The Growth Stack for Your Brain: AI Tools That Boost Your Output
Discover how growth marketers and PMs can build an AI-enhanced growth stack for their brain. Learn how to offload research, writing, and analysis, delegate smartly to AI tools, and avoid the over-tool
Imagine if ChatGPT, Notion AI, and Perplexity were your interns. Now imagine they worked 24/7.
That thought hit me hard during a recent conversation about the ideal marketing technology stack. We were deep in the weeds of tools, integrations, and automation when it struck me: why not apply the same thinking to how we run our brains?
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: the modern growth product manager isn’t just competing against their peers. They’re competing against peers who’ve built smarter workflows. People who’ve turned AI from a shiny new toy into a relentless cognitive force multiplier.
In this new game, AI tools aren’t “nice to have.” They’re your new growth stack for your brain.
But this post isn’t a listicle of shiny tools. It’s a framework. A mindset. A way to architect workflows that scale your cognitive capacity and free you to focus on the work only humans can do: empathy, insight, strategy.
Ready to upgrade your mental OS? Let’s begin.
Why You Need a Growth Stack for Your Brain
Cognitive bandwidth is your scarcest resource. It always has been. The difference now? You can finally scale it.
The AI revolution isn’t about replacing humans, it’s about augmenting them. Think Iron Man, not Skynet.
For PMs and growth marketers, this is especially true:
You swim in a constant flow of information → you need rapid synthesis.
You face relentless pressure to create → you need faster execution.
You make strategic decisions daily → you need sharper insights.
The takeaway?
Great companies (and great individuals) compound productivity over time. Today, the same applies to your brain. The right stack doesn’t just make you faster, it makes you better.
Core Principle #1: Offload Research, Writing, and Analysis
Research
Perplexity AI is your always-on research analyst. Unlike search engines that spit out 10 blue links, it delivers distilled, conversational answers.
The key? Learn to frame smart prompts that go beyond Googling.
Example: Competitive intelligence → compress a full day of desk research into 15 minutes of AI-driven synthesis.
Writing
ChatGPT and Notion AI are your ghostwriters on call. Use them to:
Draft the first versions of blog posts
Summarise meeting notes
Craft investor updates
Generate marketing copy variants.
AI helps you get to a clear first version faster, freeing your brain for editorial magic — the human part that makes content resonate.
Analysis
Pair ChatGPT with Google Sheets or Notion AI to turn data into insight:
Summarise large datasets quickly.
Extract themes from audience feedback.
Conduct an exploratory analysis.
Example workflow: Feed in raw survey responses → Auto-summarise emerging themes → conduct human review to layer in nuance and empathy.
Core Principle #2: Smart Delegation to AI Tools
Think Like a Manager of AI, Not a User of Tools
AI is your intern, not your strategist. You define the “why” while it handles the “how.” If you abdicate thinking, you’ll get generic output.
Create Repeatable AI Workflows
Build systems, not hacks:
Example: Weekly competitor watchlist → Automated Perplexity briefs.
Example: Monthly content calendar → Notion AI-generated ideas, seeded from your audience data and product roadmap.
Where Human Judgment is Still King
Some domains still belong to humans:
Brand voice → can’t be automated.
Strategic trade-offs → require wisdom.
Empathy-driven communication → only a human understands the human condition.
The tool doesn’t do the work. The tool amplifies the work you decide is worth doing.
Read more here about how AI is revolutionising Performance Marketing.
Core Principle #3: Avoiding the ‘Over-Tooling’ Trap
The Shiny Object Syndrome
Beware the lure of more tools = better outcomes.
Warning signs:
Constantly switching tools, chasing marginal gains.
Over-automating to the point where craftsmanship suffers.
Choose a Minimal Stack
Start lean and build depth:
Suggested trio: ChatGPT + Perplexity + Notion AI.
Build muscle memory with these first. Mastery > Novelty.
Balance Automation with Human Creativity
Remember: Magic happens at the intersection of AI efficiency and human curiosity.
AI should give you back time and space. What you do with it is where the real value lies.
Tools don’t create growth. Focus does.
Final Thoughts
So, let’s recap:
Offload the mechanical — free up your brain by automating research, writing, and analysis.
Delegate smartly — treat AI as your tireless intern, not your strategic brain.
Beware the tooling trap — simplicity scales, complexity kills.
Now, here’s the truth: The growth marketer and PM of the future won’t win because they know the most tools. They’ll win because they know how to think better with them.
As Malcolm Gladwell said, “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
The same applies to your AI-enhanced brain. The more you practice working with AI, the more powerful your thinking becomes.
So here’s your challenge:
Build your personal growth stack this week.
Start simple. Learn deeply. And when you discover what works, share it. Let’s trade tips and level up together.