Intro of Automate your boring tasks with these free AI tools
Every day we have to deal with boring and time-consuming tasks. Many of these are repetitive and can be completed simultaneously. You do not have to be skilled in technology to appreciate what AI has to offer. With free AI tools, you can automate mundane tasks like routine reports and checklists, all of which will be beneficial in saving time, reducing work-related stress, and improving productivity.
In this guide, we’ll analyze the ways you can automate dull tasks using available AI tools for free, as well as the difference these tools will make in your daily life.
Why Automating Tasks is a Game-Changer
Time Savings
Saving time is one of the most noticeable advantages recognized with task automation, along with the added time for other activities. Imagine the amount of time spent on answering emails, sorting data, or scheduling meetings. Clearly these are some of the tasks that AI is well suited to take over and can allow you to think and formulate ideas and pour all your imagination on something creative.
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Real-World Example: For an employee currently facing the burden of allocating 30 minutes each day to organize emails or sort through abundance of notifications, AI tools like Zapier or IFTTT can dramatically lower this time to a few minutes.
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AI tackles the simple repetitive tasks, now you are able to pay attention to more important matters.
Error Reduction
While performing repetitive tasks, humans are more susceptible to error. With automation, AI adheres to set procedures and does not get tired or distracted, making blunders highly unlikely.
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Example: An AI-powered application such as Google Sheets, when combined with Google Apps Script, can assist in performing automation for tasks such as data entry and analysis like weekly report generation. AI has a lower possibility of making transcription errors or data mismatching errors that are commonplace in manual work.
Stress and Burnout Prevention
Performing the same task repeatedly can lead to stress and potentially, burnout. The mental effort of remembering to do a certain task is offloaded when the task is automated, thus reducing stress as well as improving overall work-life balance.
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Example: Customer support is another area where routine tasks can be automated using chatbots like ChatGPT. Responding to frequently asked questions is one such task that can be automated. This enables your team to channel their energies into more sophisticated issues.
Types of Tasks You Can Automate with AI
Depending on your needs, AI tools can automate a broad scope of activities. Following are a few tasks that can be automated to conserve time and effort.
Email Management
For many people, managing emails is an enormous time burden. Answering routine queries alone creates a lot of busy work which AI can easily do.
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Free AI Tool Example: Clean Email – A free tool that automatically cleans your inbox by sorting and organizing emails, unsubscribing from unwanted newsletters, and filtering spam.
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AI Benefits: Helps you manage your inbox by significantly reducing clutter, improving email sorting based on importance, and effective inbox management.
Social Media Management
Posting consistently and engaging with followers on personal or business accounts can quickly become overwhelming. AI tools can assist with automating interactions, monitoring engagements, and post analyses.
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Free AI Tool Example: Buffer – An AI tool that helps you automatically suggest the best times for post engagement, and schedule social media posts while monitoring audience interaction.
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AI Benefits: Helps you save time through content scheduling, automates social media analytics, and adapts the recommended strategies based on monitored engagement and content effectiveness.
Data Entry and Analysis
Capturing data is a monotonous activity that consumes your valuable hours of the day. It involves entering data in spreadsheets, processing it, and generating reports. AI can accomplish all of this without the help of a human.
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Free AI Tool Example: Instead of note-taking, do Tidio Chatbot and make social media posts! Use Google Apps Script and Google Sheets for data reporting and analysis powered by Google AI features.
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AI Benefits: Automates data entry, ensures consistency, and creates reports without manual input.
Customer Support and Chatbots
Handling customer queries can be exhausting, especially for common questions. AI-powered chatbots can take over the task of answering frequently asked questions, allowing human agents to focus on more complex issues.
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Free AI Tool Example: Tidio – A free AI chatbot that can engage with customers, answer questions, and escalate issues to a human agent when necessary.
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AI Benefits: Data entry automation saves time, ensures uniformity, and makes reports without any manual intervention.
Content Creation
Responding to customer queries is very tiring especially to a common set of questions. With AI-powered chatbots, answering frequently asked questions can now be automated fueling human agents to high stake issues.
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Free AI Tool Example: ChatGPT – Tidio is a free AI chatbot that actively engages customers and responds to their questions. The bot also has the ability to forward certain matters that require the attention of a human agent.
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AI Benefits: Provides 24/7 support, repetitive questions are already handled, and boosts customer satisfaction.
Top Free AI Tools to Automate Your Boring Tasks
Below is a list of tools I recommend which are free to use and may assist in automating specific tasks.
Zapier
What It Is:
Automation is made super easy with Zapier. It is known to connect over 2000 applications to enhance productivity. Automation of repetitive tasks can be done at ease across different tools.
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Key Features:
- Inter-app task automation with Gmail, Slack, Google Sheets and more.
- Over 2000 integrations supported.
- A user-friendly interface allows easy configuration.
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How It Works:
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Example: Gmail to Dropbox email attachment saving is an example of automation using a Zapier workflow.
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Pros and Cons:
- Profits: Free plan available, many integrations, user-friendly interface.
