Why That Worked #30: AI with Jay Owen—How Smart Businesses Use It Without Losing the Human Touch

Summary

Summary of "Why That Worked #30: AI with Jay Owen—How Smart Businesses Use It Without Losing the Human Touch"

Podcast Information
Title: Marketing Made Simple
Host/Author: Powered by StoryBrand
Episode: Why That Worked #30: AI with Jay Owen—How Smart Businesses Use It Without Losing the Human Touch
Release Date: July 30, 2025
Description: Every week on Marketing Made Simple, you'll get practical tips to make your marketing easy and make it work!

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Introduction to AI in Marketing

The episode kicks off with co-hosts Donald Miller and Kyle Reed welcoming Jay Owen, the founder of AI With Jay and a seasoned StoryBrand certified agency owner. Jay's mission revolves around equipping small business owners with practical AI strategies to enhance productivity and streamline operations, ultimately fostering growth and success.

Donald Miller [01:24]:
"Jay is a longtime Story Brand certified agency owner and you've made it your mission to equip small businesses owners with practical AI strategies to boost productivity and streamline operations which, as we all know, leads to growth and success."

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Understanding Trust in AI

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the trustworthiness of AI. Jay Owen compares AI's confirmation bias to that of social media algorithms, emphasizing how AI often affirms users' beliefs, which can be both beneficial and limiting.

Jay Owen [03:26]:
"Social media has been built with this idea of how do we create as much dopamine for people as possible, feed them what they want, and keep feeding them to them, you know, and I think there's a. There's an interesting piece of that in AI where it's confirmed. We like to be told we're right."

To mitigate this, Jay suggests customizing AI settings to encourage a more skeptical and source-citing approach, ensuring the information remains credible and not just affirming.

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Practical Applications of AI in Business

Jay delves into practical ways businesses can harness AI effectively without losing the human touch. He highlights the importance of treating AI as a conversational partner rather than a mere search engine. By asking AI to question and refine ideas, businesses can achieve more refined and actionable outcomes.

Jay Owen [06:03]:
"What we're not doing is the next step, and the next step is asking it to ask you questions. So, for example, hey, what am I, what am I not thinking about?"

He also introduces tools like Whisper Flow for accurate and efficient dictation, allowing for seamless integration of spoken words into text, enhancing productivity especially for those who may have difficulties with traditional typing.

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AI's Impact on Human Connection

While AI offers numerous advantages, the conversation underscores the irreplaceable value of human connection. Jay emphasizes that while AI can handle tasks like follow-ups and reminders, the personal touch of human interaction—such as holding someone accountable or providing genuine encouragement—remains unmatched.

Jay Owen [12:46]:
"But if you pick up the phone and call them or you get in a car and you go to their house or you get on an airplane and go to them in person. It's the same kind of idea."

Donald Miller echoes this sentiment, sharing personal anecdotes about the tangible satisfaction derived from manual tasks, drawing a clear line between digital efficiency and physical engagement.

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Enhancing Messaging with AI

A pivotal topic discussed is the integration of AI in crafting and maintaining consistent messaging across various platforms. Jay Owen elaborates on how his agency utilizes custom GPTs and projects within ChatGPT to ensure that all client communications adhere to the StoryBrand framework.

Jay Owen [21:08]:
"For example, if I want it to abide by a particular style guide in writing, I could create a custom GPT for that and feed it an uploaded PDF or text document that has those predefined instructions."

This approach allows for rapid development of strategies and materials, reducing what once took weeks into days, thereby accelerating client success without compromising quality.

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Overcoming Overwhelm: Getting Started with AI

Understanding that the influx of AI tools can be overwhelming, Jay provides actionable advice for listeners hesitant to dive into AI integration. He encourages viewing AI as a partner that augments creativity and efficiency rather than a replacement.

Jay Owen [30:17]:
"Starting with just the basics, I think it's easy to feel behind. I feel behind sometimes... but it's not a question of should I use it or not, it's how can I use it for good."

He emphasizes simplifying the learning process and adopting AI incrementally to enhance existing workflows, making the transition smoother and more manageable.

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Real-World Success Stories and Testimonials

Throughout the episode, Jay shares success stories and testimonials from clients who have benefited from integrating AI into their marketing strategies. These narratives illustrate the tangible benefits of AI, from enhancing email communication to creating visually appealing lead generators.

Kyle Reed [28:14]:
"There was somebody the other day that I needed to send an email to that has done a terrific job, but there's just one thing that I didn't feel like was going right in the way they were doing their job. And I spent five minutes with AI just saying, hey, how can I do this without negatively affecting this person's identity or the way they see themselves."

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Conclusion and Resources

As the episode wraps up, Jay Owen directs listeners to his resources for further exploration of AI in business, emphasizing the importance of continual learning and adaptation in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Jay Owen [33:00]:
"I've got a great download with tons of [e-mail]. Totally free. You can download that resource."

