Joe Shelerud, CEO of Ad Advance, sits down with Ryan Craver, Chief Strategy Officer of Podean, for a candid, fast-moving conversation on what's actually happening in AI right now — and what it means for agencies and marketers.

Key Takeaways:

The pace is the story. From ChatGPT's launch in November 2022 to Claude Sonnet 4.6, OpenClaw, and Perplexity Computer all dropping within weeks of each other — the speed of innovation has fundamentally changed how teams need to operate.
Agent orchestration is here. OpenClaw, Claude Cowork, and Perplexity Computer each offer different on-ramps to agentic workflows. Ryan and Joe break down what each one actually does and who each is best suited for.
Real wins are happening. Tasks that once took an hour are taking five minutes. Recurring research, competitive intelligence, and internal reporting are being automated — right now, not someday.
Input quality is everything. Weak prompts and poor context yield weak outputs. Building out skills, brand guidelines, and knowledge bases inside your AI stack is what separates teams getting real value from those just dabbling.
Don't get locked in. Both hosts agree: building around one model ecosystem is risky. The future is model-agnostic routing — pick the best tool for each task, not just the most familiar one.
Models will become commodities. The real value is shifting to the platforms, orchestration layers, and workflows built on top — the "picks and shovels" play of the AI gold rush.

A great listen for agency leaders, marketers, and anyone trying to cut through AI hype and find what's actually worth their time.

The AI Arms Race: Real Tools, Real Use Cases & What's Actually Working Right Now