S1. Ep13 - From ChatGPT to Full AI Automation

Katie: Welcome to the AI Automations for Business Podcasts. We're your hosts, Katie and Noel, and we'll be discussing how you can use AI for your business along with the latest news, updates and automations to help you stay ahead of the curve, allowing you to grow and scale your business more efficiently. Please be sure to subscribe

Noel: and I hope you enjoy this episode.

Katie: Hello, welcome back to another episode. Hi, I'm Katie and I've also got Noel with me. give us a shout out. No.

Noel: Hello.

Katie: How you doing?

Noel: Good as always. How are you?

Katie: Yeah, fine and dandy. Thank you. Looking forward to this episode because we've had a question from someone. So we've had a question from Steve. Thank you, Steve for your question. So Steve asks, how do I go from chat GPT to building AI automations?

Noel: And I thought that was such a great

Katie: question because I know. know that so many other people are probably thinking something similar. And I feel like you're the perfect person to answer this as well, Noel.

Noel: Yeah, been there, done that and I've got many t-shirts. Yes.

Katie: So I thought we could kind of do like a step-by-step guide for those who are currently using chat GBT and then obviously want to implement, you know, AI automations. So why did you go from, like, just using chat GPT to, like, AI automations? Because I feel like that is quite a big jump, isn't it?

Noel: Yeah, yeah, it is quite a jump. So what I was doing was, like, creating, like, generic content and stuff and responding to emails using chatybt and things out. And then, like I say, I saw a YouTube video and they were like, we can do all of this, zero code, you know, using all these different tools. I think for that one was like Google Sheets. And I was like, oh, I've got Google Sheets. You know, is there a way that I could then integrate that into my workflow? And then from that point, I then got into Make.com. And I was like, wow, there's thousands of acts that I could seamlessly connect. So, you know, that opened up a whole horizon of things that could be done. But yeah, you've got to start small, though.

Katie: Yeah. So I guess like we said we'll do kind of like a step-by-step guide. So I guess, like, the first thing is it's actually realizing in knowing what you can automate because for those who, you know, are just using chat GPT, it feels, I would say, very intimidating to know what you can actually automate to begin with. So where would you start with that?

Noel: So I would first assess the, what you're using it for. Or are you using it as more of like a to-and-from chat model? You know, are you just having a conversation with it? If so, then automations isn't really the way to go. But if you're always looking for like structured the same style of output every single time, then that's kind of the point where you can then start to look at AI automations. Because what they're really good at is creating consistent outputs every single time. So if you're happy with that consistency and like you say you're creating, like a proposal document or a quotation document to send to customers, like things that are ideal for automation. So step one is really looking at what you use chat GPT for and if that would actually suit an automation, because it doesn't suit everything at the moment. Okay.

Katie: So it's kind of looking at the things that you are doing on repeat time and time again and you're kind of thinking, is there a way that I can automate this? that's maybe it is like proposals or quotes or maybe it is that you're, you know, when someone signs up to something you, you're sending out a contract or terms and conditions, things like that. Those would be all really helpful things to start with AI automations.

Noel: Definitely, yes. It makes it even easier if you already have like a standard process in place. So like you're saying, where you've got different attachments that you might put on emails and things that go along with like a contract or proposal, then knowing that up front would make life so much easier. So if you've already got that in place, then it kind of makes your journey from chat JAPT to automation so much simpler. But you don't have to have it. You can make it up as you go. Yeah. Okay.

Katie: So you've worked out what things you want to automate. Then what would be the next step in the process?

Noel: So you can kind of get lost with the amount of apps that you can connect in tools like make and NAN. So what I would first do is kind of take a step back and then think, well, what tools do we have within the business that we could potentially use as a way to trigger these workflows? So you may already have like a CRM in place that's creating contracts and things that in your, you've got your sales pipeline or whatever is all in there. Then maybe that is a good starting point for your trigger to start these automation. So it's kind of looking at what you already have and then figuring out if that can be automated. And then the key to automation is if you go on make.com, they list all of their apps so you can search for whatever you use. If it's not in there, there's no need to panic straight away, because what you can do is providing the software that you use or the application you use has an API, then you can add that application into make.com. There are set modules, within there that allow you to connect to anything.

Katie: Why?

Noel: So, yeah, you've kind of got to make sure either it's in there or it has an API. If it's neither, then that's not going to work. Okay. You need to have something that will allow a connection to the outside world. Yeah.

Katie: Okay. That makes sense.

Noel: But then, obviously, then, if you can then also take it a bit further and say, well, it's great that this tool connects to the outside world, but is it actually the right one for this process? process? Is there maybe something else? And then maybe assess, you know, changing subscriptions and things that for platforms that may be better. But first things first, always look at what you currently have before

Katie: subscribing.

Noel: You're used to,

Katie: you're used to it. You know it works for you. Or maybe you know actually that you don't really like using it. So you want to find something a bit better or a bit different.