Donald Miller and Kyle Reed conclude by reiterating the balance between leveraging AI's capabilities and maintaining genuine human interactions, encouraging listeners to start integrating AI thoughtfully into their business practices.

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Key Takeaways:

1. Customization is Crucial: Tailoring AI settings can mitigate confirmation bias, ensuring more accurate and reliable outputs.
2. AI as a Partner: Viewing AI as a conversational tool enhances creativity and productivity without replacing human connection.
3. Consistent Messaging: Utilizing custom GPTs and predefined frameworks like StoryBrand ensures consistent and effective communication across all platforms.
4. Start Simple: Begin with basic AI integrations to build confidence and gradually expand usage for optimal benefits.
5. Human Touch Remains Vital: Despite AI's advancements, the value of genuine human interaction and accountability cannot be replicated by machines.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jay Owen [03:26]:
  "Social media has been built with this idea of how do we create as much dopamine for people as possible... and I think there's an interesting piece of that in AI where it's confirmed. We like to be told we're right."

• Jay Owen [06:03]:
  "What we're not doing is the next step, and the next step is asking it to ask you questions."

• Jay Owen [21:08]:
  "For example, if I want it to abide by a particular style guide in writing, I could create a custom GPT for that and feed it an uploaded PDF or text document that has those predefined instructions."

• Jay Owen [30:17]:
  "It's not a question of should I use it or not, it's how can I use it for good."

---

This episode of "Why That Worked" provides a comprehensive look into the strategic integration of AI in marketing, balancing technological advancements with the indispensable human element. Jay Owen's insights offer actionable strategies for businesses aiming to harness AI's potential while maintaining authentic connections with their audience.

Transcript

[Bobby Richards]

Hey, hero makers, it's podcast producer Bobby Richards. I'm jumping in to share with you a new episode of our brand new podcast, why that worked, presented by StoryBrand AI with Donald Miller back in the host seat. Now, since we launched Marketing Made simple, we've been so grateful to have everybody tune in each week to learn how to make your marketing easy and make it work. Which is exactly why we're sharing new episodes of the why that Worked podcast here. In the old Marketing Made simple feed, each episode of the new show is going to deliver actionable insights and key takeaways that are all designed so you can implement them to help make whatever you're working on work. If you want to catch new episodes early, you can watch or listen every Monday. To watch the show, just go subscribe to the StoryBrand YouTube channel. And to listen, go follow why that worked presented by StoryBrand AI wherever you enjoy your podcasts. All right, that's it from me. So grateful you're here and enjoy this week's episode of why that worked presented by StoryBrand AI Foreign. You're listening to the why that Work podcast presented by StoryBrand AI. If you've ever wondered why certain brands, trends or cultural phenomena find success while others don't, you're in the right place. Every week we unpack why something worked, then give you actionable insights that you can use in your own life. Now let's dive in with your hosts, Donald Miller and Kyle Reed.

[Donald Miller]

Jay Owen, welcome to the show. So excited you're joining us today. I'm going to read this so I don't mess anything up. Jay is the founder of AI With Jay, you're a longtime Story Brand certified agency owner and you've made it your mission to equip small businesses owners with practical AI strategies to boost productivity and streamline operations which, as we all know, leads to growth and success. Jay, thank you for joining us on the why that Worked podcast.

[Jay Owen]

Hey, thanks for having me.

[Donald Miller]

We're excited to kind of dive in today around AI. I think this is a topic that so many people are talking about.

[Kyle Reed]

I've heard of it.

[Donald Miller]

Talk about it. You've heard of it? Really? It's not in the news or people don't talk about it too much do they know. But today, kind of we want to center this conversation for people listening around a couple things, but one in particular I want to dive in with you, Jay, is the kind of the trust in AI. It's, it's such a brand new thing. You know, I remember I'm old Enough to remember when ChatGPT first came out. And, you know, it was like, whoa, this is something interesting. Jay, I've heard you talk about this. Moments of your career when you say.

[Kyle Reed]

You'Re old enough to remember. That was like two months ago.

[Donald Miller]

It was three years ago. I mean, I'm trying to relate to you old guys.

[Kyle Reed]

I'm old enough to remember I'm trying.

[Donald Miller]

To relate to you.

[Kyle Reed]

You're not allowed to say that till you're 50.

[Donald Miller]

I'm getting there.

[Kyle Reed]

I will say this, though. This is a podcast about messaging. We thought we'd talk to Jay around. Around the idea of how to create messaging that's actually accurate and true. And I don't want to label AI as inaccurate. However, it can be inaccurate, right, Jay? I mean, like, you've got to act. It's presenting. And also talk about confirmation bias. Right? I mean, you can actually ask ChatGPT to have a confirmation bias around the use of saunas or cold plunges or whatever, and it'll spit out whatever the heck you want.

