30 Tools Every Business Owner and Creator Should Know
AI Tools & Digital Growth: 30 Tools Every Business Owner and Creator Should Know in 2025
I’m Ben Massey, a digital strategist and web designer based in Middlesbrough. Over the years, I’ve helped businesses grow smarter online, and one thing has become clear: the right tools can completely change the way you work. They save time, boost productivity, and improve results—all without needing huge budgets.
In this post, I’m sharing 30 AI tools for business owners and creators, from free trials to paid platforms. Each one is designed to help you automate, create, optimize, and scale your business in 2025.
If you want some guidance on using any of these in your business, feel free to contact me, and I’ll show you how to set them up and get the best results.
1. HighLevel – Free 30-Day Trial
What it is:
HighLevel is a complete marketing automation and CRM platform that centralizes all your business operations. It allows you to manage leads, sales, and marketing campaigns in one place. Instead of juggling multiple apps for email, SMS, or follow-ups, HighLevel handles everything in a single dashboard. AI chatbots capture leads and engage customers while you focus on other tasks. The drag-and-drop workflow builder makes complex automations simple, and detailed reporting helps you see what’s working and what isn’t.
Who should use it:
Agencies, freelancers, and small business owners who want to save time and streamline client management will benefit the most. Even if you’re just starting, HighLevel scales with your business, so you don’t need to switch tools as you grow.
Why you need it:
Manual lead management and follow-ups are time-consuming and prone to errors. HighLevel automates these processes, ensuring no opportunity is lost. AI chatbots, automated campaigns, and analytics free up hours each week and help grow your business efficiently.
Key features:
AI chatbots, automated email and SMS workflows, client CRM, multi-channel communication, reporting and analytics, drag-and-drop workflow builder.
Pricing / Trial: Free 30-day trial
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2. Filmora – Free Version Available
What it is:
Filmora is a user-friendly video editing software with built-in AI features. It’s perfect for creating professional-quality videos quickly without needing advanced skills. Features like scene detection, auto-cropping, and smart filters speed up the editing process. The drag-and-drop interface, combined with a stock media library, allows creators to produce content efficiently.
Who should use it:
Content creators, marketers, YouTubers, and educators who want to produce polished video content without spending hours editing.
Why you need it:
Video content is one of the fastest ways to engage an audience online, but editing can take hours. Filmora makes it quick and easy to produce professional-looking videos, helping you stay consistent and save time.
Key features:
Drag-and-drop video editor, stock media library, AI-powered tools, multiple export options, templates for fast content creation.
Pricing / Trial: Free version available
3. Klap.app – Free to Try
What it is:
Klap.app is an AI-powered meeting assistant that transcribes calls, summarizes discussions, and assigns tasks automatically. It integrates with calendars and task management apps, making post-meeting follow-up simple and organized. AI-generated summaries allow teams to quickly review key points without rewatching or rereading meetings.
Who should use it:
Professionals, freelancers, and teams attending regular meetings who want to save time on note-taking and task management.
Why you need it:
Documenting meetings manually is tedious and often inconsistent. Klap.app automates the process, ensuring that action items are tracked, meetings are summarized accurately, and nothing is forgotten.
Key features:
Real-time transcription, AI summaries, task assignment, calendar integration, seamless collaboration tools.
Pricing / Trial: Free trial available
4. Plai Ads – Free 7-Day Trial
What it is:
Plai Ads is an AI-driven advertising platform that optimizes campaigns automatically. It analyzes ad performance, adjusts targeting, and reallocates budgets to maximize results. Its AI suggestions make it simple to improve ROI without spending hours adjusting campaigns manually.
Who should use it:
Small businesses, marketers, and agencies running paid ad campaigns who want better results with less manual effort.
Why you need it:
Running ads manually is time-consuming and often inefficient. Plai Ads automates targeting, budget management, and performance tracking, making campaigns more effective and easier to manage.
Key features:
AI-driven campaign optimization, audience targeting, automated budget allocation, performance analytics, multi-platform support.
