How has AI actually helped (or not helped) your startup journey?

We launched our AI tool ranking platform, @RankmyAI (Beta), today here on Product Hunt. We've been using AI extensively, from automatically generating tool descriptions and extracting features to classifying tools across categories.

We also rely on AI for content creation: insight articles, AI country reports, social media posts, and more. It’s amazing to see how much more productive we’ve become with AI compared to just three years ago.

That said, we also see how important it is to keep the human in the loop. We manually inspect AI-generated data, make corrections where needed, and continuously adjust our algorithms and workflows. All content generated with the help of AI starts with an idea from someone on our team (and a detailed outline/prompt). We remain the architects and we stay in control.

Now, testing AI videos so it shrinks the time for production – instead of waiting 4 or 5 days for a UGC creator, we create something in less than day so we can run ads and test it right away :)

It gives the oportunity to my webapp to ba able to undestand concept from image (grocery receipt) and make it into a fromat (json format) that can be used

I’m definitely seeing AI making a real impact—especially with content creation and automation. Tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney have sped up brainstorming and visual design for our team. Notion AI has also been a lifesaver for organizing docs and even summarizing meetings.

But I agree, there’s a lot of hype out there too. Some “AI assistants” promise the world but end up being clunky or require too much manual setup. I’ve tried a few AI email tools that just didn’t get the nuance right—ended up going back to basics.

Biggest win: Using AI to automate customer support FAQs. It’s freed up our team and improved response times 👏

Biggest struggle: Integrating AI tools smoothly into our existing workflows. Sometimes it feels like you need to overhaul everything just to make it fit.

If you’re building with AI, my advice is to start simple and keep feedback loops tight. The tech moves fast, but user trust builds slow!

Curious to see what others are using and building—let’s keep the honest takes coming! 💡✨

Hi Sarthak,

Thanks for starting this insightful thread! In my startup journey, AI has been a game-changer, especially in automating customer support and personalizing marketing campaigns. Tools like ChatGPT have helped draft content quickly and brainstorm ideas, saving tons of time. However, I found some AI design tools a bit overhyped—the results sometimes lack the nuance a human touch provides, so I still rely on designers for final tweaks.

One tool I swear by is Jasper for content generation; it’s surprisingly good at maintaining brand voice. On the flip side, some early-stage AI analytics platforms promised deep insights but ended up being too generic or complicated to integrate smoothly.

For those building AI-powered products, the biggest challenge has been managing user expectations around AI capabilities and ensuring data privacy. But overall, AI has accelerated many workflows and opened new creative possibilities.

Looking forward to hearing others’ experiences!

We set up a support bot that deflects about 60% of basic queries. It’s not perfect, but it frees us up for the gnarly stuff. Bonus: it never complains about overtime.