[Donald Miller]

It sounds convincing, the bias way that it affirms you. You know, that's how AI has been going.

[Kyle Reed]

And now you notice that, by the way.

[Donald Miller]

Well, they're trying to change it now. They're trying to. You can put some prompts in. We probably should let the experts.

[Kyle Reed]

But have you noticed how ChatGPT now kind of kisses your butt and flatters you?

[Jay Owen]

Oh, yeah, for sure. I was comparing this to kind of. I was comparing this to the social media algorithms earlier today. You know, social media has been built with this idea of how do we create as much dopamine for people as possible, feed them what they want, and keep feeding them to them, you know, and I think, you know, I think there's a. There's an interesting piece of that in AI where it's confirmed. We like to be told we're right. And so generally it will confirm that. One of the little hacks I've learned lately, and it may not be needed, you know, a year from now, but is I'll go in kind of the custom memory settings in Chat GPT and I'll say, hey, I just want you to be a little skeptical of the things that I say. Don't always just confirm and affirm.

[Kyle Reed]

You do that in the settings and. Yeah, that's very.

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, inside the settings in ChatGPT now, you can control kind of a how you like it to respond to you on a global basis. You can also do it on individual projects. But it's super helpful to Ask it to be a little skeptical of you and to always cite its sources. Because back in the day, back in the day being like 12 months ago.

[Kyle Reed]

You know, back when he was young.

[Donald Miller]

Get on him.

[Kyle Reed]

Was young three months ago.

[Jay Owen]

It would hallucinate a lot more than it does now. But thinking about the source of truth and messaging, I always say, like, everything requires a little bit of discernment. When we listen to a podcast or read a book or watch a movie or whatever it may be, our life experience, knowledge and relationships help us discern, is this true or not? And so we always want to lean on all those things and not just totally trust what comes out of the robot.

[Kyle Reed]

Well, you know, I've noticed that it's saying to me things like, that's a really perceptive question, Mr. Miller. I swear it does that. And I'm like, I really like this.

[Jay Owen]

And you're like, well, thank you.

[Kyle Reed]

I'm also. You can't have a human connection with AI. This started flattering me like, oh, I like you.

[Donald Miller]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kyle Reed]

Yes.

[Donald Miller]

Is it? So in your opinion, Jay, do you think that's. It's engineered that way? Do you think that's kind of the.

[Kyle Reed]

Oh, absolutely. 100%. Altman would never definitely like it.

[Donald Miller]

He would never try to. Yeah. Try to manipulate.

[Jay Owen]

Because you're more likely to want to keep using it. Like, if something's constantly affirming you and there's some danger to that, like, we got to pay attention to that in our own lives and minds. Is like, if something's constantly affirming me, I actually want to pay attention. Same thing. Same thing with a team member, though, right? Like, I don't want people on my teams who are constantly telling me yes and amen all the time. I want them to go, hold on. Why are you thinking that? Tell me a little bit more about that. Because I'm not a wonder. I'm not asking questions. I'm just like, let's go. And so I need some people around me who are going to clarify that. If everybody's telling me yes all the time, including the robot, I've got more questions.

[Donald Miller]

So, practically speaking, how does someone using AI, how do they. You mentioned it earlier. There's some prompts or some ways to.

[Kyle Reed]

Do that in the back end.

[Donald Miller]

Yeah. How do you do that?

[Jay Owen]

Yeah. Inside ChatGPT, there's some settings that you can set around that to kind of customize how it replies. But one of the things that most people don't think about is a lot of people are treating it like a Search engine, where it's like, I'm going to submit a thing, get a response, maybe tell it to do a task. What we're not doing is the next step, and the next step is asking it to ask you questions.

[Donald Miller]

So.

[Jay Owen]

So, for example, hey, what am I, what am I not thinking about? Or what. What do you need to know for me to produce a better outcome in this? And honestly, it's very similar to how you deal with a team member. You know, on the disc personality, I'm a very high D, so I'm just very much like, go, do the thing. It's going to be great and give very little instructions, but I need people who are going to go, hold on, tell me a little bit more about this, this, and this. That. Said, one thing I will caveat that with is sometimes it'll give me like 20 questions and my dyslexic brain looks at that and goes, I can't answer all those. There's too many questions. Just give me the three most important questions and give them to me one at a time. I'll literally talk to it like that. And the outcomes that I then get from the AI are exponentially better than its first draft because I've asked it to help me clarify it.

