CRMS, Agent Powers, AI HR, and Emotional Intelligence

Welcome to wake up with AI, the podcast where human powered meets AI assisted. Join your hosts, Chris Carillon, Niko Lofakas, and George b Thomas as we dive deep into the world of artificial intelligence. From the latest AI news to cutting edge tools and skill sets, we are here to help business owners, marketers, and everyday individuals unlock their full potential with the power of AI. Let's get started.

Good morning. It is Tuesday, October 22nd. Another day to wake up with AI. I'm here with George and Niko. How are you fellas doing this morning?

Doing well. Doing well. Another, another week. Another week of exciting news.

I'll just say good today. I'm doing good.

Step in the right direction. Exciting news, Niko, you say?

Yeah. I guess jump right in. Today's exciting news is the world of agents is expanding. It's ever expanding. And where are they coming from?

Now they're coming from Microsoft. So Microsoft's new expansion on their copilot is the capability for their agents. And how that's going to expand is giving people within the Microsoft platform the capability of building out their own agents to be able to use these in conjunction with what they're doing. What's the what's the expansion? Why is this different from like just the regular copilot that you can, you know, query stuff with With your agent, you can chain together various Microsoft products, so you can chain together various Microsoft actions, so you can do things like take information from an email and put that into a spreadsheet, or take information from an email, then take a look at information from, say, gosh.

What is their online would be CRM software platform? Dynamics. Dynamics. I'm forgetting. So

you can That was shade. I'm just saying.

I'm just saying only because the and, I mean, the like, those capabilities that I'm talking about are fully, fully possible, fully possible. So you're gonna be able to interact with Dynamics, interact with your spreadsheets, interact with your Word docs, interact with your email, all in one go. So, like, if you wanted to be able to pull information from Dynamics and cross reference that against information in a spreadsheet to then be able to you're you're taking because I know some people are still doing it, dynamics and you want to just transfer the live data to the next quarter so that you don't have to type in all the numbers and do all the things. You train your agent to do this and you can schedule your agent to do this. And now it just does this forever.

Right? The only reason I bring up Dynamics in the first place is because the number one, like, story that's getting thrown out now, which is admittedly a little bit, I mean it's on it's on the nose. Look, this is what's happening when it comes to software development. It's this 0 hour. It's this 0 factor where everyone is going to have the same set of tools.

So you just kinda have to watch out for whether or not you're gonna swap platforms now because whatever you were planning on doing I mean, Salesforce is great and all, but Salesforce isn't tied into your email and that's not really tied into all your other tools in the same way that Microsoft is, especially if it's an entire cohesive platform that has access to your teams and now it's flawlessly integrated with these agents.

So Calm down on that cohesive platform part. But

Well, that's the thing. Right? It's, like, where it might not have been before, that's what these agents do. They take that part and they take it onto themselves so that you don't have to. And so it becomes this huge new entry into the world of CRM, into the world of how CRMs work.

You know, HubSpot is a a, you know, step away from this. It's not they're not even they could they could enable this type of thing tomorrow if they wanted to. Right? It's just a matter of, like, easing people into stuff. Like, we're still we're still easing into Copilot for for HubSpot.

So this in the same way that you're using Copilot for HubSpot, I know a lot of people haven't I mean, there's a fair amount of people, but I know a lot of the the everyday users, especially, client side users haven't really messed around with agent AI. So you don't really have an understanding of what it is that we're necessarily talking about, but if you do get the time, you should jump on to agent ai, agent dot ai, and just play around. Really, like, just play around. It's so much simpler than chat gbt, but the output is so much more robust and I know that that's really hard to fathom, but that's the direction in which we're going. And the only reason I bring all of this stuff up is because like, okay.

Where does this relate the world of marketing and how does this relate to what we're doing? Again, you gotta remember, Klarna kicked out Salesforce. Klarna kicked out Asana. And they said, we're gonna build our own. Why do we need you guys?

We'll build our own. Zero cost software development. Right? So, in the world of marketing, it's like, yeah, you need to you really need to, like, snap into and lock into whatever foundation you had started out with. So if you were, like, you know, Salesforce heavy and you were thinking about expansion into, like, another CRM platform, nope.

