Why Emotion Is the Next Frontier for AI

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by Quinn Favret, co-founder and COO of Tavus, to explore how digital humans are reshaping communication across industries.Quinn shares how Tavus is building AI agents that can engage in real-time, emotionally intelligent conversations—complete with facial expressions, dynamic tone, and personalized responses. The goal isn’t just automation. Its presence. And Quinn believes AI might actually help humans connect more deeply, not less.They dig into how Tavus trains its models, where conversational AI is already creating real impact, and what it takes to design an experience that feels human, without trying to be one.Also in this episode: • Why the uncanny valley is a storytelling challenge • What it means to create “brand as soul” • How Tavus enables sales, HR, education, and therapy • Why cultural nuance and context matter more than realism • The role of AI in making communication more accessibleThis is a forward-looking episode for anyone building or using AI to solve problems that rely on trust, attention, and human connection.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Intro and Quinn’s Background(01:03) Engineering, Startups, and YC(03:20) From ML Forecasting to AI Video(05:08) How Tavus Got Started(06:21) Launching During COVID(07:28) What Tavus Actually Does Today(09:05) Real Use Cases in Sales, Healthcare, and Media(11:35) Developer Tools and Agentic Systems(12:31) Building Machines That Adjust to Us(14:39) What Makes a Conversation Feel Real(16:46) Cultural and Contextual Communication(17:52) How AI Understands People Over Time(20:45) Could AI Be Better at Talking Than We Are?(23:03) Why AI Therapy Isn’t as Crazy as It Sounds(24:40) The Art of Listening and Speaking(28:33) How Quinn Practices Communication in Life and Work(30:41) The Meaning Behind the Tavus Brand(33:29) Tech, Storytelling, and Soul(35:27) UX Gaps and Human Expectations(36:43) Tavus in Context: Not Just Avatars(38:23) What an AI-Powered Future Might Look Like(40:04) Balancing Tech and Humanity(41:19) Quinn’s “Why”(44:54) Where to Connect

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson sits down with Gordon Wintrob, co-founder and CTO of Newfront, to talk about bringing AI into one of the slowest-moving industries: insurance.Gordon shares how Newfront is redesigning the broker experience with automation and AI—from parsing 200-page policies in seconds to helping HR teams save weeks of work. They discuss building AI tools that clients actually trust, how to manage risk in regulated industries, and why embedding AI into company culture matters as much as the code.Also in this episode: • Why insurance is one of the last big frontiers for tech • What makes a good AI use case in complex workflows • The story behind Benji, Newfront’s internal AI assistant • How to foster internal adoption from hiring to hackathons • What regulation and SOC 2 mean for AI innovationThis is a real look at what happens when AI goes beyond chatbots and into core business infrastructure.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Reimagining the Insurance Stack(01:06) Why Insurance Feels So Behind(02:41) How Brokers Work and Where AI Fits(05:08) Founding Newfront With Future Tech in Mind(06:59) Automating Contract Review at Scale(08:49) Working With Startups and Industry Giants(10:19) What It’s Like Serving Diverse Client Profiles(12:17) Making Room for Value-Add Conversations(13:28) Key AI Tools: Benji, Gap Analysis, and More(15:29) Why Products Succeed or Fail in Legacy Fields(16:39) Creating a Culture of Technical Curiosity(18:25) From Engineering to Recruiting: AI in the Org(19:30) Equity, Values, and Ownership at Scale(21:50) What Keeps Traditional Brokerages Behind(23:43) AI as a Signal of Operator Leverage(25:22) Who Newfront Builds For(25:56) Staying Compliant While Moving Fast(28:39) Managing Data Risk in a Privacy-Critical Industry(29:01) Vendor Security and SOC 2 in AI Development(30:25) Expanding AI Beyond the Frontend(31:58) CTO Strategy and Time Allocation(32:54) Staying Up-to-Date in a Fast-Shifting Landscape(34:42) Building With Purpose in a Legacy System(36:11) Connect With Gordon

