What AI tools and agents are actually used for
Latest use cases
Watch a non-smart boiler with a camera and AI alerts
A landlord pointed a Tapo camera at a rental's boiler; AI reads the error display and zone lights and texts him when something looks wrong. The code is public.
Import bank statements and plan transfers with Claude over MCP
The builder of Stoke Money, a cash-flow forecasting app, connects it to Claude via MCP to import PDF bank statements, tag vacation spending and plan transfers between accounts.
Answer restaurant calls and take reservations with a voice AI
Slang.ai and Loman describe AI phone agents that answer restaurant calls, book reservations and take orders around the clock.
Answer service-business calls and book jobs with AI
Avoca, Sameday and Hatch describe AI agents that answer calls for home service businesses, qualify leads and book appointments.
Measure a roof from aerial imagery or photos
EagleView, Hover, Roofr and RoofSnap describe roof measurement from aerial imagery or phone photos to build estimates.
Auto-measure takeoffs from construction drawings
Togal.AI says it detects, measures and labels spaces on architectural drawings; STACK and ProEst offer digital takeoff for estimators.
Review pull requests automatically with an AI reviewer
CodeRabbit, Greptile and Qodo describe AI code review that comments on pull requests with codebase context.
Hand a coding task to an autonomous agent
Devin, Cursor, GitHub Copilot and Windsurf describe agents that take a task or issue and produce code changes for review.
Build a web app by describing it
Lovable, Bolt, Replit and v0 describe building working apps and websites from plain-language prompts.
Take meeting notes and action items without typing
Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv and Granola describe AI that transcribes or notes meetings and pulls out action items.
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Recently added tools
CCiteProof
Checks legal brief citations and quotes against public court records; free existence check, Verification Record from $49 per its site.
FFirmenza
Says it is an 'AI employee' that watches your SAM.gov registration and finds matching federal contracts.
WRWP Replai
AI chatbot plugin for WordPress that answers customer questions and hands others to your team; free version available.
KAKapwing AI Camera Controls
Free reference from Kapwing for writing camera angle, movement and shot prompts for AI video generators.
EAEtherPK Agent Chat
Feature in the EtherPK notes app that lets you chat with an AI agent about your notes and control what it can see.
GBGrok Bot
AI agent app where named Bots work on a persistent cloud computer with a browser, files and a terminal, using connectors, skills and scheduled routines.
CCClaude Code
Anthropic's agentic coding tool that understands your codebase, edits files and runs commands, in the terminal and IDE.
OCOpenAI Codex
OpenAI's coding agent across ChatGPT, the terminal, IDE and cloud; runs parallel tasks and reviews pull requests. Included in ChatGPT plans per its site.
CClaude
Anthropic's AI assistant for work: chat, hand off tasks, create docs, decks and spreadsheets, and run scheduled tasks across your apps.
CCClaude Cowork
Anthropic's agent for knowledge work: start a task at your desk, check in from your phone, and get a deck, document or spreadsheet back; supports scheduled tasks.
OOpenClaw
Open-source personal AI assistant that runs on your own machine and works from WhatsApp, Telegram or other chat apps for inbox, email and calendar tasks.
HAHermes Agent
Open-source, self-hosted AI agent from Nous Research with persistent memory, self-created skills and a messaging gateway for Telegram, Discord and Slack.