AI assistants and agents
Your people probably use one of these assistants already. The newer agents run jobs in the background.
Claude Code by Anthropic
Claude Code is Anthropic's agent that reads, edits and runs work across a whole folder of files, and it isn't only for programmers. We run our own ventures on it under a written rules file, and nothing it drafts goes out until a person checks it. For an owner-led company we'd set it up the same way: one job to start, written rules, connectors to the tools you already use, and a person who approves the output.
Where it fits: Staffing and executive search, E-commerce, Logistics
ChatGPT by OpenAI
ChatGPT is OpenAI's assistant for writing, research and analysis, and there's a good chance your team already uses it. We work through decisions in it alongside Claude. For a company we'd start by finding out who uses it, for what and on which plan, then set up a custom GPT on your own documents and a short policy on what never gets pasted in.
Where it fits: Coaching, E-commerce
OpenAI Dots by OpenAI
Dots are OpenAI's always-on agents: each one works in its own cloud computer, reaches your apps through plugins, and takes requests in ChatGPT, Slack or Teams. They're brand new, so the first thing we'd set up is one Dot on one recurring job, like a weekly research brief or an inbox digest, with read-only access until your team trusts its work.
Good to know. Launched September 29, 2026. Check that your ChatGPT plan and your country include it before planning around it.
Grok Bot by xAI
Grok Bot is xAI's always-on agent: each bot keeps its own cloud computer with a browser, files and a terminal, and checks back with a person when a call needs one. It's still in beta, so we'd test it on one job with approvals switched on, ideally next to a Dot on the same task, before anyone builds a process around it.
Good to know. In beta as of September 2026, and access depends on your xAI plan.
MCP connectors an open standard
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is the open standard that lets an AI assistant reach your other tools, like the inbox, the calendar, a CRM or a database, through a connector instead of copy and paste. Our own assistant reads email, calendars and call recordings this way. For a company we'd use the connectors that already exist for your tools, keep them read-only where we can, and scope a small custom one with a builder only when nothing fits.
Where it fits: Staffing and executive search, Logistics
CRM, outreach and ads
These platforms hold your leads, contacts, follow-up and ad spend. Most of the plumbing work happens here.
HighLevel (GoHighLevel) by HighLevel
HighLevel, which most people still call GoHighLevel or GHL, puts a CRM, pipelines, funnels, booking, and text and email follow-up in one account for agencies and small businesses. We'd start with what you already have in it: which automations fire, where leads stall, and whether its AI features are switched on and doing anything. The first build is one follow-up workflow that a person reviews before it sends.
Where it fits: Coaching, Professional practices
Apollo.io by Apollo.io
Apollo.io is a B2B contact database with email sequences and a dialer built in, and we keep our own paid seat. For a company we'd set up a separate sending domain and its DNS records first, then one sequence for one kind of buyer, with a person reading every reply. Going slow at the start protects the domain your real email comes from.
Good to know. Send cold email from a separate domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up, and warm it up before any volume.
Where it fits: Staffing and executive search
LinkedIn by LinkedIn
LinkedIn is where an owner-led company finds people and gets found, and it's the account that pays the price if outreach gets automated the wrong way. We use a paid account and keep outreach manual. For a company we'd set up the profiles, the searches and a follow-up routine people can keep up, with no bots or browser extensions, since LinkedIn says it doesn't permit them.
Good to know. LinkedIn says it doesn't permit bots, crawlers or browser extensions that automate activity (LinkedIn Help).
Where it fits: Staffing and executive search
Meta Ads by Meta
Meta Ads runs paid ads across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Meta's own AI tools can now write ad variations and widen audiences on their own. For a company we'd check the plumbing first: whether leads and sales are reported back through the pixel and the Conversions API, and whether lead-form answers land in your CRM while they're fresh. Then AI-drafted creative that a person approves before it runs.
Where it fits: E-commerce, Coaching
Google Ads by Google
Google Ads runs search, YouTube and Performance Max campaigns, and Google's AI now decides much of where the budget goes. For a company we'd make sure it learns from the right signal: conversion tracking that counts real leads and sales, and offline conversions sent back from your CRM. AI-drafted headlines and descriptions go in only after a person reads them.
Where it fits: E-commerce, Professional practices
Texting and messaging
Some customers answer a text long before they open an email, and these tools reach them by text within the opt-in rules.
Sendblue by Sendblue
Sendblue sends iMessage and SMS from a business number through an API, and it connects to CRMs like HighLevel. We'd set it up on one follow-up step where a text fits better than an email, with opt-in recorded, a plain SMS fallback for phones that aren't iPhones, and a person answering the replies.
Good to know. iMessage only reaches iPhones; other phones get SMS, and opt-in rules apply either way.
Where it fits: Coaching, Professional practices
WhatsApp by Meta
WhatsApp is how many customers and teams, especially outside the U.S., would rather talk, and the WhatsApp Business Platform lets a company send and receive those messages from its own systems. We use it ourselves. For a company we'd start with the WhatsApp Business app and saved replies, and move to the API only when the volume calls for it, with message templates approved and opt-in recorded.