On this episode of The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by Frey Chu—a directory builder, SEO educator, and creator focused on building long-term, high-leverage digital assets.Frey shares how he builds directories that actually work, why so many fail to get traction, and how to combine AI workflows, structured data, and strong SEO fundamentals to make evergreen content that ranks and converts.They discuss the real art of choosing a niche, when to enrich data manually vs programmatically, and why directories—when done right—are still one of the best internet business models available.Also in this episode: • What separates real directories from content farms • How to validate a niche with Reddit and Ahrefs • Why LLMs are forcing a rethink of “content quality” • The pros and cons of exact-match domains • Frey’s thoughts on time freedom, creative control, and building slow on purposeIf you’ve ever wanted to build a niche site, test an idea, or launch a project that runs without you, Frey’s approach will give you a grounded, tactical blueprint.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) What Makes a Directory Valuable(01:06) Ranking Local Queries With SEO(02:34) The Difference Between Lists and Real Directories(04:32) Why “Directory of Directories” Doesn’t Work(05:36) Finding Balance Between SEO and Passion(07:55) Evergreen Niches That Print Cashflow(10:05) Reviewing His Portfolio: Hits and Experiments(11:15) Why Directories Are Still Relevant(12:19) LLMs and the Future of Structured Data(13:38) Monetize First or Learn First?(15:11) Validating Demand Without Guesswork(16:35) Data Enrichment Strategies That Work(17:54) Choosing the Right Stack for Directory Projects(18:57) Quality Markers That Matter in 2025(20:00) High-Consequence Niches With Real Need(21:43) Feedback Loops and Iterating in Public(23:03) Do Domains Still Influence Trust and Ranking?(24:12) Frey’s Monetization Framework(25:19) Getting Ready for the Next Phase of LLM SEO(27:50) How Frey Keeps Learning and Evolving(29:04) The People and Projects He’s Studying(30:10) The Multi-Skill Nature of Directory Projects(31:54) Long-Term Goals: SaaS, Marketplaces, and Time Freedom(33:44) Why He’s Teaching Now(35:52) Where to Find and Follow Frey

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by Peter, a startup coach and product strategist who’s helped dozens of early-stage founders avoid one of the most costly mistakes in tech: building before validating.Peter explains why most startup ideas fail not because the tech doesn’t work, but because there’s no real demand. He shares the “sandwich method” he uses to get honest, useful feedback in discovery calls, and how founders can avoid building in a vacuum.They also explore the role AI is starting to play in validation workflows—and why it can’t replace true customer insight.Also in this episode: • Why product-market fit is not a feeling • How to structure conversations to get real signal • The biggest lies founders tell themselves during early validation • How to use AI tools in discovery without getting misled • Why humility might be the most valuable founder skillIf you’re building anything new—especially in AI or SaaS—this episode is a sharp, tactical reset.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Misunderstanding Product Validation(01:15) Who Peter Works With and Why(03:40) The Sandwich Method for Better Discovery(06:05) What He Learned From YC and Startup #1(08:12) Founders as Pattern Matchers(10:33) Detecting and Avoiding Bias(13:00) Identifying Real Market Demand(15:18) The Feature Fallacy(17:50) AI Tools vs Product Necessity(19:36) Where AI Can (and Can’t) Help(21:44) Advice for Founders on Day Zero(23:50) Why Peter Keeps Coaching(26:04) Where to Find Him

