5 AI Tools Every Entrepreneur Needs to Launch and Scale Their Business
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In today’s post we’re diving into the five must-have AI tools that every entrepreneur needs to know about. This post will be focusing on the eCommerce business, specially if you’re running an online store. My eCommerce platform is Shopify, so I will be using it as an example in today’s beam of educational content.
Whether you’re building your Shopify store, designing jaw-dropping social media posts, or automating repetitive tasks, these tools are game-changers. By the end of this post, you’ll have actionable insights on how to incorporate AI into your daily workflow and elevate your eCommerce game. Let’s get started!
1. LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini): Your Ultimate Assistant
If you’re reading this, I’m almost certain you’ve heard around the term ‘LLMs’, which stands for Large Language Models, and those are AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini or Microsoft’s Copilot. These LLMs are the backbone of your AI toolkit. These tools are your 24/7 assistant, capable of brainstorming ideas, writing content, generating product descriptions, helping you with copywriting, generating images and even solving technical problems.
ChatGPT: Perfect for in-depth content creation, such as blog posts, video scripts, and SEO-rich copywriting. It also shines in generating social media captions with hashtags and email responses I wouldn’t be able to write myself. For instance, I use it daily to craft engaging product descriptions, add SEO meta data in my blog posts, and outline my content calendar to name a few tasks or use cases.
Claude: Offers a more contextual understanding for tasks like summarizing long documents or extracting key insights from data. I love using Claude to condense lengthy research papers into bite-sized actionable points. Additionally, I find Claude excels in data visualization, producing more complex and insightful graphs on its artifact compared to ChatGPT, making it my go-to for analytical tasks.
It is awesome to create data visualization by uploading PDFs and it will also help you creating simple apps like the fitness calculators I’ve been working on for my Luna.Fitness store.
Gemini: I probably use Gemini the most, not because I like it the most by the way, it’s because it’s free and it’s more than enough for the average user. This means that for less thought processing and more online up-to-date research, I use Gemini so I don’t burn the free tokens I use on ChatGPT and Claude with their free versions. In other words, Gemini is my choice for handling basic prompts, allowing me to save resources on other LLMs' free versions.
Use Case: Combine these LLMs for brainstorming and fine-tuning. For example, use ChatGPT to generate an email draft, then pass it to Claude for editing and context refinement. This process ensures polished results every time.
Note: LLMs are not perfect, so they’re likely to ‘hallucinate’ on the first results, and that’s why it’s important to keep in mind three things:
Always fine tune your LLMs projects or chats.
Depending on the sensitivity of your project, triple check your LLMs answers by having the same chat in a different LLM. These means that sometimes you will have to use Gemini or Claude for the same project.
Be very descriptive but also be very specific and concise with your prompts -language-, and avoid words like “please” and “thank you”.
Tip: For better results, give the LLM a specific role. For instance, you can ask ChatGPT to act as a professional copywriter and an SEO specialist in order to get better answers and therefore, more conversions. Or you can ask it to act as a social media manager and give you ideas and manage tasks.
2. Canva Pro: Your Visual Content Studio
It is true that Canva has a free version, but I found the Pro version exponentially beneficial compared to the frustrating and limiting free version. Visuals play a critical role in eCommerce, and Canva Pro is your all-in-one design powerhouse.
Great for creating stunning YouTube thumbnails, blog graphics, social media scheduling, or Instagram ads, Canva makes it easy, no design experience required.
Some of the use cases for my store are:
Background Removal: I upload a photo of a product that I need to remove the background or replace it with a studio photography background that blends so well with the style of my store. Saves so much time and they look great!
AI Expand: Have you gone through a hay of photos only to end up choosing the one photo with the subject cropped? Well, with the AI expand feature you can ‘complete’ the subjects for a better photo editing finish with just one click.
Upscale Photos 2x 4x: For the one photo that you chose, but it’s pixelated or blurred. Another use case, more like a personal use case is that I can upload vintage or black and white photos to upscale them and their finish is incredible.
I regularly use it to design product ads and branded templates for my Shopify store. but my favorite project with Canva was designing a memorial for my dad. It was deeply personal, and Canva made it easy to create something beautiful and meaningful. Beyond that,
A pro for Canva is that has a Leonardo integration.
3. Leonardo.AI Pro: Master of AI-Generated Imagery
Next up is Leonardo.AI Pro, on of the many tools that specialize in generating and editing images. This tool is literally magic. You can change the style of the subjects in the photos or ‘duplicate’ them in a total different style. This one is hard to explain just typing and I’ll be posting a video showing how Leonardo works for product photos.
What It Does:
Text-to-Image Prompting: Generate custom images from text descriptions.
Flow Feature: Create a series of cohesive images for consistent branding.
Image Cloning: Recreate and refine characters or objects for your projects.
I use Leonardo to design product mockups, accompanying imagery, and even thumbnails or blog images. It’s also incredibly helpful for retouching family vintage photos, breathing new life into cherished memories. Pairing this with Canva lets me fine-tune every detail, ensuring my visuals stand out. I also combine Leonardo with Canva to create promotional ads, hero banners, etc. Oh and it’s helpful in creating models for your product photos.
4. Shopify Magic: For Product Image Editing
If you’re running your online store on Shopify like me, the Shopify Magic tool will save you a ton of time with great quality product images. It integrates seamlessly with your Shopify account, helping you streamline your operations and enhance your store’s visual appeal.
How it helps:
Product Photo Editing: Transform product images into studio-quality photos.
Background Removal: This one can also be done with Canva which I prefer, but the Shopify Magic tool does a decent job and also can replace with solid colors or text generated backgrounds.
SEO Optimizations: Automatically generate keyword-rich descriptions and meta tags for more conversions.
Shopify Magic has been a time saver when it comes to product image editing. In assistance with Canva, it helps me remove or replace backgrounds with a photo studio background, for example, has been a breezy breeze!
5. ElevenLabs Starter Account: Voiceovers and More
Finally, let’s talk about ElevenLabs. This tool is a game-changer for creating high-quality voice-overs, translating content, and even generating personalized audio messages.
Use Cases:
Voice Cloning: Create a synthetic version of your voice for consistent branding.
Translation: Make your content accessible in multiple languages.
Audio Narration: Turn written content into engaging audio formats.
One of my favorite uses for ElevenLabs is converting lengthy emails into audio files. This allows me to multitask while staying on top of my inbox. Plus, it’s a fantastic tool for adding professional voiceovers to YouTube videos and podcasts.
How These Tools Work Together
Here’s a quick example of how you can combine these tools for a seamless workflow:
Use ChatGPT to brainstorm product descriptions and Canva Pro to design accompanying visuals.
Enhance these visuals with Leonardo’s image generation features.
Upload everything to Shopify Magic for optimization.
Add a voiceover using ElevenLabs for a dynamic product video.
This integrated approach saves time and ensures high-quality results.
Bonus Tips for Using AI in Your Workflow
Automation: Leverage AI to automate repetitive tasks like data entry and scheduling.
Analytics: Use AI tools to track and analyze customer behavior for better decision-making.
Experimentation: Don’t be afraid to explore new tools and features. The more you experiment, the more you’ll discover ways to optimize your workflow.
And there you have it, 5 AI tools that every entrepreneur needs to succeed. From content creation and design to eCommerce management and audio production, these tools are here to make your life easier and your business more efficient. If you found this blog post helpful, please like, share, and subscribe. Also, let me know in the comments which tool you’re excited to try first. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next post!
