Your AI Diet
As part of the APG’s mission to help the industry navigate the AI landscape, we want to hear from you.
This questionnaire is a chance to share your perspective on AI: what tools you’re using, what surprised you, and how you’re using AI as part of your job. We’ll feature your responses in APG comms to help more strategists make the most of these tools.
Matt Box | Strategy Director at GPJ
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
Perplexity.ai - quick way to gather sourced support either for, or against, a hypothesis.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Eleven Labs - create quick, easy and believable voice overs for mood films to sell in brand platforms (So you don't have the excruciating job of reading out a brand manifesto in a meeting).
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
Gemini and ChatGPT - some of the worst copy and image generation you will see. Absolute waffle city, and the opposite of the specificity needed for strategy. That said - great for cutting down word counts for awards submissions.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
To borrow a thought from the designer of 'I Heart NY', Milton Glaser, "Computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking.". It'll make things faster but not better!
Charlotte Beckett | Research and Strategy Director at Why People Do
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
I don't fire up, except for very specific tasks: CoLoop or Relative Insight for thematic analysis or comparative linguistics (my research or wider conversations); Claude.ai for quick brain pick if I'm looking for specific examples of things (e.g. if I'm teaching strategy and want ads from across the years to illustrate something)
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Relative Insight - clients don't get the awesomeness of the speed at which it can cut data, run analysis and sophisticated starting points for insight, thanks to their own LLM and years of training on a deep variety of text types.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
Discover.ai - just a dressed up Chat GPT. More effort than it's worth.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
From a research perspective, AI gets you from nought to ok really quickly. Use it as a thought starter, then go your own way. And never use citations from the likes of Claude.ai without cross checking thoroughly - they are often incorrect.
Rory Natkiel | Head of Strategy at Sid Lee London
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
I'm going to be boring and say ChatGPT. I know Claude is meant to be better, but I've been using ChatGPT for over two years, so it's now part LLM, part notebook, and there's a lot of past research I've done in there that I refer back to.
I use it for a number of things - statistical analysis, workshop design, market sizing. When it comes to creative strategy I use it to validate or expand on hypotheses for creative briefs.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
fyxer.ai is fantastic - as someone with ADHD, an ai that sorts my emails, drafts responses and suggests meeting times when prompted is invaluable.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
I'm not sure there's one tool, but with both Gemini and ChatGPT, I've found their ability to code disappointing, given what I'd been led to expect. I was hoping that I would be able to develop Python-based prototypes for ideas quickly, but using both has taken me much longer than expected, often due to them making seemingly basic errors.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
Don't ever just chuck the client brief in there and get it to generate the answer, because the one thing it doesn't ever do is challenge your input.
If you ask for an ad campaign aimed at Gen Z, it'll give you an ad campaign for Gen Z. But it won't point you to BBH Labs' research that shows generational groupings are a terrible way to think about target audiences.
Think critically, get to an answer yourself, and then use AI to expand on it.
Emily Keller-Logan | Director of Global Marketing Strategy and Experience at Coursera
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
Depends on the task. If it’s research I use Perplexity to identify sources and Notebooks LLM to mine the sources for insights. If it’s a specific project with context I use ChatGPT or Claude projects to define discrete instructions, upload source material/knowledge, and then work in chats for specific questions (applying audience research and a brief to v1 application in a channel). Gigabrain is great for mining Reddit for audience insights.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Notebook LLM - sifting through research reports, asking questions.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
Perplexity— lot of outdated / irrelevant sources
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
This!
Nick Myers | Chief Strategy Officer at OLIVER
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
The OLIVER AI sandbox, our very own toolbox equipped with all major LLMs from Claude to Perplexity, as well as image & audio generation tools.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Gemini can be overlooked but its large context window makes it the ideal tool for more advanced AI uses. Also, Google’s Image FX is a hidden gem, perfect for deck illustrations.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
MS Co-Pilot. It’s got some way to go, but could be such a powerful tool to help with managing my diary and emails.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
Never forget that AI is “a tool that can build tools” (as Iain Tait said). As such, explore what you might use AI to build whether that be an agent, or a simulator, etc. It’s more than just a way to crunch down large chunks of data and be more efficient, it can help you unlock entirely new ways of solving problems and seeing things.
Tosin Balogun | Strategy Director at Scanad Africa
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
For personal work, I use any version of Google's Gemini to jumstart idea territories, fine-tune hypothesis or clarify a consumer segment. For official purposes, I use WPP's proprietary AI tool for the above tasks and more complex data analysis outcomes.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
The most underrated AI tool in my opinion is Anthropic's Claude. Its capability to undertake complex analytical tasks is mind-blowing.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
I am most disappointed by ChatGPT. It had so much promise as Gen AI's first mover but lately, it has been falling behind in terms of accuracy and efficiency.
The company; Open AI, also has lots of allegations concerning its unethical approach on data breaches, IP infringement, etc
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
The most optimal use of AI for strategists is to figure out how to integrate AI into existing workflows to drive efficiency and better outcomes not to outrightly replace your strategy Ways of Working. AI, just like every other technology before it, can't replace human intelligence.
