My AI Subscriptions Now Outnumber My Streaming Subscriptions

At some point this year, I realized something slightly absurd: I now have as many paid AI subscriptions as I do streaming services.

ChatGPT only launched to the public in late 2022. It hasn't even been three years, and AI tools have gone from "interesting demo" to "things I pay monthly for and would genuinely miss if they disappeared," at a pace that streaming services took a decade to reach.

Here's roughly what's in my current stack, and what each one actually does for me:

ChatGPT is still my daily driver, general thinking, drafting, problem-solving across both business and personal life.

Claude (Anthropic) is where I go for more nuanced writing and longer-form thinking, anything that needs a more careful, considered output.

Perplexity has become my default for search. When I need an answer with sources, not just a generated response, this is where I go first. Google has become a backup, not a habit.

Fathom is an AI meeting assistant that's quietly become one of the highest-value tools in my stack. More on that another time.

Midjourney handles image generation when I need visuals for content or just want to see an idea rendered.

Suno is for AI-generated music, admittedly more of a fun/experimental one, but genuinely impressive.

Notion functions as my "second brain," increasingly AI-assisted for organizing and surfacing my own notes and projects.

What strikes me isn't any single tool. It's the speed at which "having an AI stack" went from novelty to normal. A few years ago, paying for one AI tool felt experimental. Now, having several feels as unremarkable as having Netflix, Spotify, and Disney+ all running at once.

The interesting question isn't whether you'll end up with an AI stack. It's which tools earn a permanent spot in yours, and how quickly that list keeps changing.

Originally posted on Linkedin. Join the conversation here.

Hi5,

LD 🌶️