The AI Tools Every Writer Needs Right Now (And the Dangers We Can’t Ignore)

This interview is part of my podcast “The Substack Writers Salon”. You can watch or listen to the complete interviews here.

I met Terry Brock a couple of weeks ago at PodFest in Florida, and I knew immediately I had to get him on the Writer’s Substack Salon. Terry is the kind of person who makes you feel both excited and slightly behind. He’s a speaker, author, interviewer, coach, and founder of Stark Raving Entrepreneurs, a community built around a live-and-let-live philosophy.

His current obsessionis AI and how creators and founders can harness it.

So I brought him on to answer the question I get asked more than any other: What AI tools should I be using right now?

Here’s what he told me, and it went way beyond a simple tool list.

‘It Depends’ — But Here’s Where to Start

When I asked Terry for his must-have AI tools, he pushed back the way any good strategist would: “What is the problem you’re trying to solve?”

A medical doctor needs different AI than a writer. A journalist covering the auto industry needs different tools than a ghostwriter. Fair enough. So I niched it down to my community — writers, authors, aspiring ghostwriters.

His answer: don’t pick one tool. Pick two or three.

Terry’s current lineup:

* ChatGPT — the standard, strong for writing, editing, and now generating professional infographics

* Claude — excellent at nuance (his words)

* Gemini (Google) — powerful because it ties into the entire Google ecosystem: Docs, Calendar, Gmail

* Grok (from X) — valuable because it sometimes gives you what others won’t

* Perplexity — his go-to for research and daily news briefings

* CastMagic and Taja — lesser-known but powerful tools for content creators

The key insight wasn’t about any single tool. It was about what Terry calls being a “creative conductor” — like an orchestra conductor using different instruments to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Why You Need More Than One AI Tool

Terry made this point with a story. When the U.S. military operation in Venezuela happened, he went to ChatGPT for information. ChatGPT called it misinformation. Grok confirmed it was real. The journalist in him already knew the lesson: never rely on a single source.

He applies the same principle to his writing. When he drafts something, he runs it through ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity. Each one phrases things slightly differently. Then he takes all three outputs and — as he puts it — “Terry-izes it.”

I love that. You should Natasha-ize your work. Or whatever your name is — put your voice, your values, your perspective back into it. AI gives you the raw material. You’re the artist.

He compared it to having a kitchen. You wouldn’t choose between a refrigerator, a dishwasher, and a toaster. You’d learn how each one works and use them all.

How Terry Stays on Top of AI (While the Rest of Us Sleep)

This was the part that floored me. Terry uses Perplexity’s task feature to receive automated AI news briefings:

* 4:00 AM — AI tools update

* 4:30 AM — Crypto report

* 5:00 AM — General business and marketing news

Each briefing is just a sentence or two with links to dig deeper. The journalist in him scans, filters, and follows the threads that matter.

Then he hits what he calls the “University of YouTube” — watching tutorial videos at 1.5x or 2x speed, often before breakfast. He also uses ChatGPT prompts specifically designed to surface new developments in tools like CastMagic, Taja, and Perplexity.

His process: gather raw material from multiple sources, stir it up, and produce something unique for his audience. It’s content curation meets journalism meets creative synthesis.

Free vs. Paid: The ROI Mindset

I asked Terry about the cost of all these subscriptions, because they add up. His breakdown:

* Grok: $8/month

* ChatGPT: $20/month

* Perplexity: $20/month

* Gemini (via Google Workspace): ~$17/month

Total: under $100/month.

But here’s the reframe that stuck with me. Terry said his business school taught him that cost doesn’t matter as much as return on investment. If $100,000 a month guaranteed $3 million in revenue, you’d take that deal. The question isn’t “how much does it cost?” — it’s “how much am I getting back?”

For writers and creators, even the $20/month ChatGPT subscription pays for itself if it saves you hours of work or helps you land one extra client.

The Uncomfortable Conversation: AI’s Dangers

I played devil’s advocate — journalist to journalist. My 14-year-old daughter recently lectured me about AI’s energy consumption, and a friend in West Virginia told me about a town fighting an AI data center. These concerns are real.

Terry’s response was nuanced. He validated every concern — energy, water usage, environmental impact — but pushed back on the binary thinking that says we should shut it all down.

His argument: “Are you going to persuade China to stop? And Russia? And North Korea?”

Throughout history, the answer to dangerous technology has never been abandonment. It’s been innovative. He pointed to nuclear submarines operating safely since the 1950s, France generating most of its electricity from nuclear power, and the potential of solar and fusion energy. The path forward isn’t to stop — it’s to solve the energy problem with the same ingenuity that created AI in the first place.

On the water issue (raised by a sharp audience member, Karen), Terry agreed it needs proactive attention. But his take was characteristically optimistic: Florida is surrounded by water. Arizona isn’t far from the ocean. Desalination technology exists. It’s a logistics and engineering challenge, not an unsolvable crisis.

When Humans Fall in Love with Machines

I brought up the 2013 film Her, about a man who falls in love with an AI. We all laughed back then. Science fiction, right?

Then I shared a story from a recent New York Times interview about real women who have fallen in love with ChatGPT. One woman named her AI “Leo,” started exchanging flirtatious messages with it every morning, and eventually divorced her husband because Leo gave her something her husband couldn’t — the feeling of being truly heard.

Terry acknowledged this is real and growing. But he wisely deferred to mental health professionals, pointing out that humans have always formed unhealthy attachments to cars, tools, work, and substances. AI is a new form of an old pattern. The answer isn’t to ban the technology; it’s to support people with the psychological tools to maintain healthy relationships.

What’s Coming Next

When I asked about the future, Terry joked about his crystal ball’s batteries being dead. Then he said something I’ve been thinking about ever since:

Technology has always been a double-edged sword — ever since fire. It cooks your food and keeps you warm. It can also burn your house down.

He shared a story about a Harvard-trained radiologist who used AI to detect something that multiple doctors had missed — saving a patient’s life. That’s the promise. But he also acknowledged the reality: people are losing jobs, and that’s painful.

His historical perspective is reassuring without being dismissive. Farmers lost their jobs when mules were replaced by machines. Entire industries have been disrupted before. The key is using our brains to help displaced workers find new paths — not pretending the disruption isn’t happening.

The Bottom Line

After an hour with Terry Brock, here’s what I’m taking away:

Pick 2-3 AI tools and learn them well. Don’t chase every shiny new thing, but don’t limit yourself to one either.

Be a creative conductor. Use AI as your orchestra — but you’re the one holding the baton.

Invest in paid versions. Think of it as business school tuition that costs under $100/month.

Stay curious. Set up automated briefings, watch tutorials at 2x speed, and never stop learning.

Don’t fear the disruption. Channel your energy into adaptation, not resistance.

And whatever you create, make sure you put your name on it. Terry-ize it. Natasha-ize it. Make it yours.

You can find Terry Brock at TerryBrock.com or StarkRavingEntrepreneurs.com. He sends out newsletters on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays covering AI tools, entrepreneurship, and content creation.

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Thank you Kathy Small, Karen C-Collector of Books 📖, and many others for tuning into my live video with Terry Brock! Join me for my next live video in the app.