Full Transcript
AI Noah: Hi, I'm Noah. Before we dive into the AI landscape, can you introduce yourself and share a bit about your background?
Noah W: Yeah, I'm also Noah. I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. I went to Ohio State, and right now I'm building a newsletter called Noah on AI, where I track the AI space and the biggest updates from the major AI companies—Nvidia, the big five, Gemini, Claude, OpenAI, xAI. Then I look for different industries where AI is impacting jobs and figure out how to translate those impacts to tangible tools that can help in the everyday workspace.
AI Noah: That sounds like an important and valuable initiative. Now, looking at the AI landscape as a whole, what are your thoughts on its current state? How do you see it evolving?
Noah W: Yeah, so I think before the GPT-5 launch, I was super excited about everything's going to the moon super fast. There was so much development in such a quick time that it seemed like in just a few months, everything could completely change. But now, looking back on it, with the latest GPT-5 launch having tempered expectations just a bit, what I see right now in the space is a very clear impact of AI in the workplace.
I see agentic workflows becoming very prevalent over the next few years, taking a lot of mandatory and boring work and turning it all into automated workflows. I see that change coming pretty fast and that being the biggest up-close change that AI will bring. And then, down the line, I still believe that AGI, ASI, and super-intelligent artificial intelligence will be here. But over the next few years, I think the biggest impact that AI will bring is agentic workflows.
AI Noah: That's a compelling perspective. How do you think businesses can best prepare for the shift towards agentic workflows?
Noah W: I think just understanding the AI landscape and figuring out what the different tools are that are being used in my industry or what the different tools are that AI offers. I'll be starting up consulting sometime soon, and what I'm going to focus on is just narrowing down every single manual workflow that a company does. So figuring out, "Okay, if this task requires these three or four steps, how can we completely automate that task with AI?" And that includes if it means going down to the zeroth principle and taking systems that are in use out of use and replacing it completely with AI systems. I think you need to look at it from an angle of, "Okay, AI is this completely new thing, and even if we have to make some sweeping changes across our business, we will do that because it'll save us a lot of money in the long run."
AI Noah: That's a practical approach. Emphasizing the long-term benefits of automation can really help companies understand its value. What tools or technologies do you believe are crucial for businesses to adopt in this transition to agentic workflows?
Noah W: I think it's specific by business. I don't think there's one tool, outside of maybe ChatGPT or Claude, that every business should start using today. But like I said, I think it's just a matter of looking at what workflows businesses are using, what an employee does from eight to five or nine to five when they get in every day, analyzing every single step, and figuring out which steps can be automated and building or using tools to replace those steps.
AI Noah: That makes a lot of sense. A tailored approach allows businesses to maximize efficiency. In your experience, what are some common tasks that you believe are ripe for automation in most organizations?
Noah W: I think a lot of things with lead management, with CRMs, with social media. There's this whole new world. I love what Google is doing with V03 and now DeepMind Genie, with how they're converting photos and videos and now text to image. I mean, that's becoming pretty prevalent across the AI ecosystem with Midjourney and other tools. But I love how advanced Genie and V03 are with creating content. So I think we're going to see a lot of AI-generated content. Even though we already see a decent amount, I think we're going to see a lot more of AI-generated content. So social media and that entire landscape are going to be heavily impacted by AI.
I see getting new leads, CRMs, your funnel—when somebody comes to your website, what buttons they're clicking, what ads they're seeing to get there—everything in that funnel can be analyzed and automated. And then just specific tasks based on the business. I think there are a lot of use cases for AI. So I'm excited to see, once I start getting into some businesses, what I can kind of uncover about how AI can impact the landscape.
AI Noah: That sounds like an exciting journey ahead. Analyzing and uncovering those insights can lead to significant improvements for businesses. What advice would you give to individuals or companies that are just beginning to explore AI and its potential applications?
Noah W: I think research is a big one. You want to be able to understand what exactly AI tools can do and what their limitations are. I think a lot of people are getting into trouble or having trouble with AI because they don't quite understand their capabilities. They either A, don't understand what AI can do in terms of how good it is, or B, they overestimate what AI can do and get distraught when it doesn't do everything they want it to do. It's not just a one-size-fits-all tool. There are a lot of different ways AI can be used and a lot of different workflows that can be changed using AI.
I think for someone just getting started, especially a business owner, you need to understand what you are doing as a business and then gauge and research different AI tools and understand how those AI tools can play a part in your business.
AI Noah: That's excellent advice. A strong foundation in understanding both the business needs and the capabilities of AI tools is essential for successful integration. As you continue to explore and develop your newsletter, what are you most excited about in the future of AI?
