Artificial intelligence is everywhere, and so is the hype. In this blog, we’re pulling back the curtain on how the Green Apple team and our network of freelancers in The Orchard actually use AI tools. Spoiler: it’s not magic, and it’s not a replacement for smart strategy. As with any new technology, what matters most is who’s using it and how.
AI Is a Tool, Not a Strategy
Let’s be direct: AI doesn’t replace strategy. It doesn’t know your clients, understand your brand’s voice, or feel the nuance of a delicate customer relationship. What it can do is handle the heavy lifting on research, drafting, and data synthesis. That gives our team more time to think, analyze, and make smart, creative decisions.
At Green Apple, we’ve spent real time figuring out how to use AI well, and that expertise is part of what we bring to every client partnership. We’ve written about debunking common AI myths and how to build an AI usage policy for your organization because thoughtful adoption beats reactive adoption every time. When it comes to AI, we’ve developed an informed perspective on where it adds value and where it falls short.
How Our Team Is Using AI
We asked members of our internal team and The Orchard, our network of expert freelancers, to share which AI tools they use and how. Here’s what they had to say:
“I use ChatGPT to quickly synthesize my strategy notes, bullet points, and industry best practices into a clear, business-forward outline, giving me more time to reflect on past campaign metrics, analysis, and strategy.”
Our email marketing strategist relies on SubjectLine.com, a tool powered by AI, to sharpen email subject lines. By entering a proposed subject line, she gets suggestions for making it more engaging, which is useful for running A/B tests.
“I upload the company’s brand voice, values, and goals, and ask it to help create caption drafts. I usually redo them at least 20 times, though. The output is just a starting point, never a final product.”
Our social media strategist also utilizes ChatGPT to suggest image concepts, then recreates them in Canva with brand colors and custom adjustments. For video content, she uses CapCut’s AI clipper tool to create Reels, choosing editing styles and setting prompts to guide the final cut. She’s currently testing Gumloop and Claude for automating repetitive tasks and scaling content production.
“I use ChatGPT as a sounding board for early stage ideas, to condense long-winded thoughts, and to get step-by-step how-to guidance for things outside my wheelhouse.”
Our project manager notes that she uses AI in a similar way in her personal life with tasks like trip planning and recipe discovery, which speaks to how naturally AI can be integrated into daily routines when you understand its strengths.
“ChatGPT and Google Gemini help me brainstorm more creative and compelling angles for content. It’s also a solid research tool when I’m looking for statistics or industry-specific details to back up a piece.”
Our entire team also uses Read AI for meeting support, capturing recordings, summarizing conversations, and surfacing next steps. It’s a practical solution for keeping projects moving without losing important details in long calls.
The Green Apple AI Toolkit: Tiered by Experience Level
Not all AI tools are created equal, and not every tool is right for every team or every use case. Here’s our current roundup of tools we find genuinely useful, organized by experience level.
| Tool | Level | Best For |
| ChatGPT | 🟢 Beginner | General writing, brainstorming, summarizing notes, research, drafts, and ideation. A great starting point for almost anyone. |
| Google Gemini | 🟢 Beginner | Research, content brainstorming, and finding compelling angles. Works well alongside Google Workspace tools. |
| Canva (AI features) | 🟢 Beginner | Design generation, background removal, and brand-consistent visuals—without needing a professional graphic designer for every asset. |
| SubjectLine.com | 🟢 Beginner | AI-powered subject line suggestions to improve email open rates. Simple, focused, and immediately useful for email marketers. |
| Read AI | 🟢 Beginner | Meeting recording, summaries, and next-step identification. Reduces manual note-taking across client and team calls. |
| CapCut (AI Clipper) | 🟡 Intermediate | AI-powered video editing for Reels and short-form content. Choose style, duration, and set prompts to guide edits. |
| Claude (Anthropic) | 🟡 Intermediate | Strong for long-form content, nuanced writing, and analysis. Useful for complex workflows and content at scale. |
| Jasper / Copy.ai | 🟡 Intermediate | Marketing-specific AI writing tools with templates for ads, emails, and social content. Good for teams with defined brand guidelines. |
| Gumloop | 🔴 Advanced | Automates repetitive marketing workflows and connects AI tasks across tools. Powerful for teams ready to build custom pipelines. |
| Custom GPTs (ChatGPT) | 🔴 Advanced | Build tailored AI assistants trained on your brand voice, processes, and content. High value, but requires setup investment. |
| Zapier + AI Actions | 🔴 Advanced | Combine automation with AI decision-making across your marketing stack. Best for teams with clear workflow needs. |
🟢 Beginner: Little to no technical setup required | 🟡 Intermediate: Some configuration and prompt skill needed | 🔴 Advanced: Workflow design and ongoing management required
The Rules We Follow
After experimenting with these tools across client work and internal projects, a few guiding principles have emerged:
- AI output is never a final product. Every piece of AI-assisted content goes through a human review and further editing—always.
- Your brand voice requires a human guardian. AI doesn’t know your clients, your tone, or the relationship history behind a message. That context is irreplaceable.
- Prompting is a skill. Knowing how to write a great AI prompt is the difference between a generic output and a genuinely useful one.
- Set guidelines before you scale. If your team is using AI, you need a clear internal policy on how and when it’s utilized.
- Don’t automate strategy. AI can inform decisions, but it shouldn’t make them. Critical thinking, client knowledge, and marketing expertise still live with humans.
The Bottom Line on AI Tools
At Green Apple, AI tools have earned a place in our workflow because they make our team faster, sharper, and better equipped to do the work that actually matters: the strategic and creative work that drives results for clients.
The value we bring isn’t in the tools themselves. It’s in the judgment, experience, and strategy layered on top of them.
If you’re wondering how to get started with AI in your own marketing, or you want to understand where it fits in your strategy, let’s talk. We’re always happy to share what we’re learning.