For senior leaders, time is the scarcest resource of all. Artificial intelligence now promises to hand some of it back: drafting emails, summarising reports, preparing for meetings and cutting through the information overload that fills an executive’s day.
The biggest companies are already reorganising around AI, from Microsoft’s buyout offer to a quarter of its staff to Barclays’ AI-driven job cuts. For individual leaders, the right tools can be transformative. These are the ten worth knowing.
1. Claude
Anthropic’s Claude is popular with executives for its careful, well-structured writing and its ability to analyse long documents such as board papers, contracts and reports. It is widely used for drafting, research and thinking through complex decisions, and its rapid growth reflects strong business demand.
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Subscribe2. ChatGPT
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the world’s best-known AI assistant. Executives use it to draft communications, brainstorm strategy, analyse data and research unfamiliar topics. Its enterprise versions add privacy controls and team features suited to corporate use.
3. Microsoft 365 Copilot
Copilot works inside Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams, making it a natural choice for organisations built on Microsoft. It can summarise long email threads, prepare briefings from documents and recap meetings an executive missed.
4. Google Gemini
Gemini brings similar capabilities to Gmail, Docs and Google Meet. For companies on Google Workspace, it helps leaders draft messages, summarise documents and pull insights from data without leaving familiar tools.
5. Perplexity
Perplexity combines AI with live web search, giving answers with cited sources. Executives use it to get quick, referenced briefings on markets, competitors and news, a faster alternative to traditional searching.
6. Otter.ai
Otter records and transcribes meetings in real time, then produces summaries and action points. For leaders who move from meeting to meeting, it means a reliable record without taking notes.
7. Fireflies.ai
Fireflies joins video calls on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet to record, transcribe and analyse conversations. Its searchable meeting library and automatic summaries make it popular with sales and leadership teams.
8. Superhuman
Superhuman is a premium email app built for speed, with AI that drafts replies, summarises threads and helps users reach inbox zero. It is a favourite among executives and founders who handle large volumes of email.
9. Grammarly
Grammarly’s AI goes beyond spelling and grammar, adjusting tone, tightening sentences and helping draft messages across email, documents and messaging apps. It is useful for leaders who want every communication to sound polished.
10. Notion AI
Notion AI sits inside Notion’s workspace, helping executives draft documents, summarise notes and find information across company wikis and project pages. It suits leaders whose teams already organise their work in Notion.
How to Choose
Start with where your time goes. Email-heavy leaders benefit most from Superhuman or Copilot, meeting-heavy diaries from Otter or Fireflies, and strategic thinkers from Claude, ChatGPT or Perplexity. Always check data privacy settings before sharing confidential information, especially as Europe develops its rules on AI.
The Bottom Line
AI won’t replace executive judgement, but it can remove much of the routine work that crowds it out. Leaders who learn to use these tools well will have more time for the decisions that matter. The broader shift is already under way, as the AI layoffs reaching white-collar work show.
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