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson talks with Nick Jain, former IdeaScale CEO and founder of Content Hurricane, about how he used AI to completely replace traditional marketing and scale his funnel 50x.Nick shares how a $25 AI agent outperformed his in-house team, created content that outranked McKinsey on Google, and helped him build one of the most efficient B2B funnels in SaaS. He breaks down how he did it, why most marketers are missing the shift, and what the future looks like when AI runs most of your company’s creative output.Also in this episode: • Building a 90% AI-powered inbound funnel • Why content teams will be replaced, not reskilled • The new role of product managers in an AI-led org • How Content Hurricane scales enterprise-quality assets with no human input • The future of education, work, and intellectual leverageThis is not a “how to write prompts” episode. It’s a front-row view into what happens when a founder goes all in on AI and doesn’t look back.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Why Content Marketing Is On Its Way Out(01:14) A $25 Agent vs a Whole Marketing Team(02:26) Nick’s Moment of Clarity in Amsterdam(03:28) Scaling Content With ChatGPT in 30 Minutes(05:21) Running Mandatory AI Training at IdeaScale(06:45) Who Actually Adopted the Tech(08:17) From Harvard MBA to Startup CEO(09:00) Inside a 90% Automated Marketing Funnel(10:00) What Good Content Actually Means for SEO(12:31) Why Algorithms Are Not the Point(14:13) Tracking True ROI Across All Content(16:13) The Channels That Still Work(17:08) Nick’s Favorite Prompt Strategy(18:34) The End of the Content Marketing Role(20:21) CEO Ethics in the AI Age(22:04) Why Sales and Product Still Matter(24:03) The Future of Product Management(25:31) Why Generalists Have the Edge Now(27:05) What Happens to Traditional Education(28:10) The Chips Are Coming: Post-Human Thinking(30:13) How Content Hurricane Operates(32:01) Awareness to Action With AI(33:36) The Simplicity Advantage in UX(35:09) Prompting for Depth, Not Generic Output(36:03) Product With Purpose(36:22) Massive Growth Metrics From the Funnel(38:12) Why Nick Keeps Building(39:05) How to Connect With Him

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by Lindsay Rosenthal, founder of Synnc and one of the leading voices in the B2B creator economy. Lindsay shares how she went from building a presence on LinkedIn to launching a software platform that connects brands and professionals for high-leverage collaborations.She breaks down what’s changing in B2B marketing, why creators are becoming critical distribution channels, and how she built and shipped a product without a technical background, leveraging AI tools to move faster and execute smarter.Also in this episode: • The rise of B2B creators and micro-influencers • How Synnc uses AI to match brands and creators • Why a personal brand is now part of your resume • The challenge of balancing content, consulting, and product building • What it really takes to launch a product with limited resourcesIf you’re trying to grow on LinkedIn, launch a tool, or find smarter ways to work with AI, this conversation is full of sharp insights from someone doing all three at once.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Why Community is Career Insurance(01:04) AI Meets LinkedIn: What’s Happening Now(02:10) B2B Creators Are the New Growth Engine(03:20) Personal Brand as a Strategic Asset(04:36) Imperfect Content Beats AI-Polished Posts(06:13) The Real Voice of B2B: Messy and Human(07:47) What Synnc Actually Does(09:00) How Brands and Creators Use the Platform(11:09) AI Workflow Automation Behind the Scenes(13:14) Why Creator Rates Are Climbing in B2B(14:21) Big Value From Small Audiences(16:20) Winning With Focused Distribution, Not Virality(17:05) Collabs, Testimonials, and Fractional Roles(18:17) Building and Shipping Without a Tech Background(19:31) The Realities of Building in Public(21:05) Why Speed and Timing Matter Most(22:12) Lindsay’s Origin Story and Customer Zero(24:03) From Student Podcast to Software Startup(25:57) Spotting Trends and Building Early(28:02) Why Non-Technical Founders Are Winning Now(29:08) Using AI for Product Design and Dev Work(31:07) AI-Powered Matching and Briefing(32:48) Reducing Friction With Smarter Systems(34:03) How Lindsay Balances Multiple Lanes(35:15) Tools, Systems, and Mental Clarity(36:07) The Value of Doing More to Think Better(37:07) Synnc’s Next Moves(39:04) What She’s Working on Behind the Curtain(41:12) How to Connect With Lindsay and Try Synnc