Stay where you're at because the advancement in that platform is going to start to become so heavy that it's going to become more and more difficult to span out without losing touch of what's happening within the platform. Right? I mean, look at what's happening with HubSpot. How many new features have it have rolled out, and how much is going on with with the automation. Right?

So I would have to stop all of my research time in AI to be able to catch up to what's going on in the portal. Right?

Yeah. This is either a really relevant question or it's a dumbest question ever. But when I was when I hear you talk about this kind of passing this along inside this the suite of softwares, My immediate question was, like, what does that do to organizations like Zapier or Make? Like, do those organizations go away? Like

Yep. Okay. Zapier becomes, like it becomes the crutch on which other softwares who don't have don't quite yet have the capability. Okay? So they become the enablement for small business that doesn't have the money, that doesn't have the the r and d, that doesn't have the bodies to put behind this.

Because at the end of the day, you still need bodies to be able to put these you still need humans to put these these agents together and to build these agents out. And, again, becomes even more so relevant now. Right? Because we've been talking about your specialty gets amplified by this tech. It doesn't go away.

It gets amplified by it. So, now, it's even more important. What you knew before, the specialty you knew before, is even more important because now you have to train an agent on doing this. And training an agent is quite literally the same as where you were working with GPT as an assistant. Now you're working with a team.

When you put these agents together, you're essentially saying this is the best way I've I've framed this so far. Your house. Okay? You are now a a contractor. Where you were an individual worker, now you're a contractor.

So someone is gonna come to you. Your agent, essentially, is a contractor and someone's gonna you're gonna go to the agent. You're gonna say here's my blueprint for this thing that I need. And the agent is gonna go now and instead of you just having to go to the plumber and get that part done and go to this part of the GPT and get that part done and then go to Claude and get the email written and then go to then go to Midjourney and get the image created and then go to something else and get the research done. Now, I've got this one contractor and I'm gonna tell him I need an email and here's the subject line and here's the subject.

And the contractor's gonna go out and hire all those guys simultaneously and they're going to create all the stuff that's necessary and they're gonna come back and my output now is the email completed with the image, with the text, with the design, all of that. With the the c CSS that I need, with the HTML. I can even have it give me the c, what is that? SCV code for the image that it came up with so that I don't even have an image file. I can just copy paste straight out the gate and go.

That's the difference between a GPT and an agent.

So when I hear you say that, my brain goes to so I create a a researcher agent, an SEO specialist agent, a writer agent, a social media agent, and I say no.

So you're just saying Okay.

Like So, like what I'm envisioning is, like, a you build the team of agents that then go and do these things and you get this thing back. Or am I over complicating this?

You could. So it's like it's it's all breakdown. It's all segmentation. So you could build those agents, which is something similar to to what I'm messing with with agent AI is that, like, I have a a writer and the content writer. And the content writer agent is made up of quad.

It's made up of GPT. It's made up of several other models, and its job is to take the input that it's given from the contractor, agent and to generate the output according to the input that it was given. Now that's all it does. It could work independently, but it works best if it's getting the direction from the contractor. Alright.

So you could build an agent to do just that one task. Right. You could even build an agent to do that task and then to send you an email of that task or to put it in a Word doc and save it for you or to send it out to something else. Right? That's the purpose is that and it's you you start to, like, you know, you start to try to build 1 that's what I've done.

I've I've built an agent. I call it the thing because I that's one of my favorite John Carpenter movies. And it kinda it has that that's the way I think about it too. Is that, like, oh, I need social media. Okay.

Well, I'll I'll have here's my social media agent and then I'll call him with a variable whenever I need that when somebody says, like, yeah. I wanna create social posts. Then my social media agent knows all that stuff so I don't have to build it into one whole thing. Right? The the thing is comprised of all of these other agents that specialize in what it is that that they do.

So somewhat to your point, it's like you'd understand it best as, like, think of the agent as a custom GPT, like the singular one. Right? Except that the custom GPT now has functions that you can use. So, like, if you've worked with custom GPTs and and tried to use functions, they work really well with Zapier but they don't really work. It's not easy to do.