Pricing / Trial: Free 7-day trial
5. Zapier – Free & Paid Plans
What it is:
Zapier is a workflow automation tool that connects apps and automates repetitive tasks. It allows you to create workflows where actions in one app trigger responses in another. For example, new email leads can automatically be added to your CRM, or form submissions can trigger notifications in Slack.
Who should use it:
Businesses, freelancers, and creators who want to automate repetitive tasks across multiple apps and save time.
Why you need it:
Manually copying data between apps is slow and prone to error. Zapier automates these processes, allowing you to focus on high-value tasks. It supports over 7,000 app integrations and can handle complex workflows.
Key features:
Multi-step workflows, conditional logic, app integrations, real-time automation, time-saving task management.
Pricing / Trial: Free plan available; paid plans from £19.99/month
6. Make.com – Free & Paid Plans
What it is:
Make.com is a visual automation platform that allows you to connect different apps and automate workflows without any coding. It’s designed to simplify complex processes, letting you create automated sequences that run in the background while you focus on higher-level tasks. From data syncing between apps to automated task assignment, Make.com handles repetitive work efficiently. Its drag-and-drop interface makes building workflows intuitive, and real-time testing ensures everything works perfectly before going live.
Who should use it:
Businesses, freelancers, and teams that rely on multiple apps for their daily operations will benefit most. If you’re spending time moving data between systems or manually triggering processes, Make.com is a huge time saver.
Why you need it:
Automation can drastically reduce errors and free up hours of work each week. Make.com connects your apps seamlessly and executes workflows automatically. Whether it’s syncing new leads from forms to your CRM, sending follow-up emails, or updating spreadsheets, this platform ensures your business operates smoothly and consistently.
Key features:
Drag-and-drop workflow builder, real-time testing, app integrations, collaboration tools, automated notifications.
Pricing / Trial: Free plan available; paid plans start from £9/month
7. SurferSEO + AI – Paid
What it is:
SurferSEO is an AI-powered content optimization platform that helps businesses, bloggers, and marketers improve their search engine rankings. It analyzes top-performing content in your niche, provides keyword recommendations, and offers AI-powered writing suggestions to enhance your content. By combining SEO insights with AI tools, it ensures your content is both user-friendly and optimized for search engines.
Who should use it:
Bloggers, content marketers, small business owners, and agencies looking to rank higher in search results will find SurferSEO invaluable. It’s perfect for anyone creating regular content who wants to compete with larger websites.
Why you need it:
Creating content without data-backed insights is risky. SurferSEO helps you understand what your audience is searching for and how competitors are performing. The AI features streamline content creation, save time on research, and improve your chances of ranking.
Key features:
Content editor with AI suggestions, keyword research and analysis, SERP analysis, site audits, competitor insights.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £49/month
8. Semrush AI – Paid
What it is:
Semrush AI is a comprehensive marketing and SEO platform with AI-driven tools for research, content creation, and competitive analysis. It allows you to track keyword performance, analyze competitors, and optimize campaigns with AI recommendations. From SEO audits to content marketing, Semrush covers every aspect of online growth.
Who should use it:
Digital marketers, agencies, and businesses tracking SEO, PPC, and content performance. It’s ideal for anyone who wants data-driven insights to make smarter marketing decisions.
Why you need it:
Effective marketing requires understanding both your audience and your competitors. Semrush AI provides actionable insights that help you optimize content, improve visibility, and drive more traffic without guesswork.
Key features:
Keyword research, backlink tracking, site audits, competitor analysis, AI content suggestions, marketing analytics.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £99/month
9. MarketMuse – Paid
What it is:
MarketMuse is an AI-powered content research and optimization platform designed to improve the quality and relevance of your content. It analyzes your website and compares it to competitors to identify content gaps, recommends topics to target, and provides AI-generated briefs for writers.
Who should use it:
Content marketers, SEO specialists, bloggers, and agencies looking to boost organic traffic and improve engagement. MarketMuse is especially useful for teams producing large volumes of content who want to maintain high quality and relevance.