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson sits down with Celeste Yamile, a personal brand strategist who went from selling Fiverr gigs to building a six-figure business, powered by AI and a loyal LinkedIn audience of 20,000+.Celeste breaks down how she bootstrapped her business using content, systems, and ChatGPT. She shares why most creators fail to connect, how she builds content with her own voice, and how storytelling and structure helped her grow faster than she imagined.We dive into her actual workflow, her AI stack, and the mindset shifts that helped her turn monetizable knowledge into a real income engine.Also in this episode: • Her transition from teaching English to coaching creators • Why ChatGPT still beats Gemini and Claude for her content process • What most creators get wrong about authenticity • How she helps clients build their first digital product • The story behind matching her dad’s 25-year salary with content and coachingThis is an inspiring and tactical breakdown for anyone building a business with content, community, and AI.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Why “How I” Beats “How To”(01:19) From Mexico to the World: Learning Online at 15(03:20) Making Money With Tutorials and Fiverr(06:01) Building a Foundation With YouTube(08:07) The Daily Habit of Taking Action(09:20) LinkedIn vs TikTok: Building with Intention(11:17) The Truth About Good Content(12:10) How Posting Three Times a Week Changed Her Life(13:13) Studying Top Creators With Clio(14:00) A/B Testing Frameworks for Better Results(16:02) Growing From 300 to 86,000 Impressions(17:02) Storytelling as the Ultimate Growth Lever(18:17) Her Daily ChatGPT Workflow(20:18) Batching Content to Beat Creative Burnout(22:09) Custom GPTs That Sound Like You(24:01) You Don’t Need to Sound Like AI—Just Sound Better(26:03) Building a High-Ticket Coaching Offer(28:11) Picking the Right Clients(30:03) Action > Information(33:14) “Buy Back Your Time” by Delegating Right(35:00) Hiring Your First Assistant(36:27) Scaling Toward In-Person Community(37:27) From Corporate Salary to Creator Income(39:01) Why She Wants to Help Others Be Seen

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by Jake George, founder of Agentic Brain, to cut through the noise on AI agents.Jake shares why most AI agent projects fail, what everyone gets wrong about automation, and why a generalist chatbot will never run your sales team. With experience training agents to act like departments complete with project management, team roles, and reasoning models,  Jake walks us through building systems that scale.They talk about how models like o3 and o4-mini are changing the game, why prompting alone won’t get you far, and what innovative businesses are doing to stay competitive in the era of reasoning AI.Also in this episode:The myth of the $20 agentWhy sales automation is still mostly garbageBuilding “department-level” agents from scratchThe new consulting model for AI integrationHow to spot companies faking their AI credibilityJake doesn’t sugarcoat it. He brings the hard truths and deep insights you need to integrate AI into your workflow.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) The Myth of $20 AI Employees(02:22) Why Even Smart People Struggle With Agents(04:02) o3, o4-mini, and the New Era of Reasoning(06:05) What Makes an Agent Think(07:01) Building Agents That Act Like Teams(08:25) How Models Reshape the Agentic Brain Playbook(10:07) Why Access to Context Beats Raw Intelligence(12:07) Building for Specific Use Cases(14:03) Training AI the Way You Train People(17:11) Department-Level Agent Workflows(18:24) AI Tools That Will and Won’t Survive(20:12) Where AI Still Fails in High-Ticket Sales(21:02) What Agentic Brain Offers Clients(23:12) The Role of Context in Cold Outreach(25:17) A New Model for AI Consulting(27:00) Why Real Companies Don’t DIY This(29:04) Telling Real and Fake AI Startups Apart(32:27) Pricing Mindsets: $500 vs $5,000 Clients(34:45) Enterprise Expectations and PM Discipline(36:12) Claude’s Secret Advantage(38:05) Model Flexibility and Why OpenAI Still Wins(41:13) Balancing Cost and Accuracy(42:11) Where to Connect With Jake

