Rida K.

Siva D. Couldn't agree more! And sweet, that WordPress automation sounds like it could be a life saver for the right company.

Jonathan D. Hey Jonathan — really solid take, and I agree with a lot of this. The “renting AI” model is convenient early on, but at scale it absolutely introduces cost volatility, governance risk, and IP concerns. I’m seeing the same tension where teams hit a ceiling and are forced to choose between rising AI ops costs or headcount reductions. I like how you frame Private AI as a compounding asset rather than a recurring expense. Owning the core intelligence, grounding it in internal systems, and only layering external tools where they clearly add ROI feels like the most sustainable path long-term. Especially for companies with repeatable workflows, the intelligence really should grow with the business, not reset every month with a new tool. Curious to dig into this more — would love to read the articles you mentioned. Thanks for sharing your perspective 👊

Thanks Mike! Lisa H. if you right click on a message, the second option in the dropdown list should be Reply in Thread 🙂

Hi Mike, welcome! Lucky you to be in sunny and warm Florida!

This really resonates — especially the idea that overwhelm is a signal. I feel this a lot in my day-to-day work as a freelancer automator. On Upwork, I see so many jobs that are dead-set on “Zapier or Make, quick fix, copy this workflow” — and almost always the real issue isn’t the tool, it’s that no one paused to work backwards from the actual decision or outcome they care about. I’ve learned that what works beautifully for one business can be a liability for another. Same tools, same data — totally different judgment costs, tolerance for risk, and maintenance capacity. That’s where I agree with you: architecture > automation. If the system isn’t clear and boring enough to survive turnover, edge cases, and growth, AI just accelerates confusion. Clarity really is the moat haha

“Intelligence bolted onto dumb pipes” is painfully accurate, I see this constantly. As someone who builds automations for clients, the friction usually shows up when AI is asked to infer intent instead of operating within clear constraints. That’s when it stops being a junior analyst and starts becoming an unreliable narrator. The way I scope those boundaries is:

Once those lines blur, systems get fragile fast. Your idea of collapsing the stack so AI is the workflow engine is really interesting. The UX challenge you mentioned feels spot-on — how do you preserve predictability and trust while reducing the need to “plumb” everything manually? Feels like we’re all bumping up against the same ceiling from different sides — would love to keep comparing notes.

Hey Steve! Have you thought about using a AI Agent/OpenAI workflow that could custom make outreach emails based on incoming client/prospect details? I would be more than happy to help on that 🙂

Following this thread in case you get some more intel!

I love this idea!! I do agree with Maksym that a lot of just subscribe to things for no reason, but there are also a lot of useful newsletters out there, particularly for business owners or those of us who use a lot of tools and are subscribed to mailing lists. Keep us posted on the progress!