What should I look for when comparing AI tools in 2025?

You should look for a tool that is genuinely easy to use, gives you a choice of the best AI models, lets you customize it with your own business knowledge, connects with your other apps, and can scale with you as your business grows.

The AI landscape in 2025 is crowded. It feels like a new, game-changing tool is launched every week, each claiming to be the best. The sheer volume of AI models / generative AI platforms now available can make decision-making difficult.

For a busy entrepreneur, this is more noise than help. You don’t need the most hyped tool, you need the right tool for your business. So how do you cut through the jargon and make a smart choice? Here’s a simple checklist.

1. Is it Actually Easy to Use?

Your time is your most valuable asset. You shouldn’t need a computer science degree to build an AI assistant. A tool that is clunky or complicated will just sit there gathering digital dust. An AI platform worth your investment “should be intuitive and user-friendly. Complexity should happen behind the scenes.”

What to look for:

• A clean, simple interface.

• A no-code builder where you use plain English instructions.

• The ability to get started in minutes, not weeks.

If the “getting started” guide looks like an engineering textbook, run the other way. At LaunchLemonade, we believe building with AI should feel as easy as setting up a lemonade stand.

2. Do You Have a Choice of AI Models?

Different AI models are good at different things. Some are incredibly creative (great for marketing copy), while others are fast and logical (perfect for data analysis). As the AI landscape evolves at an unprecedented pace, locking yourself into one single model is risky.

You wouldn’t use a hammer for every job in your toolbox, so why use just one AI model? Platforms like LaunchLemonade give you access to over 21 different models. Including those from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and more, so you can pick the perfect one for any task.

What to look for:

• Access to multiple top-tier models (like GPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.).

• The flexibility to switch models for different tasks.

• The ability to chain models together in “Flows” for complex, multi-step jobs.

3. Can You Make It Your Own?

An out-of-the-box AI assistant doesn’t know your brand, your customers, or your unique way of doing things. To be truly useful, it needs to be trained by you. The ability to customize an AI with your specific knowledge is what separates a gimmick from a game-changer.

What to look for:

• Custom Instructions: The power to tell your assistant exactly who it is and how it should behave.

• Custom Knowledge Base: A feature that lets you upload your documents, templates, and brand guidelines for the AI to learn from. LaunchLemonade’s persistent memory ensures your assistant doesn’t start from scratch every time, it evolves with your business.

A generic AI creates generic results. An AI trained on your expertise becomes a true digital extension of your team.

4. Does It Play Well with Others?

Your business probably runs on a handful of different apps. Your CRM, email marketing tool, project manager, and more. An AI tool that lives on an island is a novelty. An AI tool that connects to your entire tech stack is an automation powerhouse.

What to look for:

• The ability to embed the assistant on your website or app.

• Crucially, integration with platforms like Zapier, which lets you connect your AI to thousands of other business tools without code.

This is how you go from creating content with AI to building end-to-end automations that handle leads, support customers, and run workflows while you sleep.

5. Can It Grow With Your Business?

The tool you choose today should support you tomorrow. As a solopreneur, you might just need one simple assistant. But what happens when you hire your first employee? Or when you develop an assistant so good that other businesses want to buy it?

What to look for:

• Team Collaboration: Features like shared workspaces that allow your team to build and manage assistants together.

• Scalability: A platform that won’t crumble as your usage grows.

• Monetization Options: Look for a marketplace where you can share or even sell the assistants you create, opening up new revenue streams.

The Right Tool Simplifies, Not Complicates

Choosing an AI tool isn’t about chasing the latest trend. It’s about finding a partner that makes your life easier, empowers your business, and grows with you. By focusing on ease of use, choice, customization, integration, and scalability, you’ll find a platform that delivers real value instead of just hype.

We built LaunchLemonade to check all these boxes, empowering small businesses to compete with giants. No PhD required.

Try LaunchLemonade now.