The AI space right now is genuinely overwhelming.

There’s new AI slop and SaaS tools every day and if you're consuming AI content regularly, you can probably relate with the feeling where you finish watching something that is exciting, but somehow you’re actually less clear on how to practically implement it into your business which then just creates an open loop.

Here's the filter I use that helps.

I only pay attention to AI content that helps me solve a specific problem I’m currently working on, everything else is noise and not a priority right now.

And because I only use Notion, Claude, and Google Workspace in my business, if it’s not related to any of these 3 tools, it's almost certainly a shiny object.

These 3 tools are actually all you need to run most businesses. The combination of a structured Notion workspace for me and my team, a powerful AI layer with Claude’s growing product list, and the connected Google ecosystem.

The real trap isn't using too few tools, it's using too many and integrating none of them properly. You end up with a dozen half-connected apps, a bunch of workflows you half-built, and the sneaking feeling that you're always one tool away from having it all figured out. (You're not. No tool is coming to save you from a lack of systems.)

The other thing I'd say is that AI needs to be integrated into your operating system otherwise it’ll likely just automate chaos which wouldn’t exist if you had a clear operating system and defined processes in place.

This is how you compound the leverage you get from AI, by integrating it into your operating system (which comes first btw) and then making your operating system more and more powerful over time as you integrate AI into it.

At the end of the day, if you have a business, your actual job is simple: keep your current customers happy, get them results, and get more customers. That's it. Everything else, the tools, the automations, the AI stack, it exists to serve those three things. If what you're building isn't serving one of them, it's probably a distraction.

Stay in the driver's seat. Don’t work “in” AI, work “on” it.

Stay grounded in systems.
Chris "The Systemizer" Punt