If you’re a project manager who feels like you’re flying solo when it comes to steering project teams toward success, you’re in for some great news. The project management software marketplace is filled with AI tools that can automate tasks, streamline workflows, and ultimately make the muddy terrain of managing projects more navigable.
Can AI-powered tools replace all your existing project management processes? No—but they have the potential to help you and your team simplify dozens of project management tasks. Some tools can even help you identify problems before they arise.
Here’s an overview of AI project management tools, with tips on how to leverage them for project success.
What are AI project management tools?
An AI project management tool is a software application that uses artificial intelligence to enhance project management tasks and processes. Popular project management tools like Asana and Jira have added AI features, automating processes to triage work requests, suggest resource allocation, and monitor progress. With all of the recent advancements, it should come as no surprise that the global AI project management industry boasts a 16.7% annual growth rate, and the sector is projected to be worth $11.2 billion by 2033.
What can AI project management tools do?
- Task automation
- Predictive analytics
- Intelligent scheduling
- Sentiment analysis
- Virtual assistance
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Anomaly detection
- Writing and editing
AI project management tools have extensive capabilities, which include:
Task automation
AI-powered solutions can automate repetitive tasks, such as meeting scheduling, time tracking, budget tracking, and sending meeting recaps or status updates.
Predictive analytics
By analyzing historical project data, AI algorithms can provide predictive insights into project timelines, resource allocation, project budgeting, and potential project risks. This predictive data can help you and your team make more informed decisions and proactively address potential issues.
Intelligent scheduling
An AI project manager can create efficient and realistic project schedules, even when a balancing act is necessary. It can consider competing factors such as task dependencies, planned time off (like employee vacations), and workload balancing.
Sentiment analysis
AI-powered sentiment analysis can monitor team communications and provide insights into team morale, potential conflicts, and employee satisfaction. As any project manager knows, morale and team collaboration can be as important to your project’s success as timely project progress.
Virtual assistance
AI-powered virtual assistants can answer questions and offer suggestions. For example, you could ask an AI assistant to recall when a task is due or to pull information out of meeting notes.
Risk assessment and mitigation
Many AI project management tools include risk management features that flag issues and suggest mitigation strategies. They can identify potential project risks by analyzing both historical project data and current project conditions.
Anomaly detection
AI algorithms can identify patterns and detect anomalies in project data, such as budget overruns or missed deadlines, alerting project managers to potential issues.
Writing and editing
Many AI tools in project management software can help you improve your writing, draft context-based text, and summarize documents.
Top AI project management tools
From task prioritization and project scheduling to inter-team communication, a project management tool with AI integration can revolutionize the way you work. Here are a few tools that can help you manage projects more efficiently and ultimately see them through to success.
Notion
Notion is a workspace tool with productivity functionality including task lists and progress tracking. Notion’s interface is a blank canvas, and its flexibility allows businesses and teams to use it for both project management and documentation.
Notion’s AI assistant (which you have to purchase as an add-on) can help with tasks like generating documentation,and it can also automate follow-ups, status updates, and data entry. It can find and synthesize information from all of your Notion docs, plus integrated apps like Slack and Google Drive.
Pricing: Notion’s paid plans start at $10 per user, per month, and there’s a limited free version for small teams working on simpler projects. You’ll need to pay an additional $8 per user, per month to use Notion AI.
Trello
Known for its easy-to-use user interface, Trello is owned by the software company Atlassian, which has an AI tool integrated with Trello. Trello’s AI tool has fairly basic capabilities but is very easy to use.
It can help with many tasks including:
- Speeding up task assignment by auto-generating action items
- Easing you out of a creative block with brainstorming assistance
- Helping you improve your written communication with grammar checks
- Summarizing notes and other text blocks
Pricing: Like a few other project management tools, Trello offers a free plan that might be sufficient for managing more basic project tasks. Paid plans start at $5 per user, per month, but the Atlassian AI features kick in at the $10 per user, per month tier.
ClickUp
ClickUp is a highly customizable project management software designed to help you tackle multiple projects simultaneously. Plus, it features an in-app chat feature to help you streamline your team’s project-based communication.
ClickUp’s AI can write and edit, but it can also help you prioritize tasks, create project timelines, create subtasks, and monitor project progress without constant human intervention. It can also help scan and summarize project documents.
Pricing: ClickUp pricing starts at $7 per user, per month. There’s also a “free forever” tier that doesn’t include AI compatibility.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is known for its spreadsheet-style data visualization capabilities, which are easy to configure—no coding required. The software’s AI can help you generate formulas, produce text summaries, analyze data, and get answers to your Smartsheet-related questions.
Pricing: Smartsheet’s pricing begins at $9 per user, per month.
Monday.com
Monday.com is a management software that provides tailored solutions for different types of teams—from sales to IT to marketing. Its project management software can handle deadline tracking, project performance analytics, task assignment (which you can automate), and predictive analytics.