Noel: Yeah. Yeah, I've been there. I know.

Katie: Sometimes we think, well, this does the job. But we also hate using it. And we, you know, I think, you know, we have to use this because it's what works. But I think we're so inundated now with apps and platforms that all do very similar things.

Noel: Yeah.

Katie: Yeah, we do now have a choice, which is great.

Noel: Absolutely. It is nice having all those choices. Yeah. Okay.

Katie: So we've, okay, so we've chosen what apps or platforms we want to use. we have figured out they've either got an API or that they are in Make, then where do we go?

Noel: So this is kind of, this is the fun bit. It's building that automation out. You kind of need to think along like a step-by-step process. So you're sending out a proposal. So your CRM triggers that process. So it's like, well, what needs to happen next? Do we need to put that into AI? Do we need to tag it as something else within? within that tool or what, you know, so we kind of need to think about how this is all going to look and what the final output is going to be. Is this going to, you know, be sent out on Gmail, you know, straight to the client and things that. But then we've kind of got to figure out all of the fun stuff in the middle. Are we creating these documents in Google Docs? Are we going to then just send them as a PDF or we're just going to attach links? You know, there's all kinds of stuff in the middle. that you can do, but if you know what the final output's going to be, that's going to make life so much easier. But I guess also that's kind of really key within this setup process is which AI model are you going to use? Because that's going to kind of make or break your automation in some ways, mainly because some of them are really good at providing consistent outputs and others aren't. So, you know, you don't want to start off a, you know, a document that you're going to send to a customer that says, well, hey, here's your document about so-and-so, and it's like, and then it goes into it. It's like, no, no, no, I just want the paragraphs for that document. I don't need any reasoning or context, which every model will always give you a standard anyway. So some models are really bad, that sort of stuff. And then it also comes down to cost, because obviously you're going to pay every single time a document's created. So depending on how many things you're creating, costs could also be a factor. So yeah, there's all kinds of considerations within the set-up process. Okay.

Katie: And then that is how you go from chat GPT to creating AI automation.

Noel: Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. It's a fun thing to do. I would always say start off with something small. So the first one I ever built was a, so I have a website form and basically whenever someone filled that in, it would then create an email response, but it would go off and like look at their website. like with AI, so it could have some extra context about what that company does. It would know all about my services and it would create like a bespoke response based on that customer's inquiry kind of thing. So that was something really quick and easy that you can do. So I would kind of say, well, do something small first. You know, don't go into, I'm going to completely revamp my entire sales process from start to finish. That's probably because you'll get lost in the middle and then you might give up. Yeah,

Katie: for sure. And I think the email one is a really easy one to start with. Unfortunately, though, you can only do it with Outlook in Google, can't you? So Gmail or Outlook or Hotmail. Yes.

Noel: Currently, yes.

Katie: Currently, yeah, which is really frustrating. But if you do use Outlook or Gmail, then, yeah, you're in for a treat. And we've actually done a course on how to automate your. email inbox. We do recommend that you don't fully automate it. So for example, this is great if you're a business that does have lots of quotes. So maybe, for example, I don't know, let's go with a florist. So you have lots of people coming in asking for quotes and you feel like you're spending so much time answering these quotes or, you know, you're doing a full day of work at the flower shop and then on the evening you're having to go through all the quotes and it takes a lot of time. You could automate that and then all you would need to do is go into your draft folder where all of these emails have been created by your AI automation and then you can like read them over if any of them need tweaking or you know there might be an odd occasion where one might need rewrite it altogether. Before hit and send, you can do that. So that's going to save you so much time. And that's such a easy AI automation to implement, wouldn't you say now?

Noel: Absolutely. Yeah. It is quite straightforward. But you actually raise a good point, actually, when it comes to building automations is having that human in the loop. So you also need to understand, like, is there going to be points where I don't want to send this direct to the customer? emails, it's like, well, I want it in drafts. I don't want to just send it. You do have the option to just send it, but is that wise? So, you know, you kind of, you know, need to have some points in there where you think, well, someone needs to look at this before we approve. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Katie: And if anyone's interested in automating their Outlook or Gmail emails, then we'll put the link below for our course. And you can go and check

Noel: that out.

Katie: No, well, is there anything else that you would like to add to Steve's question. Thank you so much, by the way, Steve, for sending you a new question. And if anyone else has got any other questions that you want us to answer on our podcast, then do let us know you can come and join us in our free LinkedIn group, which is AI Automations for Business. Again, we'll leave a link below. But if you come and put your questions in there, we can absolutely answer them for you on this podcast episode.

Noel: I've got nothing Further to that, I think we've covered everything within there to get everyone started. So, yeah, like Katie said, if there's any other questions, you know where to find me. Yep. Amazing.

Katie: Okay. Well, thank you so much for listening and we will catch you next time for another episode next week.