[Kyle Reed]

Yeah, that's. That's fantastic advice. It's a conversation more than a search engine. How long do you think, Jay, before I was thinking about this yesterday, how long do you think it is before you open up your computer and AI is no longer a blank box at the ChatGPT website? It's a person. It's a person that you're having a conversation with, and it's a fake person. It's an AI generated person that you're just going, hey, Dom, what can I help you with today? Well, actually, I was thinking about this and it goes, oh, I remember. You were writing a book about that, right? Yeah, yeah, I'm writing a book about that and trying to figure out how to overlay, you know, the enneagram with the seven basic plots with Carl Jung's, you know, archetypes, and just kind of can't figure out how to do it. Well, are you thinking about, like, this? Are you thinking about. I mean, I feel like we're months away from that, not years.

[Donald Miller]

Feels like it.

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I think it's going to be very interesting once it gets integrated fully at the OS level and there's not to get too far in the weeds. But there's no question Apple has. Has stumbled a little bit on this on their release, but they wanted to own their own, I would say, about them.

[Kyle Reed]

Is that why they've stumbled a little bit?

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, they're building an intern and they want it built directly onto the phone. And they care a lot about privacy that other people don't care about. So their core values are actually a growth problem for them right now. That said, Apple's never been concerned about being the first to the party. They want to be the best. And so my instinct is it's not even going to be this year. It's probably going to be next year for Apple and they're going to be a little late in the game, but I do think they'll be very, very good. But to your point, Don, that's what's going to happen. Like we're going to rethink interfaces, you know, it's not even just going to be like typing into the computer anymore. I found now with AI, for example, I'm a very fast typer, but I dictate a lot now because the AI tools that exist out there to allow that to happen, I'm three times as fast of a talker as everybody can tell. So it's helpful.

[Kyle Reed]

Well, tell us what those tools are real quick because we're now we're getting to the practical stuff that people can use. Where, where are those tools that, that dictate for you?

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, so there's a great. My favorite tool right now. It's cheap and easy. There's a free version I've got no stake in. I'm just sharing tool things that are helpful. It's called Whisper Flow. W. I can't even spell. It's not helpful. You'll figure it out. Just for flow AI dictation, you'll find it. I'm dyslexic. I can't spell, but I have a whole list.

[Kyle Reed]

Is that a website or is it an app or what is it?

[Jay Owen]

It's an app that you can download and it actually integrates right at the OS level. So what I mean by that is anywhere that your text cursor is on the screen, you can just hold a button down on your computer and start talking. And the beauty of this is historically dictation has not been very good. So it's so inaccurate, it's almost not worth it. I'd rather just type. This is so accurate. You don't have to talk about, you have to mention punctuation. You just talk with a steady stream of consciousness and it will, with 99% accuracy, dictate that for you. With correct formatting and punctuation. But I've got a whole list of these tools that I offer to people just as a free download of things that I use.

[Kyle Reed]

Where do we get that?

[Jay Owen]

With j.comai with j.com you can download that list. And Whisper flow is one of the things on there. It's my favorite little hack and all it does is dictate what I'm saying out loud. It's great.

[Donald Miller]

Well, yeah, we'll put that in the show notes too for people if they're looking for those resources. You know, Jim, I'm interested how there's been such a movement from, you know, early on it comes out, you know, AI comes out and then the adoption of trust moved very quickly for people to basically like this is their. Whether it be psychologist, coach.

[Kyle Reed]

Well, it'll create such a convincing argument. You know, we recently saw an AI generated image of an explosion near the Pentagon. It went viral and it briefly actually moved the stock market before being debunked. Which shows you how quickly AI can cause trust to just totally collapse. And this is by the way, the number one research tool beyond Google. Just immediately probably. I mean I say that anecdotally, but I would imagine that that's. Yeah, it's gotta be. And I'm wondering how do we trust messaging now? I mean, how do you actually trust that. That this is the right nutritional plan and that this medication will actually work for me. And you know, people are, you know, the stakes are extremely high.

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, I think it's going to be really interesting because you know, historically we've been on this search for knowledge as human beings. You know, we put people in schools to memorize things and regurgitate them on essays and tests. But that may not be the right education format moving forward. And then who, who do we trust matters a ton. So I actually, despite the heavy automation and AI driven nature of the future, there'll be a resurgence of a desire for people to be in person, at least that too events because they can trust they know the person they want access to, the people who actually have experience. And the AI, I don't actually believe it's a total separation.

[Kyle Reed]

I can see it going both ways, Jay. I mean, you know, we have a coaching certification platform. We are bringing people back in person. They can either do it on demand or they do it here. We're counting on this fact that human beings are going to be together. But more important than that, our coaches growing their business depends on this desire to be with another human being. Now I'M kind of wondering, and I'm like, that'll never go away. People will always want to be together. But I'm kind of wondering if AI can mimic a zoom call with somebody who's more wise, more experienced than any human being you've ever met. I mean, is it possible that we're going to get together with people in the near future and just go, man, this guy's stupid? Yeah, I think we're there.

