5 AI Shortcuts for Busy Creators
Hey, friend.
Imagine arriving at a blank screen, unsure where to start, but knowing you have hours of research waiting. Now picture that same day, except you have an AI assistant who finds your data, analyzes it, and even turns it into visuals—while you sip your coffee.
That was me, not too long ago.
I used to juggle so many apps and tasks that I forgot why I was working in the first place.
Who hasn't been there?
Deadlines piling up.
Clients and colleagues waiting for research, visuals, and reports—all due yesterday.
...and you're wondering how to tackle it all in the two hours before bedtime.
Most tasks boil down to finding information from reliable sources, analyzing and compiling data, adding insights, and delivering everything in a clear, actionable format.
I've been experimenting with many AI tools lately, and I've discovered one powerful combo that I now use for almost every task.
It's like having a secret sauce that helps me produce polished, actionable content and visuals on ANY topic within minutes.
While it's not always perfect, I think it's too valuable not to share—I'm very curious to see what YOU'LL do with it.
This is going to be a very quick "how-to" letter.
Let's dive in.
Combining AI Tools
We often think of AI tools as independent solutions: we open them, we get an answer, we move on.
But real magic happens when you make them work together.
Perplexity brings real-time data and the search dimension, while Claude 3.7 brings deep reasoning, thoughtful writing, and beautiful, almost human-like conversation.
Together, they become an AI powerhouse.
(Btw: I've got another awesome combo for learning and analysis - Perplexity + NotebookLM. Check out my previous letter here.)
Why Combine Perplexity + Claude?
Perplexity is good at gathering up-to-date information from the internet.
Claude 3.7 is excellent at analyzing, synthesizing, and presenting that information in creative ways.
Individually, theyʼre good.
Together, they're a powerhouse.
Example:
Letʼs say you want to research the latest retail industry trends for an upcoming presentation.
- You start with Perplexity:
- Focus search mode to gather new industry reports.
- Deep research mode to grab academic or reputable sources.
- Then you move to Claude:
- Upload your PDF reports for deeper analysis.
- Let Claude create a custom dashboard with bar charts, line charts, or even color-coded visuals.
You end up with a slick, interactive presentation dashboard that updates itself as new data comes in—no more Excel headaches!
Here's Your Game Plan:
1. Turn dry data into visual stories
No one reads dry reports.But everyone trusts clear data.
Stakeholders need to see it to believe it—and showing it well makes you 10x more credible.
Try this combo:
↳ Use Perplexity to gather real-time industry reports
↳ Download or turn data into PDFs
↳ Upload PDFs into Claude 3.7 Projects
↳ Activate “Thinking Mode” for deeper analysis
↳ Ask Claude to visualize key insights: bar charts, line graphs, radar maps
Use a prompt like:
“Create an interactive dashboard summarizing key trends in the retail industry using the uploaded data. Include three strategic recommendations. Use company brand colors.”
(You can find all my Claude prompts, hacks and best practices in my previous letter here)
Bonus: You can add brand and chart colors—Claude adapts the graphics to your style!
I use this to share insights and stories with clients, prospects and colleagues.
You instantly sound prepared, credible, and in control.
Best part?You learn in the process and it makes you 10x more competent in your domain.
2. Research reports in minutes, not days
Before: 2 days, 12 tabs, 4 coffees.
Now:
↳ Use Perplexity’s Deep Research to pull fresh market data
↳ Export as PDF and drop it into Claude
↳ Trigger the Project with one word: “report”
↳ Get an instant executive summary + visuals
Looks like you hired an analyst.
3. Speak your audience’s language
This is gold for marketing folks.
Every great marketing or product strategy starts here:
Know your audience.
Most teams spend hours figuring this out.
Beyond marketing, this is actually a quick way to figure out what people love (and hate!) about any product or service - literally in under a minute.
Here’s how to do it:
↳ Use Perplexity to pull Reddit threads, social threads, and YouTube testimonials (use the "focus mode" and toggle the "social" button)
↳ Claude extracts behavior, pain points, and language patterns
↳ Use Claude to generate reports, stats, or even an interactive Dashboard (that's the power of Claude)
↳ Then builds a full content style guide: tone, voice, examples
↳ Save as a Custom Style or embed it in your Project
Now you're an “expert” on pain points, strengths, and weaknesses for any product.
4. Your best sales pitch — AI-crafted
This is gold for sales folks.
Most people can’t pitch.
Even fewer can handle rejection.
Here’s how I prep every pitch and/or sales call in under 15 minutes:
↳ Perplexity → product intel + pitch frameworks
↳ Claude → write 60-sec pitch with warmth + clarity
↳ Claude → upload objections from Reddit/Quora → builds a rebuttal FAQ
Use this prompt:
“Based on this material, write a 60-second investor pitch for Stripe using best practices. Emphasize emotional storytelling.”
You’ll sound like you’ve done 100 calls. Even if you haven’t.
5. Product mockups without Figma
30 months ago, I spent dozens of hours learning Figma—just to build (bad) mockups.
You don’t need that now.
Do this instead:
↳ Use Perplexity to gather UX/UI trends (or browse Figma Community)
↳ Drop screenshots + context into Claude
↳ Claude generates clean, editable SVG mockups
↳ Need tweaks? Export to Figma and refine
Prototype-ready in a few minutes.
Export the SVG, tweak it in Figma if needed.
Why it works:
Sometimes the hardest part is just starting.
Claude gets you a solid version 1, fast.
Wrap Up
RECAP: 5 superpowers using Perplexity + Claude 3.7:
- Storytell with data
- Automate research
- Build persona-based content
- Craft better pitches
- Design mockups with no code
Does this spark some ideas? I bet some of you are already seeing how powerful this combo can be - maybe even thinking of ways to use it that I haven't mentioned! Others might file this away as "interesting for later." And if you're still wondering what the fuss is about? Just try it!
Both tools have free versions, so you can experiment and see how many hours this could save you.
What’s your most repetitive task at work?
What do you spend hours doing that could be done in minutes?
Start with that.
This combo has worked wonders for me—and I hope it becomes your secret weapon too.
Until next time,
I'll be back with more AI hacks, deep dives, systems, and cool stuff to explore!
Stay curious,
—Charafeddine