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The 8 Best AI Tools and Software for Project Managers
AI tools are sprouting out of the ground faster than you can count them. And it’ll be increasingly important to adopt them to stay ahead. Project managers that get AI adoption right can unleash a genuine competitive advantage.
Staying on top of AI developments and picking out the best project management tools is tricky.
So I’m going to pick out some of the very best AI tools for project managers for several different use cases so that you can improve your team’s workflow and performance.
1. Stepsize AI – Your AI reporting companion
In a nutshell, Stepsize AI is the AI companion that keeps track of software development progress. It gives you one, powerful progress report based on all the activity in your issue tracker. Right now, it works with Jira and Linear.
It works by observing everything happening in your issue tracker. It develops context about your projects, themes and goals, and forms connections between tasks and activities.
Today, it uses this to create super accurate, automatic weekly Sprint (or Kanban, FaSt, what have you) updates with the perfect amount of context and detail.
Tomorrow, the Stepsize team's underlying Operational Intelligence Engine can be used to do so much more.
Key features
- Security first. You're data's protected.
- Data + context. You get the data you need along with accurate, actionable commentary that non-AI solutions lack.
- Spooky accurate summaries. Know what progress has been made without effort.
- Linked to goals. Stepsize AI reports are innately linked to project goals.
- Attribution. Your report is filled with sources, so you can find out more in a click.
Security and privacy
Stepsize AI is built security-first. You’re in control of your data. Your data never trains any AI model, anywhere when you use Stepsize AI.
My view: I may be biased, but Stepsize AI is the most sophisticated AI in this list, and offers spooky accurate reports you can use for Sprints, Kanban processes and more Agile methodologies without lifting a finger. It can pick up the context and nuances of projects and deliver insights that extend far beyond tasks large language models (LLMs) usually complete. Where other tools simply summarise or generate, Stepsize AI contextualises, remembers and analyses.
2. Trello - The veteran project management tool with a new AI twist
Trello, long-established in the project management sphere, is best known for pioneering boards for task assignment and sharing. It may not be as fully featured as rivals but it’s ideal for small teams or less complex projects.
Now owned by Atlassian, it has stepped up its game by introducing a suite of AI capabilities.
Best features:
- Extensive integration options
- Strategy-AI power-up to anticipate events, prioritise tasks, and offer insights
- Automation tools, including Butler
My view: Trello is surrounded by fierce competitors, many of whom offer more specialised tooling. But I think it’s managed to stay relevant as the Swiss army knife of PM tools. The automation tool, Butler, saves a whole bunch of time. The free plan is pretty comprehensive. Strategy-AI is a power-up for Trello, which is good at anticipating events and prioritising accordingly.
3. Motion – AI project and time-management platform
Motion uses AI to sort, prioritise and schedule tasks. It aims to take away the significant pain of these tasks in traditional platforms.
Best features:
- AI task prioritisation and schedule creation.
- Automatic schedule adjustment
- Custom meeting booking page (no need for Calendly, or other tools)
- AI analysis of each team member's workload
- Productivity strategies, such as time blocking and deep work
My view: Motion takes a far more proactive role than other PM tools, including most on this list. As such, it’s genuinely able to save time. Many of the problems Motion helps to solve are genuine busy-work that are huge time-drains without Motion.
4. Notion – Your wiki, docs and projects in one place
Notion is a workspace that rolls managing multiple projects and tasks, a knowledge base and docs storage all into one. I’m a Notion fan – my team are daily users and we like the smooth, clean UI and integrations with third-party tools. It keeps everything in one place. Now, it’s powered up by AI that helps you brainstorm and improve your writing.
Best features:
- Slick interface that is easy to like
- Boards for project management
- Easy to create wikis and docs, such as meeting note templates
- AI writing assistance and summarisation
My view: User-friendly to its core, it’s not hard to get people using Notion and has been a big hit in every team I’ve worked at. Its new AI features add a layer of convenience and efficiency – they don’t start a revolution but are certainly nice to have.
5. Monday - The “Work OS” – project management software with a fantastic user experience
Monday is a personal favourite of mine. It’s highly customisable – more so than ClickUp, and of its main rivals (including ClickUp and Asana, below), it has by far the cleanest UX. I think it’s a total joy to use.