Why you need it:
Without proper planning, content can fail to rank or engage readers. MarketMuse helps you focus on topics that matter, optimizes existing content, and ensures you’re targeting the right keywords. Its AI-driven approach saves hours of research and enhances your content strategy.
Key features:
Topic modeling, content briefs, keyword analysis, competitor research, AI suggestions for content improvement.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £79/month
10. Frase AI – Paid
What it is:
Frase AI is a content research and writing platform that streamlines the process of creating high-quality, SEO-friendly content. It analyzes search engine results to generate outlines, summaries, and topic suggestions, allowing writers to produce relevant and optimized articles quickly.
Who should use it:
Bloggers, marketers, content creators, and agencies who need to produce content at scale without sacrificing quality.
Why you need it:
Researching keywords and topics manually is time-consuming. Frase AI automates research, provides SEO recommendations, and speeds up content creation. This ensures your content is optimized from the start, helping you rank higher in search engines and engage your audience effectively.
Key features:
Content briefs, SERP analysis, keyword research, AI writing suggestions, topic recommendations.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £45/month
11. Writesonic – Paid
What it is:
Writesonic is an AI-powered writing assistant designed to help businesses, marketers, and freelancers create unlimited content quickly. It can generate blog posts, ad copy, emails, social media content, and even landing pages. The platform uses AI to analyze the context of your input and produce high-quality, coherent content tailored to your audience. Its intuitive interface makes it simple to create content in minutes instead of hours, saving time and effort while ensuring consistency.
Who should use it:
Freelancers, marketers, small business owners, and content creators who need to produce professional content regularly will benefit most from Writesonic. It’s ideal for those who want to scale their content output without hiring a full writing team.
Why you need it:
Creating quality content manually can be slow and expensive. Writesonic helps you generate polished, ready-to-publish content quickly, freeing up time to focus on strategy, marketing, or client work. Its AI-generated content reduces writer’s block and ensures you maintain a consistent publishing schedule.
Key features:
Blog generator, ad copy generator, social media content creation, landing page copy, AI-driven content optimization, multi-language support.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £12/month
12. Synthesia – Paid
What it is:
Synthesia is an AI video creation platform that allows you to produce professional-looking videos without cameras, actors, or studios. You can create videos with AI avatars and voiceovers in multiple languages, making it ideal for marketing, training, or educational content. The platform transforms text into video quickly, reducing production time significantly.
Who should use it:
Marketers, educators, content creators, and businesses looking to produce video content efficiently without a full production team.
Why you need it:
Video is essential for engagement, but traditional production can be costly and time-consuming. Synthesia allows you to create engaging, professional-quality videos in minutes. It’s particularly useful for explainer videos, social media campaigns, and internal training materials.
Key features:
AI avatars, multi-language voiceovers, text-to-video conversion, customizable video templates, easy export options.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £30/month
13. Pictory – Paid
What it is:
Pictory is an AI-powered video editor that converts scripts or long-form content into short, engaging videos. It’s designed for marketers, content creators, and social media managers who want to repurpose existing content into shareable video formats. Its AI automatically selects relevant video clips, adds captions, and produces high-quality visuals with minimal effort.
Who should use it:
Content creators, social media managers, educators, and marketers looking to transform blog posts, webinars, or articles into attention-grabbing videos.
Why you need it:
Video content performs better than text alone on social media and digital platforms. Pictory streamlines video creation, saving time while maximizing engagement with short-form videos. Its AI-driven automation ensures high-quality production even without prior editing experience.
Key features:
Script-to-video conversion, stock footage library, AI voiceovers, captions, automatic video formatting for social media.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £19/month
14. Lumen5 – Paid
What it is:
Lumen5 is an AI-powered video creation tool that transforms text content into engaging videos. By analyzing your blog posts, articles, or scripts, it suggests visuals, animations, and layouts to produce polished videos optimized for social sharing. It’s designed to make video production accessible and fast for businesses and creators.
Who should use it:
Small businesses, marketers, content creators, and social media managers who want to repurpose written content into visually compelling videos.
Why you need it:
Creating videos manually can be slow and expensive. Lumen5 automates most of the process, allowing you to produce high-quality, engaging videos quickly. This helps boost audience engagement and content reach without a full video production team.