Monday.com’s AI tool provides text generation, information summarization, and data categorization. It also offers translation and sentiment analysis. Beyond that, it excels at automations, with the ability to execute sophisticated multi-step workflows.
Pricing: Monday.com offers a free Personal tier, and extended functionality starts with the software’s paid tiers, which begin at $9 per user, per month.
Asana
Asana is a beloved project management tool whose feature suite includes scheduling, progress monitoring, task automation, smart recommendations for project tasks, and prioritization based on project data. Its AI can automate task distribution, generate timelines, and help with resource planning by generating allocation summaries. Like other AI assistants, it also writes content and generates reports. It also can act as an intelligent assistant—you simply ask it questions related to a project, and it will serve a plain-English answer.
Pricing: Asana offers a free option, but its AI tools are available in its paid tiers, which start at $11 per user, per month.
Wrike
Wrike stands out from other AI project management tools for its emphasis on security and customizability. This makes it a strong choice for large organizations with complicated projects and lots of intellectual property to protect. Wrike’s AI-powered Work Intelligence tool can predict your project risks. Like other AI project management tools, it automates repetitive tasks and doles out task assignments to team members based on historical data.
Pricing: Wrike’s free plan offers only one AI feature (smart search). Paid plans with access to most AI tools start at $10 per user, per month.
Jira
Jira, by Atlassian, is a project management favorite among software development teams that work within the agile framework. Its many features include project boards, auto-updating calendars, automated workflows, goal tracking, and dashboards that give everyone access to the team’s projects.
Jira’s Atlassian AI integration helps you summarize text and generate context-based communications. It can also help you automate repetitive tasks like breaking down large projects into subtasks.
Pricing: Jira offers a free plan for teams of 10 or less, and the software’s paid plans start at $7.53 per user, per month (for up to 50,000 users).
Microsoft Project
If you’re a Microsoft power user, you may appreciate the AI functionality of Microsoft Project, a powerful project management software. Microsoft Project leverages Microsoft’s Power BI visualization tool to help you view project statuses, create automated workflows, and save progress in Azure, Microsoft’s enterprise cloud computing platform.
Microsoft Project integrates with the Microsoft Copilot AI assistant, which can help complete high-level tasks than those offered in many competing tools.
For example, it can help you:
- Conduct risk assessments and generate mitigation strategies
- Create detailed status reports
- Make work breakdown structures for large project
Pricing: Microsoft Project with AI functionality starts at $30 per month, or you can buy the software for $679.
Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects boasts a low price point, an easy-to-use interface, and a mobile app. Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, offers similar functionality to other basic tools. It can analyze project history to suggest workflows, answer questions about your project and schedule, and perform tasks like scheduling events or changing task priorities.
Pricing: Zoho’s free plan lets you manage two projects, but you’ll need a paid plan (starting at $4 per user, per month) to access the software’s AI tools.
What to look for in AI-powered project management tools
You have a lot of choices when it comes to project management tools, and many of them have consistent baseline features. Generating and summarizing texts, editing texts, and automating simple tasks are all table stakes.
Here’s what to look for beyond the basics:
- Automation. How sophisticated are the tool’s automation capabilities? Are they limited to basic tasks like status updates, or can it accomplish multi-step or higher-level workflows?
- Scalability. If you’re planning on growing your project, look for a tool that not only meets your current needs but will meet your needs in the future.
- Mobile compatibility. Does your team need to access their project management tool on the go? If so, check for a mobile app.
- Easy integrations. Look for compatibility with the software you’re already using. This might include your customer relationship management software, enterprise resource planning software, email server, or cloud storage provider. The goal is to avoid siloed workflows.
- Ease of use. Choose a platform that’s easy for your organization to work with—so that your team will be motivated to use it.
- Price. Ensure the tool fits within your budget over the long term. Factor in any hidden costs like add-on features, additional user licenses, or integration fees.
AI project management tools FAQ
What do AI project management tools do?
Almost all AI project management tools can generate and summarize texts, edit content, and automate simple tasks are all table stakes. More complex tools can automate complex workflows, conduct in-depth analysis and generate detailed reports, and act as a virtual assistant who can instantly fetch project information.
Will AI replace project managers?
AI is not on pace to replace project managers anytime soon. Instead, AI project management tools are automating tedious tasks while reducing human error.
Like humans, AI makes mistakes too. Which is why AI works best in a feedback loop with human input to guide it toward better, more accurate results. Rather than replacing project managers, AI works best with guidance and oversight from them, ultimately making them more efficient.
Which AI is best for project management?
The best AI tool for project management will depend on your organization's size, its budget, and the complexity of your projects. Check out tools like Notion, Monday, and Clickup, compare features and prices, and take advantage of free plans to see if you like the software.