Noah W: I love the concept. I've actually been working on a tool, but I love the concept of immersive AI combined with AR and VR. Being able to explore different created worlds in AR and VR is super cool to me. That's more aligned with my interests, but outside of that, there are just so many tools. I'm just constantly thinking and talking about just different tools that can be created in the next few years with AI.
I like how fast it's moving, and I'm just excited about all the different industries it's going to change and how it's going to free up a lot of time. I think that's one of the biggest things with AI that people don't really talk about or don't fully understand—how much time it's going to free up for business owners, for entrepreneurs, for just people in general. AI's biggest power is giving us time back, so the further we get along the line of zero agentic AI in business to 90% of business being agentic AI, meaning the AI can work on its own, that frees up a lot more time for us to either A, do other businesses or put more time into other aspects of the business, or B, go play golf or do things we enjoy a bit more. So I'm excited to see how work in the US changes in the next five years based on the impact of time-saving agentic AI.
AI Noah: That's a fascinating perspective. The potential for AI to significantly enhance the quality of life and work-life balance is an exciting prospect. As you look ahead, how do you plan to adapt your newsletter and content to reflect these ongoing changes in the AI landscape?
Noah W: I think with my newsletter, I want to just keep helping people stay informed with what's going on with AI, showing new tools and new use cases. And then, I'm building a couple of apps and tools and products that are just for fun for me for now, but I may share those at some point. Then I'm also going to start doing some AI consulting where I go into a business, analyze workflows, and help them understand what needs to be fixed, what needs to be improved upon, and what can stay the same.
AI Noah: That sounds like a well-rounded approach to your newsletter and consulting. Providing insights into new tools and practical applications combined with hands-on consulting will be valuable for your audience and clients. Is there anything specific you're currently working on that you're most excited to share in your newsletter or consulting work?
Noah W: Nothing I want to share yet. As I continue working and get some stuff published, I'll share it then, but yeah, just subscribe to noahonai.com if you haven't already. Just a heads-up, I have about two more minutes left, so if you want to ask one or two more questions, then we can call it a day.
AI Noah: Sure. What are some key trends in AI that you think people should keep an eye on in the coming months?
Noah W: It's a good question. I think the biggest one is I want to see how different AI companies change their agents and improve their agents. Once again, we're moving from generative AI, which is essentially, you ask ChatGPT a question, and it gives you a good explanation and you can use that for something else, towards agentic AI, which allows the AI agent to actually go and do stuff for you. So I'm curious to see what type of advancements we're going to see in the coming months with agentic AI, specifically from the Geminis, the X.AIs, the OpenAIs, the Claudes of the world.
AI Noah: That's a great insight. The shift towards agentic AI could really redefine how we interact with technology. For your final question, what advice would you give to someone who wants to start exploring the AI field but doesn't know where to begin?
Noah W: That's a good question. I would say I would start by checking out my newsletter, taking a look at the companies I'm highlighting, and going and doing a deep dive. You need to be using the tools every single day—the AI tools. That's kind of a non-negotiable. And learning the space. Obviously, if you're not working, you're not on your computer, you don't have to, but if you're in a workplace or in school, you need to be using these tools every single day. I think that's super important just to understand how to best talk to them and prompt them.
And then I would say, yeah, once you get comfortable with using these different tools, figure out which one is the best for you. Once you figure out which one is the best for you, then go ahead and explore it even further. I think there's not one AI tool that's good for everybody. Personally, I use a mix of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Groq, and Perplexity, and I'm a big fan of probably Claude or ChatGPT; they are my top two use cases. But for someone just getting started, you need to go research and learn and figure out which tools are best for you. Start using those tools, and even outside of the top five, top 10 big AI companies, go and look at what tools, what smaller tools are integral in what you're trying to build.
Go figure out, "Okay, say I'm a music producer." Go learn 11 Labs, which creates AI-generated audio. They just released a music feature. Say you are a teacher. Go look at Gemini or GPT study mode or other tools. There are so many tools out there too that are not just the big companies that can be used in specific industries that I think need exploring. So, long story short, I think the biggest thing someone just starting in the AI space can do is spend time researching and learning the tools, and then just start practicing with them. Start talking and asking questions to these tools, and you'd be surprised at how much you can grow and how much you can learn just by repetition.
AI Noah: That's excellent advice. Hands-on experience and exploration can really enhance understanding. Thank you for sharing your insights today. I wish you the best with your newsletter and all your future endeavors in the AI space.
Noah W: All right, thank you.