Key features:
Text-to-video conversion, visual and animation suggestions, stock media library, branding tools, AI recommendations for pacing and layout.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £19/month
15. Descript – Paid
What it is:
Descript is an all-in-one audio and video editing platform that includes AI-powered transcription, editing, and overdub tools. It simplifies the production process for podcasters, YouTubers, and marketers by allowing users to edit recordings as easily as a text document.
Who should use it:
Content creators, podcasters, video producers, and marketers who want to streamline audio and video production without sacrificing quality.
Why you need it:
Editing audio and video can be time-consuming, especially if you want to make precise cuts or add voiceovers. Descript’s AI transcription and overdub features save time while providing professional-quality results. It also enables collaboration, making it easier for teams to work together on content.
Key features:
AI transcription, overdub voice cloning, multi-clip editing, screen recording, collaboration tools, export in multiple formats.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £12/month
16. Jasper AI – Paid
What it is:
Jasper AI is a content creation assistant that helps businesses and marketers produce high-quality copy efficiently. It can write blog posts, emails, social media content, ad copy, and more. Jasper uses AI to adapt to your tone and style, ensuring consistent, professional content.
Who should use it:
Marketers, content creators, agencies, and small business owners who need to generate content quickly without compromising quality.
Why you need it:
Creating content manually is time-consuming and can slow down marketing efforts. Jasper AI accelerates content creation, helps overcome writer’s block, and maintains a consistent tone across platforms.
Key features:
Blog post generator, ad copy creation, email templates, SEO tools, tone customization, AI content suggestions.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £39/month
17. Copy.ai – Paid
What it is:
Copy.ai is an AI-powered marketing copy tool for creating ads, social media posts, emails, and website content. Its AI generates professional-quality copy in seconds, helping businesses save time and maintain a consistent brand voice.
Who should use it:
Small businesses, marketers, agencies, and content creators who need fast, effective marketing copy without hiring additional writers.
Why you need it:
Writing effective marketing copy can be challenging and time-consuming. Copy.ai simplifies the process, providing inspiration, structure, and polished text that converts.
Key features:
Templates for ads, emails, and social posts, tone customization, collaborative tools, AI-powered suggestions.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £35/month
18. Rytr – Paid
What it is:
Rytr is an AI writing assistant that helps users create blogs, emails, social media content, and ad copy quickly. It provides multiple templates, tone options, and plagiarism checking, making content production faster and more reliable.
Who should use it:
Freelancers, marketers, small businesses, and content creators who need versatile writing tools for multiple formats.
Why you need it:
Creating consistent, high-quality content manually takes time and effort. Rytr streamlines the process, generating content ideas and polished text quickly, so you can focus on strategy and marketing.
Key features:
Templates for various content formats, tone selection, plagiarism checking, AI writing suggestions, fast output.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £9/month
19. Scalenut – Paid
What it is:
Scalenut is an AI content research and writing platform that helps marketers, SEO specialists, and agencies create optimized content. It combines AI insights, keyword research, and topic suggestions to ensure your content is engaging and ranks well in search engines.
Who should use it:
Content marketers, SEO specialists, agencies, and business owners who want to create high-quality content efficiently.
Why you need it:
Researching content ideas and optimizing for SEO manually can be slow. Scalenut accelerates content production while ensuring relevance, quality, and search engine visibility.
Key features:
AI writing assistant, content briefs, keyword research, topic suggestions, competitor analysis.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £39/month
20. Ink Editor – Paid
What it is:
Ink Editor is an AI writing assistant focused on SEO optimization. It helps content creators, bloggers, and marketers improve readability and search engine rankings. Its AI suggestions guide you to optimize your text while maintaining a natural, human tone.
Who should use it:
Bloggers, content creators, and businesses aiming for better SEO and engaging, readable content.
Why you need it:
SEO is complex and constantly changing. Ink Editor ensures your content follows best practices, improves visibility, and keeps readers engaged without requiring deep technical knowledge.
