Why Your $20 AI Agent Won’t Replace a Team

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

On this episode of The AI Report, Liam Lawson sits down with Avi Hacker, founder of the AI Consulting Network and one of the most prolific solo operators in the AI world.Avi doesn’t know how to code, but that hasn’t stopped him from building a business powered entirely by custom GPTs, Airtable workflows, Make.com automations, and a relentless commitment to experimentation. He’s automated everything from daily newsletters to podcast production and does it all without a technical team.This conversation dives into:How Avi scaled from law school grad to AI consultantWhy he operates like a 20-person team with zero employeesThe real cost of automation and what clients often misunderstandHow he built tools for LinkedIn growth, blog creation, and deep researchThe tech stack behind his daily content engineIf you’re interested in the intersection of AI, automation, and solopreneurship, this is one to queue up.Subscribe to The AI Report:theaireport.aiJoin our community:skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutConnect with Avi:linkedin.com/in/avihackerChapters:(00:00) Building Anything Without Knowing How to Code(01:00) From Law School to AI Consultant(03:05) Starting the AI Consulting Network(05:12) What Clients Get Wrong About AI(07:00) Understanding Time ROI in AI Projects(08:14) Live Walkthrough: Automating The AI Report Newsletter(11:00) Building a Custom Workflow with Make and Airtable(13:20) Why He Doesn’t Do One-Time Builds(15:00) The Internal Tools That Power His Growth(17:45) Working Like a 20-Person Team Using AI(19:14) Future Plans and Scaling the Business(21:00) Experimenting With AI Agents(23:00) Training AI-First Operators(25:00) Big Ideas, Small Teams, and the Power of Leverage(30:00) Explaining His Job to Non-Tech Folks(32:00) Where to Find Avi Online

In this episode of The AI Report, Christine Walker joins Arturo Ferreira to launch a new series on the legal side of artificial intelligence. Christine is a practicing attorney helping businesses understand how to navigate AI risk, compliance, and governance in a rapidly changing policy environment.They explore how the shift from the Biden to the Trump administration is changing the tone on AI regulation, what the EU AI Act means for U.S. companies, and why many of the legal frameworks we need for AI already exist. Christine breaks down how lawyers apply traditional legal principles to today’s AI challenges from intellectual property and employment law to bias and defamation.Also in this episode: • The risk of waiting for regulation to catch up • How companies can conduct internal AI audits • What courts are already doing with AI tools • Why even lawyers are still figuring this out in real time • What businesses should be doing now to reduce liabilityChristine offers a grounded, practical view of what it means to use AI responsibly, even when the law seems unclear.Subscribe to The AI Report:theaireport.aiJoin our community:skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutChapters:(00:00) The Legal Risks of AI and Why It’s Still a Black Box(01:13) Christine Walker’s Background in Law and Tech(03:07) Biden vs Trump: Competing AI Governance Philosophies(04:53) What Governance Means and Why It Matters(06:26) Comparing the EU AI Act with the U.S. Legal Vacuum(08:14) Case Law on IP, Bias, and Discrimination(10:50) Why the Fear Around AI May Be Misplaced(13:15) Legal Precedents: What Tech History Teaches Us(16:06) The GOP’s AI Stance and Regulatory Philosophy(18:35) Most AI Use Cases Already Fall Under Existing Law(21:11) Why Precedents Take So Long—and What That Means(23:08) Will AI Accelerate the Legal System?(25:24) AI + Lawyers: A Collaborative Model(27:15) Hallucinations, Case Law, and Legal Responsibility(28:36) Building Policy Now to Avoid Legal Pain Later(30:59) Christine’s Final Advice for Businesses and Builders

