Top 5 AI Tools for Automating Repetitive Tasks
Get more done faster.
Sponsored by Notion AI. The one tool that does it all with ChatGPT-4 & Claude. Search, generate, analyze, and chat—right inside Notion.
Repetitive tasks—data entry, scheduling, sorting files—eat up your day like a silent productivity vampire.
But AI can swoop in and handle them for you, freeing up hours to focus on what matters. I’ve tested dozens of tools, and these five stand out for their power, ease, and real-world impact.
Let’s explore how they can transform your workflow.
1. Zapier: The AI Workflow Wizard
What It Does: Connects apps to automate multi-step processes
Best For: Moving data between tools without manual copy-paste
Cost: Free tier (100 tasks/month); $19.99/month for more
Zapier’s AI smarts lie in its ability to “learn” your workflows and suggest automations. Think of it as a digital glue that ties your apps together.
Use Case: Automatically save email attachments to Google Drive, then notify your team on Slack.
How to Set It Up: Sign up, pick your “trigger” (e.g., new email), and choose an “action” (e.g., save to Drive). Zapier’s AI will recommend next steps based on popular setups.
Time Saved: 10-15 minutes per task, especially for repetitive file management.
Why I Love It: I cut my admin busywork by 30% linking Gmail, Drive, and Trello in one “Zap.”
2. Notion AI: Your Smart Note-Taking Sidekick
What It Does: Writes, summarizes, and organizes notes
Best For: Turning brain dumps into structured docs
Cost: $10/month add-on to Notion (free tier available)
Notion AI isn’t just a fancy autocomplete—it can draft outlines, summarize long docs, and even generate to-do lists from messy notes.
Use Case: Turn meeting scribbles into a clean action plan.
How to Do It: Type “/AI” in Notion, select “Draft Content,” and give it a prompt like “Organize these notes into tasks.” It’ll spit out a polished list in seconds.
Time Saved: 20-30 minutes per document cleanup.
Why I Love It: It’s like having a personal editor who never sleeps—I use it daily to tame my chaos.
3. Otter.ai: Transcription That Thinks
What It Does: Converts audio to text and pulls out key points
Best For: Automating meeting notes
Cost: Free tier (300 minutes/month); $8.33/month for more
Otter.ai uses AI to transcribe calls or recordings, then highlights action items and summaries—no more frantic note-taking.
Use Case: Record a Zoom call and get a searchable transcript with takeaways.
How to Set It Up: Upload an audio file or join a live call with Otter’s bot. Post-meeting, it emails you a summary with timestamps.
Time Saved: 15-20 minutes per meeting.
Why I Love It: I’ve ditched manual recaps—Otter catches details I’d miss while juggling conversation.
4. ClickUp AI: Task Management on Autopilot
What It Does: Suggests tasks, deadlines, and priorities
Best For: Streamlining project planning
Cost: $5/month add-on to ClickUp (free tier available)
ClickUp’s AI doesn’t just track tasks—it predicts what you need to do next and auto-assigns based on workload.
Use Case: Plan a blog post schedule without manually setting dates.
How to Do It: In ClickUp, enable AI, input your project goal (e.g., “Write 4 posts this month”), and it’ll break it into tasks with suggested timelines. Tweak as needed.
Time Saved: 10-15 minutes per project setup.
Why I Love It: It’s like a project manager who doesn’t need coffee breaks—my team stays on track effortlessly.
5. ChatGPT: The All-Purpose Automator
What It Does: Generates text, scripts, or data crunching
Best For: Custom automation for unique tasks
Cost: Free tier; $20/month for GPT-4 access
ChatGPT is the Swiss Army knife of AI. It can write email templates, format spreadsheets, or even script basic automations with a nudge.
Use Case: Batch-create social media captions from a keyword list.
How to Do It: Prompt it with “Write 10 Twitter posts about productivity using these keywords: time, focus, AI.” Copy the output, done.
Time Saved: 20-30 minutes per batch task.
Why I Love It: It’s endlessly flexible—I’ve used it to draft everything from newsletters to grocery lists.
How to Pick Your First Tool
Start with what bugs you most. Drowning in data?
Try Zapier. Meetings eating your soul? Otter’s your fix.
Need a catch-all?
ChatGPT’s got you. Mix and match as you go—automation’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Which repetitive task drives you nuts?