Key features:
SEO scoring, keyword recommendations, readability analysis, AI-driven content suggestions.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £29/month
21. CopySmith – Paid
What it is:
CopySmith is an AI-powered marketing copywriting tool designed to generate high-quality content for ads, landing pages, emails, and social media. It helps businesses create persuasive text quickly while maintaining a consistent brand voice. The AI also suggests variations, making it easier to test and optimize copy for conversions.
Who should use it:
Marketers, small business owners, and agencies who need fast, reliable content for multiple channels will benefit most.
Why you need it:
Writing effective copy manually takes time and effort, and testing variations is tedious. CopySmith automates this process, providing multiple versions of content that convert, helping you reach your audience faster and more effectively.
Key features:
Templates for marketing copy, tone customization, AI suggestions for variations, collaboration tools, content export options.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £19/month
22. ContentBot – Paid
What it is:
ContentBot is an AI writing assistant capable of generating blogs, emails, social media posts, and ad copy. It combines AI-generated content with templates and personalization features to produce high-quality text quickly.
Who should use it:
Bloggers, marketers, agencies, and businesses creating content regularly will find ContentBot invaluable.
Why you need it:
Consistently producing fresh content can be challenging. ContentBot accelerates writing while maintaining quality, ensuring your brand stays visible and engaging online.
Key features:
AI content generation, templates, personalization options, multi-format support, SEO-friendly text.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £19/month
23. Perspective Funnels – £29/month
What it is:
Perspective Funnels is a no-code, mobile-first funnel builder designed to generate leads, convert customers, and grow online sales. It provides drag-and-drop tools, analytics, and automation features to make high-converting funnels easy.
Who should use it:
Small businesses, agencies, and creators looking to improve conversions, bookings, or eCommerce sales. It’s trusted by major brands like Google, Mercedes-Benz, and Coca-Cola.
Why you need it:
Creating high-converting funnels manually can be complex. Perspective Funnels simplifies the process, helping you turn visitors into paying customers with minimal effort.
Key features:
Mobile-first design, drag-and-drop funnel builder, A/B testing, analytics, CRM integration, GDPR-compliant hosting.
Pricing / Trial: £29/month with a one-month free trial
24. BGN.Digital AI & Voice Agents – £500–£1,000/month
What it is:
BGN.Digital provides AI chatbots and AI voice agents that automate customer support, lead generation, and sales processes. Their AI technology can handle customer queries, qualify leads, and manage repetitive tasks.
Who should use it:
Small businesses, e-commerce stores, and service providers looking to improve customer engagement and reduce manual work.
Why you need it:
Handling inquiries and lead qualification manually is time-consuming. BGN.Digital’s AI solutions manage interactions across chat and voice, improving efficiency and ensuring consistent customer experiences.
Key features:
Multi-channel AI chatbots, AI voice agents, CRM integration, customizable responses, workflow automation.
Pricing / Trial: AI Bots £500/month, Voice Agents £1,000/month; half-price offers available for first-time users
25. Synthesia – Paid
What it is:
Synthesia is an AI video creation platform that lets you produce professional-quality videos using AI avatars and voiceovers. No camera, actors, or studios are required, making video production accessible to anyone.
Who should use it:
Marketers, educators, content creators, and small businesses that want to create videos efficiently and at scale.
Why you need it:
Video content drives engagement, but traditional production is expensive and time-intensive. Synthesia allows you to create videos quickly, saving time and production costs while maintaining professional quality.
Key features:
AI avatars, multilingual voiceovers, customizable templates, text-to-video conversion, easy export.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £30/month
26. Pictory – Paid
What it is:
Pictory converts long-form content, scripts, or articles into short, engaging videos using AI. It’s designed for creators who want to repurpose written content into videos optimized for social media and marketing campaigns.
Who should use it:
Content creators, marketers, and social media managers who want to transform existing content into high-performing videos.
Why you need it:
Short videos are more engaging than long-form text. Pictory automates editing, captions, and video selection, allowing you to produce professional content without manual video editing.