Where it fits: Logistics, E-commerce
Email, calendar and booking
A small team's day usually starts in the inbox and the calendar, which is why we look here first.
Gmail by Google
Gmail is where a lot of small companies already run sales, support and scheduling, often from one crowded inbox. Our own assistant writes drafts into Gmail and a person sends every one. For a company we'd set up the same split: AI sorts and drafts, your people send, and the shared inbox gets labels so nothing sits unanswered.
Where it fits: Logistics, E-commerce
Google Calendar by Google
Google Calendar holds the day for most small teams, and it's what every booking link and meeting assistant has to read. Our assistant reads ours to prepare for each call. For a company we'd connect it to booking, reminders and call notes, so the prep is ready before a meeting and the follow-up is drafted after it.
Where it fits: Staffing and executive search
Calendly by Calendly
Calendly lets people book time from a link or a button without the back and forth, and the booking button on this site runs on it. For a company we'd set up the event types, the questions asked before a call, round-robin across a team if you need it, and the hand-off of each booking into your CRM.
Where it fits: Coaching, Professional practices
Calls and recordings
These tools get what was said on a call into the record, so the follow-up doesn't depend on anyone's memory.
Pocket AI recorder heypocket.com
Pocket is a small AI recorder that clips to the back of a phone and turns calls and in-person conversations into transcripts, summaries and action items. We record our own calls with it and pull the transcripts straight into our notes. For a company it's a simple start on call notes for people who aren't at a desk, with a clear rule on telling everyone on the call that it's recording.
Good to know. Some states and countries require everyone on a call to agree to being recorded.
Where it fits: Staffing and executive search
Loom by Atlassian
Loom records your screen and camera into a short video with a link and a transcript, so you can show a process instead of writing it up. We use it to walk people through our own systems. For a company it's one of the simplest ways to build a training library: record each process once the way it's done today, and again once the new way is in.
Where it fits: Coaching
Data, code and hosting
Your numbers, scripts and small tools live in accounts you own.
Google Sheets by Google
Google Sheets is where a lot of small companies already keep their lists and their weekly numbers. We run shared trackers in it. For a company it's often the right first home for a weekly scorecard or a cleaned-up list before anyone pays for a new system, with AI doing the sorting and a person checking the totals.
Where it fits: Staffing and executive search, Logistics
GitHub by GitHub
GitHub stores code and documents with a history of every change, and it can put a site or a tool live each time something is saved. This site lives in a private GitHub repository and goes live on every push. For a company we'd keep the scripts, prompts and rules files a builder writes for you in a repository you own, so the work stays yours when the engagement ends.
Vercel by Vercel
Vercel hosts websites and web apps and puts each change live from a GitHub repository, with a preview link for every change before it ships. For a company it's a good home for a marketing site or a small customer-facing app a builder writes, on an account you own.
Supabase by Supabase
Supabase is a hosted Postgres database with sign-in, file storage and an API, and it connects to AI assistants through an MCP server. For a company it's a sensible first home for intake forms, a small internal tool or the data behind a weekly scorecard, before anyone pays for a bigger system.
Railway by Railway
Railway runs websites, small apps and databases straight from a GitHub repository, and handles the security certificate and the custom domain. This site runs on it. For a company it's a sensible home for a small internal tool or a connector a builder writes, billed to your own account so you stay in control of it.
Questions owners ask
are you a gohighlevel or openai partner
No. Aranda & Co. is independent and isn't a partner of, certified by or paid by any company on this page. If that changes, we'll use the exact title the company gives us and link to where you can check it.
can you set up openai dots for my business
Yes, carefully. Dots launched on September 29, 2026, so nobody has a long track record with them yet, us included. We'd start with one Dot on one recurring job with read-only access, check its work for a few weeks, and only then let it near anything your customers see. Check that your plan and country include it first.
can you set up sendblue with gohighlevel
Yes. Sendblue connects to HighLevel directly, so the setup is quick. The work is in the rules around it: who has opted in, what happens when the other phone isn't an iPhone, and who answers the replies.
can you help with meta ads or google ads
Yes, on the plumbing around them: conversion tracking that counts real leads and sales, getting leads into your CRM while they're fresh, and AI-drafted ads that a person approves before they run.
is claude code only for developers
No. It works on any folder of files, so it can draft, sort, summarize and keep records, not only write code. We run our own ventures on it. It needs written rules and a person checking its work, and that's most of what we'd set up.
do we have to buy new software
Usually not at first. The assessment starts with what you already pay for and whether anyone has switched it on. If a new tool earns a place on the plan, you'll see why and what it costs before anyone buys it.
do you work with companies outside the u.s.
Yes. Erick is based in the U.S. and works remote or on site, at home or abroad. Some tools on this page aren't sold in every country or on every plan, so we check what's available where you are before anything goes on your plan.