Welcome back to The AI Report, where Liam Lawson speaks with the people shaping the future of AI, one breakthrough at a time.This week’s guest is Adam Biddlecombe, co-founder of Mindstream, the daily AI newsletter that was acquired by HubSpot just 17 months after launch. Adam shares how he went from posting on LinkedIn during his lunch breaks to building a globally recognized media brand with over 150,000 engaged readers.In this conversation, Adam breaks down how to grow and monetize a newsletter, what most people get wrong about AI adoption in companies, and why editorial quality still matters more than ever. He also shares the realities of startup life. from managing deliverability nightmares to building a distributed team across Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, and beyond.We talk through how to drive real AI literacy in teams, how to think about pricing ads for sponsors, and why being early matters less than being consistent.Subscribe to The AI Report and stay sharp on everything happening in AI:theaireport.aiConnect with Adam:linkedin.com/in/adambiddlecombeChapters:(00:00) Why AI Literacy is the New Career Edge(00:43) How Adam Sold Mindstream to HubSpot(03:07) Growing the Newsletter from Scratch(06:17) Building on LinkedIn in 2025(09:25) Talking AI Fear and Workplace Buy-In(12:21) Rolling Out AI Internally at Scale(15:10) Educating Without Overwhelming(19:06) The Mindstream Monetization Model(22:18) Differentiating Through Editorial Voice(27:02) Deliverability, List Hygiene, and Real Engagement(30:47) Hiring Internationally and Building Culture(35:00) Why Young, Global Talent Was the Secret(40:14) The “Doppelgänger” Way to Train New Hires(44:17) The Truth About Deliverability Pain(48:08) The Email That Led to a HubSpot Acquisition(49:19) Adam’s 4-5-Mile Clarity WalkFollow the show and leave a rating if you found this episode valuable. It helps new listeners find the pod.

🎙️ Welcome back to The AI Report with Liam Lawson — your backstage pass to the builders, thinkers, and creators pushing AI forward.This week, Liam sits down with Alex Banks, the mind behind GrowHub, TribeScaler, and The Signal newsletter. From publishing hooks on Twitter to launching tools that power top LinkedIn creators, Alex walks us through how he built a personal brand and product suite that’s generated massive reach—and real revenue.🔥 In this episode: • The founding story of GrowHub—and why it’s not just another AI writing tool • How Alex balances building multiple ventures while staying active on socials • Why authenticity beats virality in the long run • The exact tech stack and workflows he uses to stay ahead • What he’d do if he had to start from scratch tomorrowWhether you’re a founder, creator, or just AI-curious, this episode is packed with insights on playing the long game, productizing your edge, and building in public.Subscribe to The AI Report and get smarter on AI in 5 minutes/day:📬 https://www.theaireport.ai/🧠 Join the free Skool community:https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/about👋 Connect with Alex:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbanks-ai/⏱️ Chapters(00:00) Building Without Expectation(01:39) Writing Online & Learning the Algorithm(03:09) First Product: TribeScaler(06:17) AI Tools for Personal Workflow(09:43) Go-To Tools: V0, WisprFlow, Fixer(13:20) On Voice, Trust & Real Community(15:31) Why GrowHub Exists(19:28) Live Walkthrough of GrowHub(24:05) Writing Style as Product DNA(25:34) Personal Branding > Your CV(29:18) The Reality of Building with AI(36:57) Positive Sum Thinking in Business(37:08) Starting From Scratch: Alex’s Blueprint(43:44) Why He’s All-In on AI(45:01) Where to Follow AlexFollow the show and leave us a 5-star review if you’re loving the pod—it helps more builders discover the signal. 🚀

Learn AI in 5 Minutes Per Day: https://www.theaireport.ai/In this episode of The AI Report, Liam Lawson sits down with Frank Greeff, former chef-turned-tech founder who built and sold Realbase for $180M, to explore how AI, founder relationships, and radical action are reshaping the future of entrepreneurship in the AI era.Frank shares the full story behind Realbase’s growth—from a garage-based signboard company to Australia’s #1 real estate marketing platform. He dives into the mindset behind building a company to acquisition, why most founders struggle post-exit, and how he’s now leveraging AI to build a lean, billion-dollar business with fewer than 100 employees.From creating AI-powered org charts and automating operations to hosting $55K yacht events for 8-figure founders, this episode is packed with insights on scaling, brand-building, and creating leverage through people and systems. Frank also unpacks how he uses ChatGPT like a third co-founder, why resilience is more important than routines, and what the real differentiator will be in a world where AI does everything—human relationships.But it’s not just about AI tools—this episode is a masterclass in modern founder psychology: why doing what “doesn’t make sense” might be your greatest edge, how to stay in the game long enough to win, and how to align business with purpose at scale.Want to understand what the future of work, leadership, and founder-led growth looks like in an AI-native world?Tune in now! Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more expert insights!Over 400,000 OpenAI, Apple & NASA professionals read The AI Report. We'll teach you how to leverage AI to make money/save time in just 5 minutes.Join our free community now: https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutConnect with Frank: https://au.linkedin.com/in/frankgreeff(00:00) Intro(02:08) Realbase Origin: From Garage Startup to Market Leader(04:55) The $180M Exit to Domain: Behind the Deal(07:46) Launching The Founder’s Table(09:58) Building a Network Like the PayPal Mafia(13:57) Why Top-of-Funnel Content is a Game Changer(18:34) What Successful Founders Actually Eat(23:31) Traits of Successful Founders in the AI Era(27:58) The #1 Trait Founders Need to Thrive with AI(31:36) Only 3% of Founders Are Truly Using AI(33:44) Frank’s AI Org Chart Explained (Router, Agents, Managers)(36:30) Using AI as a Third Co-Founder(38:30) Designing a Lean AI-First Company(41:31) Hosting $55K Founder Dinners on Yachts(43:34) Why Relationships Are the Ultimate Moat in an AI World(45:04) Frank’s New Business Vision

