The AI Tools I Actually Use in 2026
Someone always asks for "your stack" after a workshop. I used to send a screenshot. Then the screenshot went stale, and I kept getting the same email.
This is the 2026 version. Not the workshop curriculum — that still starts with Copilot inside the company wall, and I wrote that up here. This is what I pay for when I am building Adaptig, writing, and shipping my own work.
How I decide what stays
Three questions, same ones I teach in the room:
- Does it do a job my current tools cannot?
- Will I touch it this week, not "someday"?
- Can I explain the data story to a bank?
If it fails any of those, it leaves. Manus Pro left in August. n8n Cloud left in July (I still run n8n; I stopped paying for their hosted year). Midjourney is on the bench unless a client room needs it.
Daily drivers
Claude / Claude Code — this is the system I actually work in. Agents, memory, the site, client files. No public affiliate. I am not going to paste a fake one. If you want the architecture, start with the Claude Code series.
Cursor — still open on the second screen. They have a referral program for some accounts, credits only, not cash. Check your own dashboard. I will not send you through a third-party "Cursor affiliate."
Gemini / NotebookLM — regular. NotebookLM is still the fastest way I have seen a team go from a pile of PDFs to a brief they can defend. No consumer affiliate. Google Workspace has a separate HK referral (one-time, per seat). That is a different product.
Microsoft Copilot — default in enterprise rooms. No creator affiliate. If Adaptig ever sells seats as a Microsoft partner, that is a company motion, not a link on this page.
Wispr Flow — voice in, text out, every day. ADHD tax. I added a teammate to the Adaptig seat this month. Try Flow.
Notion — where client workspaces and the messy middle live. Notion pays affiliates on net-new Plus/Business upgrades (up to $50 plus 20% of year-one revenue, 180-day cookie). I am applying. Until the approved link exists, that is a normal link.
Superhuman — still the inbox. Came in through Lenny's Product Pass. No useful creator affiliate I would put here.
Build and ship
Lovable — this is how non-engineers in my rooms get to a working page. CTF teams have gone from a brief to a prototype in a half hour. I still have Adaptig projects on it. Lovable pays up to $100 CPA on a first paid sub. Applying.
Replit — I publish real apps on it. Their public referral is credits, not cash. Fine if you want to offset your own bill. Replit.
Firecrawl — I pay Hobby, $19/month, and I have the receipts. If you scrape for a living, this is the one I would actually recommend. Firecrawl. (Card failed on 13 Aug — that is a me problem, not a product review.)
n8n — I cancelled the Cloud yearly before the €240 hit. I still use it, self-hosted. If you want the hosted version, start at n8n.
Railway — deploys I actually ship. Railway pays 15% of the first 12 months. New user gets $20 credits.
Make the thing visible
Gamma — this is the one link I can already stand behind. I am in their PartnerStack program. 25% of the first 12 months of a paid sub, 60-day cookie. I still open decks in it. If you need a first draft of a slide story, start here.
ElevenLabs — voice for demos and the occasional client explainer. I am in their official PartnerStack program: 22% of year-one customer transactions, 11% on business-tier. This is the live link.
HeyGen — API credits still burning this month. Worth a look if you make avatar video for a living. HeyGen.
Canva — still in the room, especially with non-technical teams. Affiliate is invite-only (Canvassador). No public apply I can hand you. Ordinary link: Canva.
Midjourney — I have paid for Pro. I do not have an official program to join. Mood boards only, and only when the room needs them.
Mobbin — I am already in. Finish-line is their Rewardful signup. I will put the live link here once the dashboard gives me one.
What I will not put an affiliate link on
ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Midjourney. People will sell you "unofficial" versions of those. Do not.
Perplexity I do not use enough to recommend. Same for a long list of tools that have emailed me a referral code and never made it into a Monday.
If you want the workshop version
The stack I teach is smaller than the stack I pay for. Banks get Copilot. Design rooms get NotebookLM plus one image tool plus Lovable. I would rather teach three tools deeply than ten tools as a tour.
If you want that in a room, book a call. If you just wanted the links, you already have them.
I will update this page as programs approve and as tools leave. The 2025 screenshot is retired.