Monday AI Assistant allows you to generate tasks, compose emails, shallow summarisation, and build formulae.
Best features:
- AI assistant to help with time-drain tasks
- Supports Gantt charts, Kanban, calendar, chart, map and timeline views
- Pre-made template boards and tasks
- Capabilities to break down large projects into smaller, manageable task lists
My view: For me, this is a best-in-genre pick. It integrates with enough tools to make it useful for almost any stack, has a glorious user interface and customisability that you miss if you move away (I know this first-hand..!) The AI tools aren’t groundbreaking but are undoubtedly useful in some situations.
6. ClickUp - All-in-one PM software
ClickUp is an all-in-one cloud-based project planning and management hub that supports everything from whiteboards to dashboards, chat to goals. The whole ClickUp ethos is around productivity in one unified place. In theory, your ClickUp account could replace a wide range of tools, from Jira to Slack. Now ClickUp AI has arrived, which lets you complete tasks relevant to your role. For example, their AI can help project managers create project timelines, briefs, and RACIs.
Best features:
- All-in-one approach avoids tool proliferation
- AI assistant for tasks relevant to you
- AI summariser to help digest documents
- Extensive collaboration and communication tools
- Configurable automated notifications
My view: ClickUp is an impressive piece of kit with every bell and whistle you can imagine. If having it all in one place is important, this is well worth considering – especially for smaller teams. Larger teams or teams with specific needs may find their generalist approach can’t meet every need. It also lacks integrations compared to competitors. The AI tools are nice-to-have and can speed up some tasks, though I personally find results vary.
7. Asana - Full-stack project management that integrates with everything*
*well, 200+ things anyway
Asana is another top-drawer PM and content system. It’s got a vast library of integrations. It’s aimed at medium-sized companies, who can take advantage of pre-made templates for everything from engineering to design.
Asana Intelligence is their artificial intelligence bolt-on – designed to help remove bottlenecks and reallocate resources to hit goals. With Asana Intelligence, workflows can become self-optimising. Like many other tools, it offers shallow summarisation and writing.
Best features:
- Advanced AI task management tools including boards and lists
- Supports Gantt, Kanban, calendar and chart views
- Pre-made template boards and tasks
- 200+ integrations
My view: There’s not much to pick between the likes of Asana, Monday and Clickup. Asana is perhaps the most fully featured for out-and-out project management, and while I prefer the Monday UI, Asana’s offers a good user experience too. The massive list of integrations makes it ideal for teams with a busy infrastructure. Asana Intelligence is somewhat shallow but can help spot bottlenecks. You need Asana set up well to squeeze the most out of it (which takes time).
8. Ayanza - Project management prioritising team health and success
Ayanza is a wildcard with a slightly different take on what Monday, Clickup and Asana do. It shares most of the core features, but is focussed on internal news and community. For example, it has a social media-like newsfeed that keeps you updated in real time, and channels, DMs and group chats as you’d find in Slack and other collaboration tools
It has AI features that help you brainstorm, write business content with help from pre-written prompts, and answer questions, a little like ChatGPT.
Best features:
- Straightforward user interface with numerous project management templates
- Newsfeed board for real-time updates
- Private group creation, public chat access, and direct messaging capabilities
- AI-powered suggestions and writing
- “Rhythms” – team events like daily standups and retrospectives.
My view: Ayanza is perhaps more of a cultural choice for an organisation than its rivals. While not as richly featured, it has things other tools which have the potential to foster a closer, more personal work environment. Their AI can be useful if you need help getting started with tasks.
My final thoughts
Leveraging AI in your project management toolkit not only streamlines operations but also fosters intelligent decision-making and effective collaboration.
The integration of AI tools into your project management routine can lead to huge productivity gains, better decisions and stronger collaboration.
Make no mistake – AI is developing fast, and project managers and project teams that get AI adoption right will have a competitive advantage. Take advantage of free versions and free trials to work out where you can get the most substantial productivity boost.
My team has designed and developed Stepsize AI, an AI project companion that helps you make reporting effortless.
It provides powerful and precise updates that keep stakeholders aligned without lifting a finger.
Discover Stepsize AI here – you can create your first update for free.
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