You have to know some programming. You gotta know how to do some stuff. This is totally different. This is plug and play. You're you're literally just saying, like, hey.

The input is the industry and then connect it to this language model, then put the prompt into the language model and you put the industry variable in there. So you say, you know, generate content based on industry variable and show the user the output. Literally, like, just plug, play, copy, paste and it's all natural language. None of it's like, make sure you do this code thing here. You could get that advanced if you want to.

Obviously, you wanna go crazy with it. But long and short of it is, all the multiple steps you used to do, all the multiple conversations that you would have with GPT are now in just one thing. And it's not just Microsoft. You know, I talked about it earlier this year. I kinda talked about it a little bit, talked about last year.

I said this year was going to be the year of the assistant where last year was the year of the GPT. And it really kinda has been. If if you're a a power user, you've been using GPT Voice, you've been using these things in an assistant capacity. And now, like, the real version of that assistant, the agent, is is right. It's here.

Right? So I think Anthropic's the only one who doesn't have anything just yet. But now Microsoft has one. HubSpot has 1. Salesforce has 1.

And I when I say 1, I just mean like a a platform for building agents. And OpenAI also has 1. It's not it's not, like, publicly super available yet. But they've already started talking about it. People have started using it.

And of course, they're already losing their minds over it. So this is and what's funny is that the quote that I put into our chat today was probably the best quote that I've heard in this entire story which was, we just learned how to use these these chat models, and now we have to move on to this new thing.

I mean, welcome to, like, the marketing world for the last, like, 15 years. Like, it's always changing. It's always new. It's but but they go back to a couple episodes ago where we said, like, if you're catching up is gonna be so difficult. If you're not walking or running or waking up with AI right now, like

well, this is where I think the important takeaway for me from this story is Microsoft. And, like, to get adoption of AI, things like this will need to happen where Excel is ubiquitous partly because of its functionality, but mostly because it's a part of the Microsoft suite that almost every business used at one point before Google became available. Right? Now if that's built into every PC, this agent's capabilities, now we can achieve, you know, like mainstream adoption because it's it's right there. It's in the system that's and this is the importance of, like, having audience and having eyeballs and having a customer base and, like, the power that they wield.

Thankfully, they have seemingly have good leadership right now that they're they're wielding it very well, it would seem. But I think I first mentioned this to Niko as soon as I noticed Gemini was now in the messages app on my phone. K. Now I don't have to go to open AI. I don't have to go to chat gpt.

I don't have to go anywhere to be exposed to what's possible with AI, and I think this is the kind of thing. Now it's just about creating that adoption where they're actually successful, you know, with the tools is the next hurdle, but the fact that it's just accessible in the thing that they already have open every day using every day without having to go anywhere else is very, very powerful.

Without a doubt. And and as far as mainstream users, I mean, listen, Microsoft, they they had it in being, like, quickly. Apple. Right? It's gonna be in the phone.

Like, it's not about if and it's it's it is mainstream. It's gonna be more mainstream. Like, that that's the thing. Like, nobody's trying to hit the brakes. Look around.

Nobody. Not any organization is trying to hit the AI brakes. They're all just, like, 5th gear, full throttle. Hopefully, they got their seat belt on because they're going for it. And we as users, we have to we have to figure out how to, like, be buckled into this, like, I don't know, Formula 1 race car is what it feels like on most days when I see what's going on.

So what is a a skill that helps us either buckle in or go fast?

Yeah. Yeah. So the skill that pays the bills, it's gonna sound maybe like an oxymoron at first, but AI driven emotional intelligence using AI to connect with empathy. So today's skill that pays the bill is something that can genuinely set your business apart set you apart, and that is AI driven emotional intelligence. Now you might be thinking, wait, George.

Emotional intelligence is a human thing. How can AI possibly fit into that? And you're absolutely right. Empathy, connection, and understanding are human traits for the time being. And AI helps us amplify them right now.

