Picture this. You sign up for a new AI tool on Monday, forget about it by Wednesday, and download three more by Friday. Six months later you’re staring at a pile of subscriptions wondering why nothing actually changed. I’ve been there, and I bet you have too.
That’s exactly the mess a sharp LinkedIn creator just called out in a post I couldn’t stop reading. The author laid out something most of us never had: a clear order for adopting AI tools, built like a foundation instead of a random pile of apps. I was genuinely impressed by how simple they made it feel.
The big idea from this expert is blunt and a little uncomfortable. Most people pick AI tools at random. Founders and builders grab 15 apps in a week with no system, no sequencing, just chaos with a ChatGPT subscription on top. Then they wonder why AI hasn’t changed how they operate.
As the original poster put it: you built the roof before the foundation.
The people who get real leverage, the ones who move faster, ship more, and close more, didn’t start with fancy automation. They started with the basics and worked their way up. So the creator mapped out the whole climb: 20 steps across 4 tiers, built from the bottom. Here’s the roadmap, broken down.
🧱 Tier 1: Foundation (Steps 1 to 5)
This is where everything starts. The author is firm that you should not skip this tier, because every layer above it leans on these basics.
- LLMs: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, Mistral
- AI Workspace Productivity: Notion, ClickUp, Asana, Monday
- AI Writing: Grammarly, QuillBot
- AI Image Generation: Midjourney, Ideogram, GPT Image
- AI Video Generation: Runway, Kling, Hailuo, Luma, Sora
The rationale here is simple. If you can’t hold a real conversation with an LLM or organize your work inside an AI workspace, every tool above this point just adds noise. Master the base first.
✍️ Tier 2: Content and Productivity (Steps 6 to 10)
Once the foundation is solid, the creator moves you into the tools that multiply your daily output.
- AI Content Generation: Jasper, Writesonic
- AI Meeting Assistance: Fireflies, Otter, Fathom
- AI Video Editing: VEED, Opus, Descript
- AI Analysis: Rows, Julius, Quadratic
- AI Presentations: Gamma, Decktopus
According to the post’s author, if you’re a solo operator or a small team, this tier alone will change your output. I think that’s the most relatable part of the whole roadmap. These are the tools that quietly hand you back hours every single week.
⚙️ Tier 3: Business Systems (Steps 11 to 15)
Now things get serious. This savvy professional runs an AI startup and says they wouldn’t operate the same way without most of these.
- AI Websites: Softr, Webflow, 10Web, Dora, Wegic
- AI Customer Support: Chatsimple, Dante
- AI Newsletters: Beehiiv
- AI Email Management: Gemini for Gmail, Superhuman
- AI Social Media Growth: Taplio, Tweet Hunter, Later, VidIQ
The logic shift here is worth catching. Tiers 1 and 2 make you faster. This tier makes your business run. You’re no longer just speeding up tasks, you’re putting actual systems in place that work while you sleep.
🚀 Tier 4: Automation and Build (Steps 16 to 20)
This is the top of the ladder, and the creator calls it the spot where compounding really happens.
- AI for Sales: HubSpot Breeze
- AI for Marketing Operations: HubSpot Breeze
- AI for Customer Service Operations: HubSpot Breeze
- AI for Workflow Automation: n8n, Zapier, Make
- AI for Software Development: Cursor, Windsurf, Devin, Bolt, Lovable
The advice from the mind behind this roadmap is clean: automate the boring, build the hard stuff. You only reach this tier with confidence once the layers below it are humming. Try to start here and you’re back to building the roof first.
Why the order matters so much
Here’s the part that stuck with me. The author points out that the founders who get this early stop thinking about individual AI tools. They start thinking in systems.
That shift from “which app should I buy” to “where does this fit in my stack” is the actual unlock.
A few practical ways to put this roadmap to work:
- Find your current rung. Be honest about where you actually sit, not where you wish you were.
- Master one tier before climbing. Don’t touch automation if you haven’t nailed the basics.
- Pick one tool per step. You don’t need all of them, just one that fits your workflow.
- Share it with your team. Everyone climbing in the same order beats everyone wandering off in different directions.
What I love about this breakdown is how it turns AI overwhelm into a simple ladder. No more random downloads, no more chaos with a subscription on top. Just a clear path from your first LLM chat all the way to building your own software.
The full post from this creator has even more nuance baked into each tier, so it’s worth reading the whole thing on LinkedIn. Then ask yourself the question the author left us with: where are you sitting right now on this ladder?