The blog and newsletter still live under one name: AI Without the Bullsh*t. This is where the essays, explanations, and smaller observations go. Projects stay separate and structured.
Most small businesses don't have an AI problem. They have a workflow problem that AI might help with. Here's how I think about the difference — and what actually matters when scoping this kind of work.
Every AI vendor has a great demo. Six months after deployment, the reality is usually different. Here's what separates a demo from a system that actually runs in production.
Business owners shopping for AI ask which model to use. That's the wrong question. The data layer — your CRM — is what actually determines whether AI works in your business.
Every AI vendor demo looks great. The questions below are designed to find the gap between the demo and what actually happens after you sign.
Most businesses try to automate the wrong things first. Here are the five workflows where small and mid-sized businesses consistently see the highest return — and why order matters.
An AI that won't hand off a call isn't a good AI — it's a liability. Escalation isn't failure. Here's how to define it, design it, and build the handoff correctly.
Most voice agent failures aren't technical — they're conversational. Specific phrases destroy caller trust immediately. Here's what to cut and what to say instead.
Building your own AI system looks cheaper than buying one. The upfront math usually works. The ongoing math rarely does. Here's what gets left out of the DIY estimate.
When an AI project fails, everyone blames the technology. Almost never the right diagnosis. Here are the four things that kill AI projects before the model gets a chance to help.
Most people think AI voice agents are smarter phone trees. They're not. Here's how the technology actually works — and what has to be true for it to work in your business.
Most small business owners think AI means chatbots or job replacement. Here's what AI actually does in real operations — and why the boring use cases are the ones worth paying for.