In 2026, we have sooo many AI tools that the question should be less about the best tool to use and more about what needs we have that AI can address. Here are five tasks that take too long and cause too much frustration.

One: Research and Digest with AI

Reports, research, project files, meeting notes, presentations, policies, survey results… professionals have to deal with mountains of information in every possible format. Dump your docs into a tool like Gemini Notebook to ask questions across all of them, discover connections and turn mountains of information into summaries, infographics, slide decks, audio/video overviews and more. Google officially renamed NotebookLM Gemini Notebook in July 2026, and I LOVE this thing.

Two: Listen with AI

Stop taking notes and start paying attention. As long as you have permission to record conversations and meetings, an AI notetaking tool will change your life. Capture team meetings, client calls, interviews and brainstorming sessions, then let AI pull out decisions, action items and follow-ups. I use Otter.ai, but take another look at Zoom if you haven’t lately. Its AI Companion can now take notes in Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Webex and even in-person conversations.

Three: Edit Multimedia with AI

In the old days (like 5 years ago), I’d spend an hour editing a video to get one minute of good content. Today’s AI editing tools have reduced my editing time by at least 75%. My favorite, Descript, lets you edit audio and video by editing the transcript, then clean up filler words, bad audio, awkward pauses and more. Another tool, Captions, can polish video, fix eye contact, add captions, translate and do a frankly ridiculous number of things to make mediocre video much better.

Four: Create More Content with AI

One webinar does not have to be one webinar. Neither does a presentation, training session, interview or podcast. Upload your full videos into a tool like OpusClip and let AI identify the best soundbites and short clips. It’ll even grade your segments based on whether the clip has strong elements and covers a popular topic. (Sometimes it’s a little judgy, giving my pieces Bs and Cs. Hmpf.) HeyGen can take training, educational and marketing videos into other languages with translated audio and lip syncing. Suddenly one piece of content can have a MUCH longer life.

Five: Get Attention with AI

When you need social media reels, promotional videos, presentations or something that will make people actually pay attention, AI rocks. Sites like ElevenLabs can create remarkably realistic voiceovers, dubbing and even translations of your clips into multiple languages. And I adore Suno, a song-creation tool that helps you have fun with event openers, team celebrations, awards, product launches and even boring policy updates. It’s the surprising theme song that nobody asked for but everybody remembers.

Note: this is a slightly modified excerpt from the updated version of “The Indispensable Guide to AI for Associations” from my friends at Protech. They’ve given me permission to share the final version when it comes out in 2-3 weeks. Stay tuned!