Dozens of new tools launch every week, each promising to double your output. A subscription nobody opens after two weeks is not a tool — it is a line item. This is the checklist we run before adding anything to our own workflow.
1. What single job will it do?
If you cannot describe the job in one sentence, the tool is looking for a problem rather than solving one. Start from a task you repeat weekly and can time.
2. Does it really handle Arabic?
Test it with real Arabic text containing names, numbers, and mixed English. Many tools support Arabic in the interface only, then degrade badly in the output.
3. Where does your data live?
Read the policy: are your inputs used for training, and can you opt out? For legal, health, and finance teams this question decides everything else.
4. What is the exit cost?
Good tools export your work in open formats. If your content is locked inside the product, you are building on rented land.
A tool you cannot leave easily is not a tool — it is a long-term commitment.
5. Does it fit your current stack?
Without integrations you get manual copy-paste, which is the first habit a team abandons once the novelty fades.
6. Who is behind it?
Check the changelog and the support channel. No updates in six months is a red flag in a field that shifts monthly.
7. Has one person used it for a full week?
Before a team-wide plan, let one person use it on real work for seven days and write notes. That small pilot is far cheaper than a wrong rollout.