Rob Estreitinho | Founder & Strategy Lead at Salmon Labs
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
These days, Perplexity AI. It's Google on steroids and tremendous to get a very initial lay of the land on anything, especially if you're working on a brand, category or audience you've never really touched before.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Otter AI. I know it's one of the OG tools but honestly, the ability to record yourself or others and have a tool summarise the main points and give you actions in a matter of minutes is nothing short of a miracle. It certainly makes stakeholder interviews 10x easier to manage!
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
Gemini. I feel like Google is scrambling for relevance in the space, which in fairness they've partially regained by innovating with Notebook LM. But i have to say, i've never really gotten an impressive result out of Gemini, whether that's around summarising emails, writing support or general search queries, the latter of which is deeply ironic. The sad part is that it has so much potential for integrating with dozens of tools i already use, but so far... eh.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
AI is a tremendous tool but it has no taste (yet?). That's where you come in.
Emeka Obia | Integrated Strategy Director at Publicis West Africa
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
First thing in the morning, I power up Copilot. It's an incredible asset for refining content and generating ideas. Whether I'm drafting a brief or brainstorming campaign concepts, Copilot always brings fresh perspectives and helps streamline my creative process.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
An underrated AI tool, in my opinion, is Grammarly. Most people think of it as just a spell-checker, but it’s actually a powerful tool for enhancing the clarity and effectiveness of written communication. It suggests stylistic improvements and helps maintain a consistent tone, which is invaluable in writing strategy decks.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
I'd say automated sentiment analysis tools. While they can provide a quick overview of customer feedback, they often lack the nuanced understanding of context, irony, and sarcasm that humans easily grasp. This can lead to inaccurate insights and misinformed decisions if relied upon too heavily.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
My advice to other strategists would be to use AI as a tool, not a crutch. AI can enhance and streamline your work, but it’s your human creativity, intuition, and strategic thinking that will set your work apart. Balance AI-generated insights with your own expertise to deliver truly impactful results.
Ruairi Curran | Executive Strategy Director at Gravity Road
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
Chat GPT 4o
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Chat GPT 4o mobile app
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
The lack of a good tool to conduct competitor comms analysis at scale.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
Get off the chair, away from the laptop and go for a walk, talk to Chat GPT 4o mobile app about your challenge/idea and treat it as a sounding board the way you would your best work colleague/coach.
Piotr Bombol | Co-Founder at Adaily
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
Gemini. It used to be ChatGPT, but Google AI's model has been my secret weapon lately. It works effectively on a much broader context (almost 20x the memory compared to e.g. ChatGPT) for materials I share for analysis. It helps me with in-depth analysis and even proactively offers ways to approach the task!
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Honestly, any tool that gives you real superpowers with no effort. I am a great fan of Perplexity that delivers smart answers to (sometimes) my dumb questions. You can even easily follow it up or, if you prefer, iterate with alternative ways to ask the same question. Then gather answers and let another AI tool analyze them for you.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
I’d say all image/video generation tools. I had high hopes for them, thinking they would let non-designers like me start expressing ideas easily. Sadly, it’s not simple. Getting anything convincing takes too much time to master. I will leave them to designers (for now).
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
Just try it. Figure out for yourself if you like it, hate it or feel indifferent (the worst!). And since you're probably overburdened with work, look for solutions tailored to your needs but that don’t require a lot of time to train. A good AI tool should deliver value with minimal effort.
Hamest Artin | Strategist at Inhouse agency
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
GPT 4o
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Sana AI, because of the application of their solutions - for knowledge management, and research.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
Copilot, it can't really do anything when prompted within an app. Complete rubbish in Powerpoint, but decent at note taking.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
Be open with how and where AI has been used. Be ready to explain your deliveries when you have used AI.
Maximilian Weigl | Global Strategy Partner at Uncommon Creative Studio
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
Most likely Perplexity. Because I probably need to prove or falsify a hypothesis.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
Up until recent,ly I'd have probably said NotebooksLLM. Great resource to dump your research and get concise summaries and/or answers to questions. Works well with case studies, award papers, etc.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
A lot of synthetic user testing/groups I've tested. The (fake) respondents just don't sound like real people, they talk like marketers (and when you want to make good marketing you don't want to talk to marketers.)
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
It's tempting, but: don't shortcut or outsource your thinking.
Mara Dettmann | UK Strategy Director at Laundry Service / Wasserman Group
What’s the first AI tool you fire up when you sit down to do work and what for?
Perplexity – to get up to date with the news and start doing research.
Which AI tool is underrated in your opinion and why?
I really like Notion! And I've heard great things about Julius for data analysis.
What AI tool are you most disappointed by and why?
Canva! Maybe my hopes were too high (or I'm not using it to its fullest potential), but I thought it would make designing presentations and ilk as simple as "make me a pretty slide that brings across <core idea>."
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other strategists when using AI?
AI can be a great collaborator – but don't outsource your actual thinking to AI, and don't forget the value of human collaboration.