Where is AI being applied?
AI Use by Functional Area — Mention Count
Share of AI Activity by Area
Which AI tools are being used?
Named AI Tools — Frequency of Mention
ChatGPT
22
Claude
14
Copilot
10
Perplexity
5
Gemini
4
Granola
4
NotebookLM
4
Canva AI
4
Lovable
3
Beautiful AI
3
Synthesia
2
Gamma
2
Mistral
2
Riverside
2
Patterns & depth of use
Top Use Cases — Mention Frequency
Tool Category Breakdown
🤖 General LLM — ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, Mistral
🖼️ Creative — Canva AI, Synthesia, Beautiful AI, Gamma
🏗️ Dev/Build — Lovable, Vibe Coding
📋 Productivity — Granola, NotebookLM, Asana, Riverside
All use cases captured (verbatim themes)
Full Use Case Cloud — coloured by functional area
AI Maturity & Depth of Adoption
Where are founders on the AI adoption spectrum?
Experimenting
35%
Using AI ad-hoc for writing, research & brainstorming. Mostly ChatGPT, often daily but not systematically.
Integrating
42%
AI embedded in specific workflows — meeting notes, contract review, social content, bids/tenders. Multiple tools used regularly.
Automating
17%
Building agents, automating admin pipelines, CRM automation, LLM-powered products. Deliberate AI-first processes.
AI-Native
6%
AI at the core of the product/service — ML models, LLM agents, neural networks, predictive analytics as the offering.
Key Insights
What the data tells us
Marketing & content is the #1 use case — Email writing, social media, SEO, training videos. Almost every founder is using AI to produce or enhance content.
Admin automation is massive — Meeting transcription, document summarising, email management and CRM updates rank as the second biggest cluster of use.
Legal & contracts are a standout surprise — Contract review, bid/tender writing, risk analysis and proposal generation were cited far more than expected for early-stage startups.
ChatGPT dominates, but Claude is rising fast — ChatGPT remains the default, but Claude was the 2nd most named tool, with several founders using it specifically for deeper analysis and coding.
"Vibe coding" is democratising app development — Tools like Lovable were cited for building dashboards, mobile apps and UX prototypes — no traditional dev team needed.
AI as "thinking partner" is a distinct use pattern — Multiple notes referenced bouncing ideas, critiquing plans, predicting success probability and stress-testing business logic.
Community & education ambitions are strong — A significant cluster of notes expressed intent to teach others, share AI knowledge, and advocate for AI literacy across Aberdeen.
Most Notable & Innovative Uses
Modelling predictions on water quality & ML image recognition of microorganisms in water
🌊 ClimateTech / DeepTech
Predicting energy transition targets — ESG for print using AI analytics
⚡ Energy Sector
Managing cows → breeding & health using AI agents investigating public domain data
🐄 AgriTech
Agent + LLM health coach — personalised wellbeing & motivation AI
🩺 HealthTech
LLM statistical analysis (P-significance & Cohen's D) + ML trust score for detecting academic cheating
📚 EdTech / Research
Neural network for prototyping (optimisation) + R&D software prototyping
🧠 Deep Learning
GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation for AI-first search discoverability
🔍 MarTech / SEO Next-Gen
Predicting asset integrity + improve digital data workflows for energy sector
🛢️ Oil & Gas / Industry
Supply chain management documents & Excel trackers via LLM automation
📦 Operations
Persona creation & simulation for market testing before product launch
🎭 Product / Strategy
Specific use cases — ranked by frequency
Operational use cases
Growth & creative use cases
AI readiness profile — Aberdeen startup community
AI Adoption Radar by Business Function
3 Themes That Define Aberdeen's AI Moment
🛠️ Theme 1: AI as the New Office Suite
Founders are replacing or augmenting traditional productivity tools with AI — ChatGPT has become the default "assistant" the same way Microsoft Office was a generation ago. Writing, research, meeting notes, and admin are now AI-first tasks for the majority.
🚀 Theme 2: The No-Code Revolution is Real
Vibe coding (Lovable, Claude, Copilot) is enabling non-technical founders to build apps, dashboards, and mobile products themselves. This is rapidly democratising software development and compressing the build cycle from months to days.
🌊 Theme 3: Deep Sector Innovation is Emerging
Beneath the general-purpose AI wave, a subset of Aberdeen founders are building genuinely sector-specific ML solutions — water quality, energy transition, AgriTech, and statistical research tools. The North-East's industrial heritage is shaping where deep AI innovation is happening.