[Donald Miller]

I already do that.

[Jay Owen]

On the technical side. On the technical side, it's definitely possible. It's probably already there or very, very close, you know, but there is a difference. And the key difference of a really good coach as well is somebody who also follows up and holds somebody accountable. Now, for sure, the AI could have an automated time sequence where it follows up with, not the same, but let's be honest, it's much different for me to swipe away a notification from a robot than to swipe a notification from a human being who I know is sitting over there going, I wonder if Jay's doing what he said he was going to do. There's a certain, like, encouragement of that for me when I know that somebody else is actually thinking personally about me. And while I do think the AI will totally replace the actual knowledge set, it doesn't replace the need for other people to come alongside us and actually hold us accountable and encourage us. Because it might put words on the screen, but it's not the same as hearing. In fact, going back to the in person stuff, I think businesses need to pay a lot of attention in messaging. I've been guilty. I'll just send them an email. But we need to pick up the phone more. We need to show up in person more. We need to invite people in for lunches and for meetings and for gatherings. Because we all learned during COVID As much as this zoom stuff's awesome and the technology is great because we can't both be in person today. It's better if we're in person. We all know that's true, and I don't think that'll change. I was thinking about this the other day. I saw a clip of somebody talking about interacting with our kids and they say, you know, it's easy to just send them a text and go, hey, I'm thinking about you. But the AI can do that and arguably it can do it better than you from an automation perspective, from a consistency perspective, it'll probably use better words than most of us do. Probably not you don, but better than most of us. But if you pick up the phone and call them or you get in a car and you go to their house or you get on an airplane and go to them in person. It's the same kind of idea. I remember reading your book Hero on a Mission and writing my own, you know, kind of end of life story, if you will, what is not really my whole life story, not just end of life. And in my company's 25th anniversary, one of the things my wife did was she had each of the kids write me a letter. I have five kids, they're currently aged 12 to 20 and they each wrote me a letter congratulating me on 25 years.

[Kyle Reed]

Oh my God.

[Jay Owen]

And I'm standing in my tuxedo crying. Your eyes team there just weeping because my oldest son's letter was basically a version of what I wrote in here on a mission. And he had never read that. And I thought now I need a bigger story. Like what an incredible thing I can.

[Kyle Reed]

See in the near future. You know, I've got a four year old daughter and let's say she fails a test or something. Me just being in my closet putting on some shoes, knowing I'm going to talk to her that morning going, hey, can you give me some tips? She failed a test yesterday. What can I say as a dad that's encouraging and it's, hey, Don, here's what you should think about. I mean, you know, it can actually help a lot. Bring us. I can see how people will become better versions of themselves if they use the tool. Right.

[Donald Miller]

Yeah. AI for me does a good job of helping me get out what is in my head.

[Jay Owen]

Yeah. Coherent way.

[Donald Miller]

There's something to be said though about the tangible side. You know, I, I think for me growing up in the age of social media in, in working in digital, you know, I'm on a computer all day. There's something so rewarding about going to mow my grass because it's physically tangible.

[Kyle Reed]

It's, it's a rewarding and nobody can bother you.

[Donald Miller]

Well, that's the engine running. Don't tell my wife that. That's the real secret. I can sit on my mower and listen to.

[Kyle Reed]

Did you mow the grass yesterday? Yeah, yeah. But it's growing quick.

[Donald Miller]

Yeah. The lines have got to be better. But there's something back to what you're saying is that there's a. Both are good. There's the good side of the digital, the AI. There's something to be used practically there. But the back to the human connection.

[Kyle Reed]

It cannot replace that No, a message isn't just words. It's the person saying words, and it's how they're saying it, and it's why they're saying it. It's to who they're saying it to. And it's the background that you've had with that person that makes it so meaningful.

[Bobby Richards]

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[Kyle Reed]

There was somebody the other day that I needed to send an email to that has done a terrific job, but there's just one thing that I didn't feel like was going right in the way they were doing their job. And I spent five minutes with AI just saying, hey, how can I do this without negatively affecting this person's identity or the way they see themselves? And, you know, they wrote me a rough draft that I then edited that I just thought was really wonderful and got back a response saying, man, thank you so much. This was really, really great. And, you know, I think it's improving some of our messaging and some of our communicating in that way. You know, if we, if we allow it to do so and if we use it in that way, I want to get some practical Jay, because he's the expert. Jay, where are you going? What websites are you going to? Obviously, storybrand AI, we've got a stake in that because we've, we've instructed it with over 100 pages to stick to the story brand framework. You know, start with problem, make the customer the hero. Some of those things everybody's familiar with. But I'm wondering, what tools are you also using in your messaging to build your business, to build what you're doing in video, in social media posts, in correspondence, with clients, in customer service. Can you just kind of break down some areas that you think are important for business? Building and the tools that you're using.