Learn AI in 5 Minutes Per Day: https://www.theaireport.ai/In this episode of The AI Report, Liam Lawson sits down with Nick Verity, CEO of Cleverly and partner at Axe Automation, to explore how AI, workflow automation, and productized services are reshaping the future of B2B lead generation and outbound sales.Nick breaks down how Cleverly scaled to 1,000+ five-star reviews by turning traditional agency work into a highly automated, subscription-based model—leveraging AI tools like Claude to streamline cold outreach, personalize copywriting, and optimize client delivery. He explains why scalable lead generation in 2025 depends on automation-first thinking and how to build operational systems that run without weekly hand-holding.From automating onboarding and CRM workflows to launching high-converting cold email campaigns, this episode is packed with actionable insights. Nick also dives into the rise (and hype) of AI SDR startups, the shift toward intent-based outreach, and why good cold email is still about relevance, proof, and a killer offer.But it’s not just about systems—this episode also explores the mindset of a founder: how fear, problem-solving, and grit shaped Nick’s journey from blue-collar roots to leading two high-growth businesses, and why the “AI Orchestrator” might just be the most important job title of the next decade.Want to scale your agency, automate your sales funnel, and dominate outbound in the age of AI?Tune in now! Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more expert insights!Over 400,000 OpenAI, Apple & NASA professionals read The AI Report. We'll teach you how to leverage AI to make money/save time in just 5 minutes.Join our free community now: https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutConnect with Nicholas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-verity/(00:00) Preview(01:39) The Founding Story of Cleverly (05:37) Automating Client Management at Scale (07:39) Nick’s Product Development & Strategy Framework (12:21) Breaking Down Cleverly’s Revenue Model (17:44) AI SDRs & 2025 Cold Email Strategies(21:31) Scaling Axe: Challenges, Lessons & Productization (26:28) What Axe Automation Actually Does for Clients (28:50) Who Buys Automation (And Who Doesn’t) (35:04) Personal Productivity vs Workflow Automation with AI (37:33) The Rise of the AI Orchestrator Role (42:17) Nick’s Thoughts on Investing, Risk, and Focus (47:11) Nick’s Vision For the Future

Learn AI in 5 Minutes Per Day: https://www.theaireport.ai/In this episode of The AI Report,Liam Lawson sits down with Bjion Henry, CEO of Navreo.ai, to explore the AI’s impact in sales and lead generation in today's world. Discover how Navreo.ai transitioned from a general AI automation agency to a niche-focused leader in AI-driven sales strategies. Bijon also shares insights into automating outbound sales, the importance of personal branding, and the future of AI in business.​Topics Covered:The evolution of Navreo.ai's business model​Implementing AI in sales processes​Strategies for effective personal branding on LinkedIn​Client success stories and ideal business profiles​Bijon's entrepreneurial journey and lessons learnedOver 400,000 OpenAI, Apple & NASA professionals read The AI Report. We'll teach you how to leverage AI to make money/save time in just 5 minutes.Join our free community now: https://www.skool.com/the-ai-report-community/aboutConnect with Bijon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjionhenry/(00:00) Preview(00:57) Using AI to Book Meetings Without Growing Headcount(05:32) Navreo.ai's Niche-Focused Lead Gen(07:26) Navreo.ai's Two-Pillar Strategy (Coaching & Infrastructure)(15:46) Bijon’s LinkedIn Growth Strategy (8k to 31k followers)(17:27) How Bijon Generated 700+ Calls a Year from LinkedIn Content(23:58) How to Create Viral LinkedIn Lead Magnets(27:46) Building Targeted Lead Lists at Scale with AI(30:46) AI-Powered Lead Qualification & Decision-Making(33:51) Advanced AI Email Personalization Tactics(37:04) The Benefits of AI Automation(39:42) Who Should Use Navreo.ai?(45:01) The Future of AI in Sales(47:23) Navreo.ai’s Origin Story(51:52) Bijon’s Entrepreneurial Journey & Key Business Lessons(01:03:34) Bijon’s Core Motivation: From Validation to Passion