch Year: 2019
• Purpose: To automate meeting notes, action items, and transcripts, making it easier for teams to collaborate and stay organized.

Key Features

• Transcription: Automatically transcribes voice conversations from meetings, phone calls, and video conferences.
• Summarization: Summarizes key points, action items, and tasks from meetings, making it easy to review and follow up.
• Search: Provides AI-powered search capabilities to quickly find specific topics, questions, or tasks discussed during meetings.
• Integration: Integrates with popular collaboration tools like Slack, Notion, Asana, and Google Docs to share meeting notes and action items.
• Collaboration: Allows team members to add comments, pins, and reactions to specific parts of conversations, enhancing collaboration.
• Analysis: Tracks speaker talk time, sentiment, and other key metrics to help coach teammates and improve performance.

Applications

• Sales: Fills out CRM records, coaches sales reps, and helps close deals faster.
• Engineering: Automates note-taking and documentation during engineering meetings.
• Recruiting: Assists in screening candidates and streamlining the hiring process.
• Marketing: Understands customer voice to transform marketing initiatives.
• Education: Simplifies note-taking in classrooms and virtual teaching sessions.
• Media & Podcasting: Provides transcripts and closed captions for media content.

Zapier

Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your apps and services to automate repetitive tasks without the need for coding. Here are some key details about Zapier:

Overview

• Developer: Zapier Inc.
• Launch Year: 2012
• Purpose: To automate workflows and integrate different web applications seamlessly.

Key Features

• Zaps: Automate workflows by connecting two or more apps with triggers and actions.
• Interfaces: Build professional apps, forms, and web pages that connect to your Zaps and Tables.
• Tables: Store, edit, and move data with a database that’s purpose-built for automation.
• Chatbots: Create custom AI chatbots that answer questions, resolve issues, and nurture leads.
• Custom Logic: Add conditions, filters, and paths to customize workflows.

Applications

• Marketing: Automate marketing campaigns, manage leads, and track performance.
• Sales: Streamline sales processes, manage customer relationships, and follow up on leads.
• Support: Automate support ticket management, customer service responses, and follow-ups.
• Finance: Handle invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting.
• HR: Automate onboarding, manage employee records, and streamline HR processes.

Recent Developments

• Makerpad Acquisition: In 2021, Zapier acquired Makerpad, a no-code education service, to enhance its offerings.
• Small Business Assistance Fund: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zapier set up a $1 million fund to assist small businesses.
• Remote Work: Zapier has successfully scaled its remote team, employing approximately 500 people in 38 countries as of January 2022.

Salesforce Einstein

Salesforce Einstein is an AI-powered platform integrated into the Salesforce ecosystem, designed to enhance customer relationship management (CRM) by leveraging artificial intelligence. Here are some key details about Salesforce Einstein:

Overview

• Developer: Salesforce
• Launch Year: 2016
• Purpose: To provide predictive analytics, automated insights, and AI-driven recommendations to improve customer interactions and business processes.

Key Features

• Predictive Analytics: Uses machine learning to analyze customer data and predict future trends, helping businesses make data-driven decisions.
• Automated Insights: Automatically identifies patterns and insights in data, providing actionable recommendations without manual intervention.
• AI-Driven Recommendations: Offers personalized recommendations for sales, marketing, and customer service based on customer behavior and preferences.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Enables users to interact with Salesforce using natural language queries, making it easier to access information and perform tasks.
• Einstein Copilot: A conversational AI assistant that helps users with tasks such as drafting emails, summarizing calls, and generating reports.

Applications

• Sales: Provides sales teams with insights on the best time to contact prospects, recommended products, and personalized sales strategies.
• Customer Service: Enhances customer support by offering real-time solutions, automating responses, and improving issue resolution times.
• Marketing: Assists marketers in creating targeted campaigns, personalizing content, and optimizing marketing efforts based on customer data.
• Commerce: Personalizes the shopping experience by recommending products and automating inventory management.

Recent Developments

• Einstein GPT: Launched in 2023, Einstein GPT integrates generative AI technology to create personalized content across all Salesforce clouds, enhancing productivity and customer experiences.
• Integration with OpenAI: Einstein GPT can connect with OpenAI’s advanced AI models, providing out-of-the-box generative AI capabilities for CRM.

IBM Watson

IBM Watson is an advanced AI system developed by IBM, designed to process and analyze large amounts of data, understand human language, and provide insights and solutions across various industries. Here are some key details about IBM Watson:

Overview

• Developer: IBM
• Launch Year: 2011 (initial public debut)
• Purpose: To apply advanced natural language processing, information retrieval, knowledge representation, automated reasoning, and machine learning technologies to various fields.