[Jay Owen]

For sure. I'm in a place now where, you know, I've been saying for a while, I won't hire anybody at this point if they're not actively able to explain how using AI in a way to impact their life and work. And it's pretty wild.

[Kyle Reed]

And you know what, let me just say this. In China, students are encouraged to use AI to do their homework. And in colleges and universities and even high schools here they're not. I just think that's a giant mistake. Right. They're going to pass this up. We've got to figure out how to educate people, even to go into the workforce, because I agree with you. How are you using AI? How are you using it? If you don't have an answer to that, geez, you're, you're behind. You're very, very far behind.

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, especially in our space of creating messaging, marketing, helping promote other businesses. You know, Business Builders, which is my marketing agency, we've been doing that for, you know, decades at this point. But it's, it's always constant change. Like that's the industry that we're in. If you're not comfortable with constant change, you're probably in the wrong industry. And so our job ultimately is to help other people grow their business. On the AI tactical side, a lot of it just learning how to use the fundamentals, you know, I think some people get so far out in front of their skis trying to do too many things. It's like, let's just get the basics right first. If you don't have a basic golf swing right, it's not going to matter when you get out on the course. It's what happens in practice. So for example, things like creating custom projects inside of chat GPT with specific instructions can help you not have to say the same thing to it to instruct it every single time. Or even creating custom GPTs or particular use cases. Something like Storybrand AI is exceptional because I don't want it to just write any kind of messaging. It can do that. But is it the right messaging? Is it the right structure with a proven framework that we know that actually works? We've been using storybrand for about as long as when you first released the original storybrand book as an agency. And there's nothing that's been more consequential and impactful in our clients growth and success than getting the words right up front. I always say design builds trust, but words are what sell. And so getting the basics right inside chatgpt understanding how to use projects, understanding how to use custom GPTs for your particular business. Yeah.

[Kyle Reed]

Will you go into that a little bit? Because I hear a lot of people using custom GPTs. Can you tell me what, how do you do that and give me an example of how somebody listening would create a custom GPT to perform a task or to get better results.

[Jay Owen]

Well, one thing we know for sure is that OpenAI could have used Udon and Storybrand to help clarify their message because the way that they label and.

[Kyle Reed]

Everything is really suffering. They're suffering financially and they're just not catching on around. They could have used me.

[Jay Owen]

I mean, it's working out for them, but, you know, it probably went.

[Kyle Reed]

I actually do agree with that. Even though it's phenomenally successful, it's because they've cornered the market on AI. It's not because they've actually explained their offers very well. They should be. So they should be taking over. They should be in every American school right now. But they've not been able to clarify that offer.

[Jay Owen]

Exactly. So thinking about the specifics of like a custom GPT or a project without getting too nerdy or complicated for people, it's just a simple way to store previously described instructions. So, for example, if I want it to abide by a particular style guide in writing, I could create a custom GPT for that and feed it an uploaded PDF or text document that has those predefined instructions. So now when I go back to it, it just automatically abides by that. So, for example, our marketing teams have separate projects and separate custom GPTs, in some cases for each one of our clients. Well, why? Because we take all of the messaging work that we do up front, which we certainly partner with AI to help accomplish that at a higher quality, higher pace outcome that's more affordable for the clients. But then we store that in a custom AI tool which is really just a project inside ChatGPT. Now that project knows that client. So when our team goes and goes, hey, here's a project we're working on for them. What are we not thinking about? What do we need to improve? Hey, take a look at these analytics for this. And now we're able to. Our internal team always say at the agency are leaders, managers and strategists. And so their job is to partner with all kinds of people, contractors and all kind of robots and AIs to create the best possible outcome for the client. And so some of those little basic things inside of understanding projects and custom GPTs are a complete game changer.

[Kyle Reed]

So you could actually take a document, like, I've got a client that is in national security. And so the tagline of the controlling idea that we came up with was intelligence means victory. So you could actually take a document and drag it into that and say, hey, can you, can you actually add the controlling idea to this document before you release it in the form of a brochure or congressional report or whatever? And it would filter through that because you've created a chatgpt to do so. That's really cool.

[Jay Owen]

Yeah. Same thing with like, I have a large church, it's one of the folks I get to work with. And we have these big series planning sessions where we're deciding the title and what music's going to be used and all these different things related to the main message. And it's this particular format that we use. So I've trained that project inside Chat GPT on that format. So when I feed it a new series, it just immediately knows what format I want the responses back in and off to re explain it to it.

[Donald Miller]

Good. And I've always, you know, with storybrand AI, when we were talking about that, I always thought our competitive advantage was what it was informed on. Yeah. You know, and when, when AI was.

[Kyle Reed]

I won't let you play the hero. No.

