About

I’m Maren Ishida. I spent eight years as a product manager at companies you’ve heard of, shipping features to millions of users. Then AI tools got good enough to change how I worked every single day — and I realized most people were either ignoring them or using them wrong.

Now I consult on AI integration for teams and companies. I use these tools eight hours a day, every day. Not to test them for fun. To get real work done.

That’s what Using AI is about.

Every tool review on this site comes from actual use. Not a weekend trial. Not a press release rewrite. I run these tools through real workflows — writing, coding, research, design, automation — and I report what I find. If something is overhyped, I’ll say so. If something quietly changed how I work, I’ll show you exactly how.

You won’t find breathless “this changes everything” posts here. You will find specific, tested workflows you can use tomorrow. Honest comparisons that tell you which tool to pick for your situation. Tutorials that assume you’re smart and skip the filler.

I write for practitioners. Developers, marketers, designers, founders — people who use AI tools to ship, not to post about on Twitter.

If a tool earns a recommendation here, it’s because I’ve tested it extensively and it made my work better. If it didn’t, I’ll tell you that too.