In sales, marketing, or customer service, understanding emotions and responding appropriately can mean the difference between gaining or losing a loyal customer. We've all been there. You know what I'm talking. That's where AI steps in with tools like sentiment analysis in HubSpot. AI can scan customer interactions, social media post emails, chat messages, and provide you with real time insights into how your audience is feeling.

By the way, it's not just HubSpot. We've talked about it. It's multiple platforms adding stuff like this. So picture this. Knowing that customer is frustrated before you reply, that'd be handy.

Or realizing someone's genuinely excited about your product so you can double down on the enthusiasm and maybe the price, that'd be handy too. Here's where it gets exciting. AI gives you the data, but the magic still comes from you for the time being, the human. AI provides the insights, but it's your human intuition and skills that turn those insights into genuine connections. So what I want you to think about, 3 key takeaways to wrap this up.

Leverage AI for real time sentiment analysis so that you can see the or understand the customer emotions in real time. It's not about reacting. It's about proactively connecting with empathy. Personalize your interactions your interactions using AI insights. AI can show you how your audience is feeling, but it's on you as the human to use that information to craft responses that resonate and build real trust.

And empathy I know I'm gonna get judged by Nico. Empathy is still human. Hey. I can guide you, but the lasting relationships come from your human centric approach, your tone, your willingness to listen, and your genuine care. So that's the skill that pays the bills for today.

I do. I do like that, and I I love hearing the evolution. We are in week 3, and we've already gone from well, no. I mean, it can't can't do empathy. Can't do empathy.

And here we are week 3, beginning of week 3. We we still have it. We we still have it.

Nah. I think it's all augmentation. Yeah. And this is where, like, if I'm gonna call with you 2 and I'm taking notes, I'm not aware of any signals you're giving me as far as emotional. Even if I'm focused on reacting to George, I might be missing signals from Niko.

This is where, like, we can only have intuitive responses or, you know, use intuition to build an empathetic response if we're aware of the signals that we're getting. And that's where this this level of, like, just complete awareness is just super exciting to think about. And that's what like, if we can augment that, like, why in the world would you not want that? Like, it's not replacement at all. It's No.

The thing you weren't you weren't even aware that it was happening.

Yeah. I mean, there was a, an interesting LinkedIn post I came across that that's some that's somewhat relevant, or I I guess it is. George would say it's extremely relevant. It was it was from an HR firm that well, it was a an AI company, SAS company that was that had software to facilitate and to expand the HR departments of companies by offering them AI tools, would do skills assessments and would measure performance and would track progress in relation to education and you know, further education on on different employees. And the advertising for it was empowering your h.

R. Department so that they can spend more time doing what matters.

Oh, okay.

And I thought it was I only thought it was odd because you go to the website and it's, like, AI powered this, AI powered that, AI powered the other thing. And it's, like, okay. Well, if it's an, you know and I get it. It's an AI powered SaaS tool that is supposed to augment HRs, but the aspects of it that it is meant to augment, from what I can tell, are aspects that your manager would normally be handling or should be handling. And especially when it comes to things like an employee's progress or ways in which they can better, you know, either understand the material itself or ways in which they can maybe, personally excel in some some aspect that they didn't realize.

That's usually where you want a human touch. You usually want your manager to be paying attention to you. You want them to notice you. You want them like, if you told me that you were gonna take more time out of my day as a manager so that I could focus on what was most important, you were gonna take my paperwork time away, what would what would be most important? No different than a doctor.

And I think all of our positions kinda boil down to this mechanic. What would be most important is that you could spend more time paying attention to me because you're managing me and you're managing my output but I am what produces that output so you need to manage me. Right? And that's that's what they're supposed to do. They manage the team.

So instead of doing all of the the collection of paperwork and all that kind of stuff, yeah, it should be spent more time doing that. Definitely shouldn't be that you're taking the human element of what my manager should be doing away so that they can spend more time doing what? More additional paperwork?

See, it's the whole platform process people conversation. I I

So they can spend more time learning how to manage me. That's what.

Right. Hopefully.

Everything you wanted

Golf.

Like, most managers don't have any idea how to do. They don't know how to interact with me as a human being in the workplace, you know, superhuman framework.com. Just saying.