[Donald Miller]

And I always, I said, you know, we talked about this. It wasn't just me. We all were saying the room, we're never going to compete with OpenAI, you know, when we can't compete with them, they have billions of dollars. But the, our competitive advantage is what we trained it in. And I love that because it never lets you play the hero, but it's also trained in the entire framework.

[Kyle Reed]

Well, you can also, you can do what Jay is saying in the sense that you can say, here's the brand profile for brand script. Yeah, here's my brand script. Brand profile for this product and this product and this product and this product or this client, then this client, then this client, and you go back in and you can start working under that client's profile. So now you've got all their lead generators, all their emails, all their landing pages, all organized really well. So it's not just the framework that it's obeying, it's the way it's organizing the information. Where ChatGPT, all it has is the past searches and, and, and prompts that you've created. This is much, much more organized.

[Donald Miller]

What I love about that, I was talking to a buddy this morning actually, and he works in the music industry and I say imagine a world where you have a brand script in our language, in our terms, where for your label and then you have one for every artist. So that's a partnership with AI right there. Where now your marketing team, they're not just making it up as they go. They have a very specific brand script that they've created, a tagline. They've gone and just sound like they've.

[Kyle Reed]

What's amazing about that, what's amazing about that, and Jay can speak to this probably very, very well, is I will go in and help a client figure out their brand script, figure out the controlling idea behind that brand, figure out their tagline, all that kind of stuff, and then in the room with me creating that are six or eight people, but their comms team and their marketing team may be much larger than that. And they weren't in the room. And so now we've got stuff hitting the market in front of customers, eyes that are not on task. Right. They're not on message because they weren't in the room, or they just don't know how to do it because they're not a good writer. And the OpenAI interface through Storybrand is making sure that it's doing message consistency work.

[Donald Miller]

Yeah. So practically, Jay, I want to ask you this question as we are talking here. You're an agency owner inside a story brand. People listening to this might have an agency they're running, or maybe they're working with clients or they're running their own business. From a practical standpoint, when you bring a, you know, when you start working with someone or you're working with your team, are you guys spending more time setting up these custom GPTs or, you know, kind of setting up on the front end that technology to set you up for success? Is there some practical things you found there in this age of AI working with clients? What are some kind of tips you could give around, you know, as a team thinking about how to set this up for. For their organization?

[Jay Owen]

Well, one of the things that we found that's great about storybrand AI, for example, is we'll have clients that will come to us who have kind of already done a draft inside of there, and they feel pretty good about it, but they want to know that it's right. And then they want to know, how do I actually implement these things into, you know, functionality?

[Kyle Reed]

What do I do with it?

[Jay Owen]

In fact, Chris, who he's been with me for 15 years, he really runs the agency at this point. He was with a client the other day who had. Who had done most of the early Deliverables inside StoryBrand AI and they were really close to where they needed to be. But a little discernment, a little conversation, a few tweaks, so what it allows us to do is get further faster. So instead of taking weeks to complete something, we can do it in a day. So we can end a strategy and training session with a client and a discovery session and be done with the blueprint and then know we've got the right messaging in place. Now we can go build the things, create a great website, create some great videos, get them in of the right audience. And so that planning phase that maybe it did used to take weeks to get it all done, we're now doing it in days and the client's getting as good of a result. Let's not confuse the outcome. If anything, they're getting a better result because we're partnering with AI and we're very open about this with clients. I'm not trying to hide it. I want to be on the cutting edge.

[Kyle Reed]

What's interesting is I am now in the process of creating a lead generator that identifies listening rooms for a high end hi fi stereo company. I'm creating this as a side project. This is a friend of mine, he makes these incredible speakers at Oswald's Mill Audio. They're just un freaking believable. They're the best speakers in the world and I'm using AI to do it, blah, blah, blah. And now I'm at a point where I'm just like, I can't do anything with this. It's gotta be laid out, it's gotta be turned into a PDF. It's gotta be visually beautiful. Somebody's gotta go into Dropbox and get these images and match them. They've gotta research which components off out of Oswald's Mills components that they can use. If people don't want to spend the money, you can just go to Amazon and get this one and hook it up to these speakers and it's going to sound just about as good, you know, those sorts of things. I'm just like, AI can't do any of this. And so I literally emailed one of our guides and was just like, hey, can I hire you to actually. Which is living proof AI did not take your job, by the way.

[Donald Miller]

Yeah, and I still think it's funny how fast it's moved because there's still this. You know, my wife is a coach and one of the things that she is intentionally. I was talking, I was like, hey, you know, you're like session recaps. You can just use AI to write that. She's like, well, I start with it, but then I go back in and spend two hours editing it. And one of the comments she got.

[Kyle Reed]

She's a great coach, quite honestly.