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by journalist Kate Farmer to discuss a growing trend in mental health: the rise of AI therapy apps.Kate recently published an investigative piece on Wysa, Woebot, and other mental health platforms that use AI to simulate therapy conversations. In this episode, she shares what it was like to interact with these tools firsthand, what users are actually experiencing, and why many of these apps are skating a dangerous line between wellness support and clinical treatment.They also explore how these apps bypass regulatory scrutiny, the ethical challenges of relying on AI for emotional support, and how vulnerable users, especially those waiting for real therapists, are often left with few other options.Also in this episode: • Why rule-based AI might be better than LLMs in mental health • How companies use marketing language to dodge legal oversight • The limits of empathy, personalization, and context in AI • What’s actually happening with your health data when you use these tools • Why CBT still matters and how to use these platforms safelyThis is a powerful, clear-eyed look at how AI is entering spaces once reserved for humans and what this means for trust, privacy, and care.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Why AI Is Not a Therapist(01:06) Kate’s Background and Reporting Focus(04:35) Revisiting AI Therapy Post-ChatGPT(06:13) How Wysa Actually Works(09:45) Empathy, Context, and Their Limits in AI(11:13) Why Intake Matters in Mental Health(13:39) False Personalization in Therapy Apps(14:47) Real User Reactions to Wysa and Woebot(16:28) When AI Becomes a Stopgap for Care(18:05) The Case for Rule-Based CBT Tools(22:08) AI Safety in Mental Health Tools(27:30) Scale vs Support: The Infrastructure Gap(29:25) Avoiding FDA Regulation with Clever Framing(31:06) “Line Skating” and Legal Grey Zones(34:42) The Health Data Economy Behind These Apps(39:00) How Much Your Mental Health File Might Be Worth(43:04) Accepting Flaws When There’s No Alternative(44:02) CBT’s Real Strengths and Use Cases(45:18) How to Use These Tools Without Risk

This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by Matthew Cohn, the founder of Future Flow, to talk about one of the most practical applications of AI today: voice agents.Matt doesn’t write code. He’s not a machine learning engineer. But he’s built a thriving business that automates sales, lead qualification, and customer follow-up using tools like Vapi, N8N, and custom GPT agents. In this episode, Matt explains how he went from university marketing projects to running voice agents that act as round-the-clock sales assistants for real businesses.They dig into the real pain points these agents solve—missed calls, slow follow-ups, and overworked sales reps—and how small to mid-size businesses are starting to catch on.Also in this episode: • What makes a great voice agent prompt • Why prompting is the core skill for non-technical AI builders • How Matt handles imposter syndrome and subcontracting • A breakdown of the orchestration layers and tools he uses daily • What it takes to serve enterprise clients with AI systemsIf you’ve been curious about AI agents, automation workflows, or what it takes to build a lean, scalable AI business without writing code, this is a must-listen.Subscribe to The AI Report:https://theaireport.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin the community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) Why Speed-to-Lead Still Wins Deals(01:13) Matt’s Non-Technical Path to Building With AI(03:45) Early AI Projects and First Use Cases(06:05) Automating Business Docs With ChatGPT(08:14) Leaving the Agency to Go All-In on Future Flow(11:00) Pitching AI Solutions From a Sales Job(13:20) Ghostwriting With GPT and Finding a Real Offer(15:30) How Voice Agents Handle Inbound and Outbound(17:45) The End-to-End Sales Process With AI(20:00) End-of-Call Reporting and CRM Automation(23:00) The Tools Behind It All: Vapi, N8N, GoHighLevel(25:00) Leveraging Subcontractors to Scale(28:00) Building With Confidence as a Non-Engineer(30:30) Thinking Bigger: Serving Enterprise Clients(33:00) Advice for Non-Technical AI Builders(36:00) Start With Prompting, Then Automate(39:00) What’s Next for Matt and Future Flow