25+ AI and GenAI resources to lean on in 2024

You can’t step onto the internet’s proverbial sidewalk without being inundated with artificial intelligence talk. Every technology company under the sun is announcing the next best AI tool, and people (like us) are throwing generative artificial intelligence terms into conversations as if everyone knows what we’re talking about. (Sorry, everyone.)

For as common as the offers and talk have become, there’s still a slight disconnect between how artificial intelligence (AI) and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) are defined. And, with so many tools out there, which ones should we actually be paying attention to?

In this post, we’ve done the hard work for you:

• The differences between AI and GenAI.
• The best AI influencers to follow today by industry/expertise.
• The top AI tools used by accounting, marketing, sales and finance professionals.

AI vs. GenAI: What’s the difference?

First things first: GenAI is a subset of AI.

“AI” is the broader term encompassing all forms of artificial intelligence; its subcategories include traditional AI (sometimes referred to as narrow AI or weak AI) and generative AI.

“The main difference between traditional AI and generative AI lies in their capabilities and application. Traditional AI systems are primarily used to analyze data and make predictions, while generative AI goes a step further by creating new data similar to its training data.” Bernard Marr, Forbes

Generative AI—one type of AI—can create new, original content based on patterns it learns from existing data. It goes beyond analysis and prediction by actually producing unique outputs or responses.

However, its output is entirely dependent on the data it has access to.

For example:

1. ChatGPT (GPT-4o) gets its information from a combination of training data, a Python environment for processing calculations and certain databases and APIs. It also has access to a browser for retrieving current information.
2. Alternatively, you could upload files to a tool like Rightworks Spark or Perplexity and get answers based on only the information from those files.

In the first example, ChatGPT is very similar to how we use Google. Its answers depend on the information available on the internet.

In the second example, it’s like we’re Googling our own files.

Use cases vary. Sometimes, it makes more sense to use a tool that scrapes the entire internet (up to a point); other times, you only want answers that have come from a specific source.

Best AI resources and tools for professionals

Let’s talk about the people who’ve jumped head-first into AI.

Follow these influencers on their platforms (linked below) for their valuable insights into the latest developments in AI technology, its applications across various industries and its societal impact.

Have someone to add to the list? Message us on LinkedIn.

AI tools

The moment you’ve been waiting for: the AI tools.

We’ve divvied up the list by professional function; click on the jump link below to go to the section most relevant to you:

• AI and finance: Accounting and tax, client advisory and bookkeeping tools.
• AI and marketing: Full-stack marketing, writing and research, emailing and graphic design tools.
• AI and sales: Revenue and financial forecasting and customer and client relations (CRM) tools.

Browse through and let us know which ones you’re using, too.

The best AI finance tools

With the ability to recognize errors faster and with more precision than any human, AI and accounting go together like milk and cookies.

AI accounting and tax tools

AI client advisory tools

AI bookkeeping tools

For bookkeepers looking to save time on data processing—or small to medium-sized businesses seeking automated bookkeeping—here are the top four solutions for you:

The best AI marketing tools

Marketing is so much more than writing or designing. It’s about putting yourself in the shoes of your customers or clients and strategizing about how to best: a) create a product that fits what they need, and b) ensure that product gets in front of them.

Believe it or not, marketing is also about more than the product you sell. It requires creating content around your customers’ desires and crafting campaigns that help prospective buyers get the information they need when they need it.

Sounds like a lot. And it is. But with AI marketing tools, crafting a strategy, distributing content to your ideal customers, and even interpreting campaign results leads me to visualize that old “easy button” commercial.

Here are a few of our favorites:

AI full-stack marketing tools

AI writing and research tools

GenAI content writing tools shouldn’t be used to write copy for you.

Let me explain:

• GenAI tools are great at sweeping away creative cobwebs: They often help me get over a creative rut, acting as my brainstorming companion throughout the writing process.
• GenAI tools make researching a topic way faster: That said, they’re not perfect. Nearly every tool has that little “check my facts” disclaimer somewhere on its page. That note’s there for a reason. Click through to the sources listed to ensure factual accuracy.

Here are a few tools that you should use to help—not replace—your creative writing process:

AI email tools

AI graphic design and image tools

For businesses requiring high-quality imagery, the following AI graphic design and image tools are reigning supreme in the design world:

The best AI sales tools

AI revenue and financial forecasting tools

Identifying revenue attribution per campaign and projecting financial targets a month, quarter or year out are often sluggish processes with little room for error.

With the addition of AI to already powerful platforms, those tasks turn from time-consuming brain-melters to simple and quick.

AI CRM tools

CRM (customer relationship management) tools are beasts. They track marketing and sales performance, act as a hub of customer data, and make selling and tracking sales data way easier.

For the purposes of this blog post, we’re going to look at the “opportunity tracking” component of the two biggest CRMs: HubSpot and Salesforce.

Both have integrated AI and GenAI into their platform; get more information below.

To stay competitive, you must be AI-curious

If you read through every table above, you may have noticed there was one AI tool we carried across multiple sections: Spark.

Spark, while it is a purpose-built for accounting AI tool, does more than just help out with accounting-related questions.

• It can develop your writing skills by honing your voice.
• It can generate social media copy based on that newly created voice to help you grow your followers and reach.
• It could (hypothetically) develop an entire campaign about showcasing the “new you” on social media platforms.

Spark’s just as powerful as Claude, Gemini, DALL-E 3 and Jasper—except it’s all on one platform.

Starting right now, lean into AI

Evaluate your daily tasks; could AI help perform them? Over time, you’ll notice a shift in your workday. Tasks that historically took most of your time will get faster, possibly even eliminated. And suddenly, you’ll have more time for the projects that excite you.

Stay competitive. Stay curious. And for more on AI, subscribe to our blog.