Key features:
Script-to-video conversion, stock footage library, AI voiceovers, captions, social media optimization.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £19/month
27. Lumen5 – Paid
What it is:
Lumen5 converts text-based content like blogs and articles into shareable videos using AI. It suggests visuals, animations, and pacing, making video creation fast and intuitive.
Who should use it:
Marketers, small business owners, content creators, and social media managers.
Why you need it:
Creating videos manually is slow and expensive. Lumen5 allows you to repurpose content efficiently, increasing reach and engagement with minimal effort.
Key features:
Text-to-video, AI suggestions, stock media, branding tools, animation templates.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £19/month
28. Descript – Paid
What it is:
Descript is a versatile audio and video editing tool with AI-powered transcription, overdub, and editing features. It allows content creators to edit video or audio like a text document.
Who should use it:
Podcasters, video creators, YouTubers, and marketers.
Why you need it:
Editing audio and video is time-consuming. Descript’s AI features save time, improve accuracy, and simplify collaboration on content production.
Key features:
Transcription, overdub voice, multi-clip editing, screen recording, collaborative tools.
Pricing / Trial: Plans start from £12/month
29. Perspective Funnels (Extra Feature Deep Dive)
What it is:
Beyond simple funnel building, Perspective Funnels includes analytics, automation, and CRM tools that allow you to track performance, A/B test pages, and optimize every step of the customer journey.
Who should use it:
Business owners, agencies, and creators who want deeper insight into their marketing funnel’s performance.
Why you need it:
Analytics and optimization are critical for growth. Perspective Funnels combines funnel building with actionable insights, allowing you to maximize ROI and improve conversion rates effectively.
Key features:
Advanced analytics, A/B testing, automation workflows, CRM integration, GDPR-compliant hosting.
Pricing / Trial: £29/month with free trial
30. BGN.Digital AI & Voice Agents (Extra Feature Deep Dive)
What it is:
BGN.Digital’s AI chatbots and voice agents go beyond basic automation. They can handle complex queries, schedule appointments, qualify leads, and integrate with other business systems, all while maintaining a human-like interaction.
Who should use it:
Businesses of all sizes that want to scale customer engagement and reduce operational costs.
Why you need it:
Efficient customer support and lead management can dramatically improve conversion rates. BGN.Digital AI and voice agents ensure your business never misses an opportunity, even outside working hours.
Key features:
Advanced AI chatbots, AI voice agents, lead qualification, appointment scheduling, CRM and workflow integration.
Pricing / Trial: AI Bots £500/month, Voice Agents £1,000/month; half-price offers available for first-time users
These 30 tools cover everything from marketing automation and AI writing to video creation, SEO, and customer engagement. Whether you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or content creator, using the right tools can save you hours, improve productivity, and help you grow smarter in 2025. My favourites that I use every day are ChatGPT, HighLevel, Perspective Funnels, Plai Ads, and BGN.Digital, they keep my business running smoothly and efficiently. Start exploring these tools today, experiment with the free trials, and see which ones make the biggest difference for your workflow. If you need a hand getting started, feel free to reach out.
My Favourite Tools
Out of all the tools I’ve listed, there are a few that really stand out and that I use every single day in my own business. These are the ones that help me stay productive, save time, and deliver the best results for my clients.
ChatGPT – This is my go-to for writing, brainstorming ideas, and even planning campaigns. It helps me produce content quickly and keeps my creativity flowing.
HighLevel – I rely on this for marketing automation and client management. From managing leads to running email and SMS campaigns, it keeps my workflow smooth and efficient.
Perspective Funnels – When it comes to building funnels that actually convert, this is the tool I trust. We use it daily to create and optimise client funnels with ease.
Plai Ads – For advertising, this platform makes campaign optimisation simple. It helps me reach the right audience without wasting budget.
BGN.Digital AI & Voice Agents – These are fantastic for automating customer interactions. I use both the chatbots and voice agents in my own business to manage leads, answer queries, and improve customer engagement.
These five tools are the backbone of how I run my business. They’re not just recommendations—they’re actively used every day in my own workflow, helping me work smarter, grow faster, and focus on what really matters: delivering results for my clients.