- Costs: The free plan has limitations on the number of tasks per month.
IFTTT (If This Then That)
What It Is:
IFTTT allows the user to set automation ‘recipes’ for their apps and devices, and the best part is that it is free to use.
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Key Features:
- Supports a wide variety of apps and device connections.
- Easy interface to setup triggers.
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How It Works:
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Example: Twitter automated posting on new blog post upload is an example of trigger setting.
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Pros and Cons:
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Pros: Highly easy to operate and many integrations.
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Cons: Some integrations may be limited.
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ChatGPT for Automation
What It Is:
You can implement ChatGPT to automate systems for customer service, content creation, or personal productivity.
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Key Features:
- Automate replies to email and other queries.
- Create social media posts and blogs.
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How It Works:
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Example: Use ChatGPT to send responses to standard customer support emails.
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Pros and Cons:
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Pros: Can be used free of charge, intelligent answers, multi-purpose.
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Cons: For bulk requests, there are some limitations in free usage.
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Trello + Butler
What It Is:
Butler is Trello’s inbuilt automation feature that aids in project management.
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Key Features:
- Automation of task assigning, card movement and due dates.
- Works with other tools like Slack.
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How It Works:
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Example: Automatically assign tasks of active cards in specific lists to the members of the team.
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Pros and Cons:
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Pros: Intuitive, free plan available.
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Cons: Limited features in the free plan.
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Calendly
What It Is:
Allows automating the booking of meetings without needing to send several emails.
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Key Features:
- Can automatically book meetings for clients using the calendar when there is free time.
- Works with Google calendar, Outlook, and other platforms.
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How It Works:
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Example: Integration of Calendly with zoom to set up automated scheduling of zoom calls when clients book time.
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Pros and Cons:
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Pros: Easy to use, integrates with calendars, free plan available.
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Cons: Customization options on the free plan are limited which is a drawback.
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You can also read Free AI courses with certificates (limited-time!)
How to Get Started: Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Identify Your Tasks
The first step toward automating your repetitive activities is determining which ones absorb most of your time. Consider tasks that you routinely perform on a daily or weekly basis that are monotonous, require very little thought, or do not need any innovation. Those are the activities that are most suitable for automation.
Example:
If you spend several hours managing your inbox by sorting emails and answering routine emails, you can significantly decrease this time with an email management application.
Quick Tip:
Create a schedule of all the tasks you perform on a regular basis. Rank them according to the amount of time they take and the level of effort invested in them.
Step 2: Choose the Right AI Tool
Now that you know which activities need automation, it is time to identify the AI tool that suits you best. A variety of AI programs are available for different activities such as data entry, content creation, social media management, and email automation. Select a program that adresses your requirements, the nature of work, and the level of intuitiveness.
Suggestions:
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For Email Management: Clean Email and SaneBox help organize and filter emails automatically without the need for manual configuration.
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For Task Automation: If you want to connect different applications like Gmail or Google Sheets, tools like Zapier and Integromat (which is now called Make) offer integration services.
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For Content Creation: Jasper AI, previously known as Jarvis, along with Copy.ai, do a wonderful job of creating blog posts, articles, and even social media captions.
Quick Tip:
It would be best if you’re just getting accustomed to using AI tools, begin with a platform that prioritizes ease of use. Take Zapier for instance; they allow you to automate workflows without having to code.
Step 3: Set Up the Automation
Setting up automation processes is a lot easier than what most people believe. For most of the tools, the user interface is designed to be intuitive and accompanied by step-by-step instructions. Here are the steps to setting up the automation:
- Select your preferred app or service you wish to automate.
- Choose the particular action or event that sets the automation into motion (e.g., receiving a new email).
- Establish what the goal of the automation will be (for example, to save the email attachment to a specific cloud service).
Example:
Setting up the aforementioned example in Zapier allows you to create a “Zap” which is programmed to save email-based attachments stored in Gmail to Google Drive, which the user can set up in under minutes.
Quick Tip:
You do not need to create automations from scratch as many tools now offer pre-made templates to assist you in getting started quickly.
Step 4: Monitor and Adjust
After setting your automation systems, now you can enjoy the luxury of free time as the AI takes over. However, in the early stages of your automation journey, it is crucial to keep a close eye on your processes to verify that everything is functioning seamlessly. Be sure to check the results after a few days for any necessary changes.
Example:
You might realize that some emails are not being filtered accurately; thus, you can refine the configuration settings for greater precision within your email management software.
Quick Tip:
Always check for self-correcting mechanisms within the system. Take Zapier as an example: should it notice a malfunction with one of its automations, it will inform you. Ensure you stay on top of these notifications so that your systems can operate appropriately without risk of oversight.
My Opinion
With an array of tools available online, boring tasks can now be delegated to AI, thus minimizing stress while enhancing productivity. Such tools are capable of managing emails and even generating content, leaving you with ample time to engage in meaningful activities.
What’s more, is that you can now automate your day-to-day tasks —take your life to the next level of productivity and efficiency alongside reduced stress levels. What task will you automate first?