Key Features

• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Watson can understand and process human language, making it capable of answering questions posed in natural language.
• Data Analysis: Watson can analyze vast amounts of structured and unstructured data to uncover patterns, trends, and insights.
• Machine Learning: Watson uses machine learning algorithms to improve its performance over time, learning from new data and user interactions.
• Integration: Watson can be integrated with various applications and systems, allowing businesses to leverage its capabilities for specific use cases.
• Decision Support: Watson provides actionable insights and recommendations, helping businesses make data-driven decisions.

Applications

• Healthcare: Watson is used in healthcare for tasks such as diagnosing diseases, personalizing treatment plans, and managing patient data.
• Finance: Watson helps financial institutions with fraud detection, risk management, and customer service.
• Retail: Watson assists retailers in inventory management, customer insights, and personalized marketing.
• Customer Service: Watson powers chatbots and virtual assistants to provide automated customer support.
• Research and Development: Watson aids researchers in analyzing scientific data and generating hypotheses.

Recent Developments

• Watsonx: In 2023, IBM introduced the watsonx platform, which includes AI and data platform components designed to help businesses scale and accelerate the impact of AI with trusted data.
• Generative AI: Watsonx includes generative AI capabilities, allowing businesses to create and tune machine learning models.

Google Cloud AI

Google Cloud AI offers a comprehensive suite of AI and machine learning tools designed to help businesses build, deploy, and scale AI solutions. Here are some key details about Google Cloud AI:

Overview

• Developer: Google
• Launch Year: 2016 (initial AI services)
• Purpose: To provide advanced AI and machine learning capabilities to businesses and developers, enabling them to create innovative solutions and improve efficiency.

Key Features

• Vertex AI: A unified platform for building, training, and deploying machine learning models. It includes tools for AutoML, custom training, and model deployment.
• Generative AI: Access to Google’s large generative AI models for text, code, images, and speech. These models can be customized and deployed for various applications.
• Machine Learning Operations (MLOps): Tools for automating and scaling machine learning projects throughout their lifecycle.
• AI APIs: A range of APIs for tasks such as image recognition, natural language processing, and conversational AI.
• BigQuery ML: Allows users to run machine learning models directly on large datasets stored in Google BigQuery.

Applications

• Healthcare: Analyzing medical images, predicting patient outcomes, and personalizing treatment plans.
• Finance: Detecting fraud, managing risk, and automating financial analysis.
• Retail: Personalizing customer experiences, optimizing inventory management, and enhancing marketing efforts.
• Customer Service: Powering chatbots and virtual assistants to provide automated support.
• Research and Development: Assisting researchers in analyzing data and generating insights.

Recent Developments

• Gemini Models: The latest and most advanced multimodal models in Vertex AI, offering up to a 2 million token context window.
• Document Summarization: Preconfigured solutions for extracting text from PDFs and summarizing large documents.
• Interactive Solutions: Preconfigured solutions for image processing, chat applications, and more.

Microsoft Azure AI

Microsoft Azure AI is a comprehensive suite of AI and machine learning services designed to help businesses build, deploy, and manage AI solutions at scale. Here are some key details about Microsoft Azure AI:

Overview

• Developer: Microsoft
• Launch Year: 2016 (initial AI services)
• Purpose: To provide advanced AI capabilities, including machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, to help businesses innovate and improve efficiency.

Key Features

• Azure AI Studio: A unified platform for building, training, and deploying AI models. It includes tools for AutoML, custom training, and model deployment.
• Azure OpenAI Service: Provides access to OpenAI’s advanced language models, such as GPT-4, for building generative AI applications.
• Azure AI Search: Offers retrieval augmented generation (RAG) for hybrid, vector, and semantic ranking strategies.
• Azure AI Content Safety: Built-in tools to detect and mitigate harmful content, ensuring responsible AI practices.
• Azure AI Speech: Includes services for speech-to-text, text-to-speech, speech translation, and speaker recognition.
• Azure AI Vision: Provides tools for optical character recognition (OCR), face detection, and image analysis.
• Azure AI Language: Offers prebuilt features for building conversational interfaces, summarizing documents, and analyzing text.
• Azure AI Document Intelligence: Applies advanced machine learning to extract text, key-value pairs, tables, and structures from documents.

Applications

• Healthcare: Analyzing medical images, predicting patient outcomes, and personalizing treatment plans.
• Finance: Detecting fraud, managing risk, and automating financial analysis.
• Retail: Personalizing customer experiences, optimizing inventory management, and enhancing marketing efforts.
• Customer Service: Powering chatbots and virtual assistants to provide automated support.
• Research and Development: Assisting researchers in analyzing data and generating insights.

Recent Developments

• Phi-3 Models: The latest small language models (SLMs) developed by Microsoft, offering high performance and cost-effectiveness.
• Azure AI Studio: A unified platform for evaluating models and deploying generative AI solutions.
• Azure AI Speech Analytics: A new service combining speech-to-text, OpenAI, and language services for post-call analytics and video captioning.