[Donald Miller]

Well, one of the comments she got back from a coach or one of her clients was, I appreciate that you didn't use AI to do this, that you spent the time. And so we're almost even. We're. We're not on the other side, but there's almost this side of. Again, there's got to be the human touch. And I still think that that's still your competitive advantage.

[Kyle Reed]

If you wanted to do the work for you, you're going to look really lazy and the writing's not going to be good. But if you use it to enhance what you are doing and enhance your own creativity, imagine taking a drug and you're 10 times more creative and perceptive. That's what AI is. It will allow you to do that.

[Donald Miller]

Yep. So. So, Jay, people listen to this. There might be a sentiment of, this all sounds good. I'm a little overwhelmed with all the options out there for people listening to this and that. You know, maybe in the beginning stages or even, you know, they've been using AI where some. Give me some advice for the people listening of, like, where do they start? What's your advice on, like, where should I just start into this process of AI?

[Jay Owen]

Yeah. So one of the things that I always say is to. We have to rewire our brains a little bit. So when you think about the way Don just described partnering with the AI, it's exactly right. He's thinking about it from the context of this is someone else. Give me a little leeway. I know it's not a someone, but sort of who's here to help me refine and polish my ideas, you know? And I think people can get down these rabbit trails of why it's good or bad, but at the end of the day, Pandora's Box has been opened. And so it's not a question of should I use it or not, it's how can I use it for good? And so starting with just the basics, I think it's easy to feel behind. I feel behind sometimes. I mean, I was leading a keynote on AI at an agency retreat recently with a ton of agency owners and leaders in the room. And my thought is, most these people know more than I do. And then I start talking about a few things, and they're like, oh, wow, I didn't Even know this was possible and so don't feel behind. The example I gave somebody the other day was they were like, I just feel like it's too late for me to get in on using AI to be effective. And I'm like, no, you're at the very beginning. It's like when somebody.

[Kyle Reed]

Not only that, but you can catch up in an hour, you know. Exactly.

[Jay Owen]

You could have bought Bitcoin at 25 cents, but at $100 it was still a very good deal, you know. But at a hundred dollars, people looked at it and thought, I mean, I missed the opportunity. It was 25 cents, whatever six months ago or whatever. This is where we're at with AI. We're at $100 go into a million. And so the question becomes, how do I augment this into the things that I already do? How do I use it as a partner to assist? Last weekend I did a little two hour workshop on just the fundamentals of AI because I had so many people asking me about it and it was awesome. We had a ton of people show up and I just worked through the basics because I think it's easy to feel like all these terms are thrown around like LLM and GPT and all this stuff. It's very nerdy, frankly. And I'm a nerd. But even for me, I'm like us. There's a lot of new terminology. We just need to simplify and think of it as a partner who's here to assist us in our own creative endeavors. Doesn't destroy creativity, it unleashes it.

[Kyle Reed]

Jay, you have a company called Business Builders. You guys do marketing and you help small businesses grow. Where can people find out about you?

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, you can go to business bldrs.com business bldrs.com the agency has been around for 26 years now. I love it. We get to help small, medium sized organizations all over the country clarify their message so they can get attention and acquire customers. And I just love watching small businesses and nonprofits and ministries grow because people are accomplishing missions and getting stuff done. So it's very exciting.

[Kyle Reed]

And Jay, remind us where to go for that resource on AI that you created.

[Jay Owen]

Yeah, I've got a great download with tons of [e-mail] Totally free. You can download that resource. Aiwithj.com Jay, thanks so much for having.

[Kyle Reed]

I hope now next time I think you're probably just going to ship your doppelganger and he's going to have AI. He won't even know he did the.

[Donald Miller]

Interview him right now.

[Kyle Reed]

To be honest, I've suspected you're not real for a long time.

[Donald Miller]

That would be awesome because I'd be playing golf right now. The real Kyle will be playing golf right now if he could. Jerry, thanks so much for joining us. This has been really great.

[Jay Owen]

My pleasure.

[Donald Miller]

And you know, as people listening, just, I think the. The big thing I'm thinking away is just start. Yeah, start somewhere.

[Kyle Reed]

Well, ask yourself, what do I do? I'm a writer. Yeah, I write.

[Donald Miller]

Yes.

[Kyle Reed]

And that's where you use AI. Just start using it. You don't have to go figure out, like, all this other stuff that people are using it for. But what do you do? And now how do you supplement that?

[Bobby Richards]

Thanks for listening to the why that Worked podcast presented by StoryBrand AI. If you like the show, follow wherever you get your podcasts. And if you're Enjoying this on YouTube, hit that subscribe button and leave a.

[Jay Owen]

Comment letting us know what you think.

[Bobby Richards]

And what you want the guys to talk about in a future episode. Curious about how StoryBrand AI can help you create clear, effective messaging? Well, you can try it out right now and create a free customized tagline for your business. Just go to storybrand AI. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.