What Sticks

AI tools reviewed the boring way: 30 to 90 days of real professional use, marketing claims tested against what actually happens, and a healthy suspicion of anything described as game-changing. Everything on this list earned its place after the demo glow wore off. Tools that looked impressive for a week and useless by week four didn't make it. No hype, no sponsored placements — if it's here, it survived actual work.

Every tool on this list survived at least 30 days with my actual brain — not a demo weekend, not a productivity honeymoon. A real month, including the bad weeks. I test everything against three kinds of friction: how hard it is to set up, how much it demands every day, and how hard it is to come back to after falling off. The ones here passed. The dozens that didn't aren't listed. That's the whole methodology: what sticks, stays.