Oh.

Like

Sheesh. It's not live yet, but it it's It's gonna be. It's gonna be.

Whatever it is. No time like the present. But that's the thing. Like, there are so many places where humans have just not changed. And in the situations like current workforce and the way that I was I have been bossed my whole life as a manager, that's how I'm gonna manage you.

So many of those things have been proven just, like, terrible. Right? But then you have new managers in these new roles. They get no coaching. They get no training.

They're supposed to hire. They're supposed to team build. They're supposed to nurture, and they've never been trained on any of that stuff. Surprise. It doesn't go well.

So if you give them the space to do that, you better do it with the ultimate amount of hand holding because nothing should be scarier that for HR than hearing your manager that is asked you hire a bunch of people ask questions like, well, can I ask them, about all these things we know we cannot ask them about during the hiring process without immense risk to the business? Right? And watching that happen real time and, like, knowing that I had to push so hard for that meeting to even happen in the 1st place, that training session. It's like, oh, we're about to hire 60 people. Maybe we should, talk to some of these managers who are responsible for doing that about what is important when hiring 60 people.

Right? And that's the stuff that instead, since we don't have time and it's just growth at all costs, it's just like, alright. Give me your job description. We'll get it up. Start scheduling candidates.

And the job descriptions are terrible. Like, the interview process is terrible. And that's the thing. Like, there's no sign of that getting better from organizations. So if we can implement AI in places like this so that they don't have to worry about that part, but, also, we fill it in with training and enablement, like, in the human centric spaces.

It's a great way for orgs that I don't know. Maybe you're too large. But I'd look at it. I don't know. So I suppose if you were an org that was so large that you were managing a team of 8, 10, some I don't know what where it becomes too much or too much headcount to the point where you would need a software to augment that aspect of what you do.

So that that's where it seems, you know, like a little bit off the rails to me because oddly enough, I look at it the same way as I would a classroom In that, if you have a manager for, let's say, a team of 10, that's a pretty massive amount of people for some one person to manage and to be able to understand. So it would make sense to me that once you go beyond 10, you'd hire another manager and you'd you'd start splitting it up. Right? As opposed to augmenting the one human by way of taking away the personal touch, in a sense. You know?

That's that's the point. Like, the augmentation is great for, like, the first part of that. But eventually, right, you need to to bring another human into the fold. And I think when people think about or talk about, you know, job replacement in this vein, that's where it kinda starts to to bounce back in terms of, okay, but this is how that works. Right?

Like, yes, you're gonna get augmented. Yes. It's gonna seem like more workforce, let's say, but you're still going to have to inject new people at some point. You're still going to have to have, like, multiple managers, and it's going to shift to become, like, teams of managers now as opposed to, you know, you're gonna have tons of employees, and you're gonna have teams of managers. Right?

And you might even have multiple directors for those teams of managers.

So with 0 time left, how much of this is absolutely the wrong conversation? Meaning, how much of this is actually just a SaaS software that said in a meeting, we need to sell more software. Let's throw AI at it. Like, inbound marketing was created because a SaaS software company needed to create a movement to sell software. We've all heard the we've all seen the buzzwords, ABM, blah blah blah.

Like, is this actually solving a problem, or is it just a marketing tactic to sell more software?

I want this to be a Friday episode, and maybe George can join. Because I think, like, I don't know enough, but there's opportunity that comes to mind for sure, because all of the traditional ways of growth and scale are where every company fails when they can't make those transitions from building to growth and from growth to scale. So I guarantee you there's opportunities to help here. I haven't seen that particular version, but I I applaud any and as when I can assume positive intent, I applaud any software company that is trying to help people wake up with AI. Have a great day, everybody.

That's a wrap for this episode of wake up with AI. We hope that you feel a little more inspired, a little more informed, and a whole lot more excited about how AI can augment your life and business. Always remember that this journey is just the beginning and that we are right here with you every step of the way. If you love today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review. You can also connect with us on social media to stay updated with all things AI.

Until next time. Stay curious, stay empowered, and wake up with AI.