By: William Jones

For the last two years, the AI conversation has revolved around a familiar refrain. Everyone talks about potential. Fewer talk about reliability. And almost no one talks about the gap between what people want AI to do and what AI reliably delivers.

That gap is where Kortix has been building quietly. Founded by Domenico Gagliardi and Marko Kraemer, Kortix is positioning itself with a deceptively simple message. If you spend your workday moving between slides, spreadsheets, and research on people or companies, the platform’s new feature set called “Starters” is designed to outperform ChatGPT on all three.

It is not a replacement for general AI. It is a focused alternative that aims to address the practical tasks people wish AI could perform well. And unlike the major players, the entire system is built on open-source technology that anyone can study, improve, or build on.

“People do not need AI to think for them,” Gagliardi says. “They need AI that helps them work.”

The Problem With Most AI Productivity Tools

The average knowledge worker lives in an unending loop of dashboards, decks, and data. When generative AI arrived, many assumed it would immediately take those tasks off their plate. Instead, they discovered that asking a general model to interpret a large spreadsheet and build a presentation around it often leads to hallucinated numbers, broken logic, and hours of cleanup.

Even the simplest tasks, like generating a slide deck from scratch, reveal the limits of models that are trained on unfocused information. They can describe slides. They rarely build them in a way that feels usable.

Gagliardi saw this firsthand while developing multiple AI prototypes. “ChatGPT is powerful,” he says. “But power without specificity does not always solve real problems.”

Kortix was created as a direct response to that realization. Instead of building a catch-all system, Gagliardi designed a tightly structured set of “Starters” that trigger specialized workflows inside the platform. These workflows use models optimized for specific formats and actions, giving users an experience that feels less like prompting and more like working with a capable assistant.

The result is an AI tool that performs remarkably well in three of the most painful categories of modern work.

Slides: Actual Presentations, Not Drafts You Have to Rewrite

Kortix’s “Slides Starter” lets users choose a template or start from scratch. The system then builds fully formed presentations that are ready to edit, not reassemble.

Slides are structured with layout logic, consistent formatting, and a visual hierarchy that resembles something a real designer might produce. Instead of vague outlines, users receive tangible deliverables.

For founders and operators who prepare multiple decks per week, this feature alone has become a notable differentiator. Kortix is not trying to teach users how to design. It simply gives them a usable deck in minutes.

Data: Dashboards and Reports From Spreadsheets of Any Size

Data remains one of the most difficult tasks for AI systems. Large spreadsheets cause models to stall. Complex relationships between variables often result in oversimplified summaries that ignore the real patterns.

Kortix solves this with a dedicated “Data Starter” built to ingest significant volumes of information and convert them into charts, dashboards, and written reports that make sense. Because the entire platform runs on customized open-source infrastructure, it can process larger files without bottlenecking or distorting the content.

Unlike general models, Kortix understands how to preserve structure. It translates spreadsheets into insights that should not require manual verification line by line.

“Data is the area where people lose the most time,” Gagliardi says. “If AI cannot handle that with precision, then what is the point?”

People: Research That Feels Like a Real Digital Assistant

Kortix’s “People Starter” reflects a trend that has defined the last decade. So much of modern work involves understanding individuals and companies. Whether someone is researching prospects, compiling competitive analyses, or preparing for meetings, the process is fragmented across platforms.

Kortix consolidates that workflow. Users can search for people or companies, view unified information, and even pull publicly available LinkedIn profile data. For lead generation and market research, this creates a clean and immediate picture of who someone is and why they may matter.

With Kortix, the experience starts to resemble an assistant who already knows where to look.

Growing a Community Through the Creators Batch

While traditional AI companies scale by broadcasting announcements, Gagliardi has taken a quieter and more intentional approach. Kortix is being tested by a small group called the creators batch. These users act as a feedback engine, putting the “Starters” through real daily pressure and identifying what works, what does not, and what needs to evolve next.

This community-driven model allows Kortix to refine its outputs before releasing them widely. It is also a way to help ensure that the platform grows in response to the real needs of real users.

“AI tools should not be built in isolation,” Gagliardi says. “They should be built with the people who will depend on them.”

The Foundation of a New Category

Kortix is not trying to replace ChatGPT. It is trying to outperform it where it matters most for the average professional: Slides, Data, People.

It is an approach that feels refreshingly grounded. While the industry debates the existential future of AI, Gagliardi is focused on something simpler. He wants to give people a tool that could help them work better today.

In the crowded and chaotic landscape of consumer AI, that clarity stands out.

And for many, that is exactly the alternative they have been waiting for.

To see how the next generation of practical AI tools works, try Kortix’s free plan. The “Starters” feature lets you test the platform’s strengths in slides, data, and research tasks, and you can experience firsthand why creators are adopting it as their daily productivity engine.