Podcast Summary: The Amy Porterfield Show

Episode: [CASE STUDY] One Custom GPT. 600 Sign Ups. 2 Weeks.
Date: August 19, 2025
Host: Amy Porterfield
Guest: Becca Harpain

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into how a course creator (and former student of Amy’s Digital Course Academy), Becca Harpain, leveraged her expertise to build a custom GPT AI tool (“Custom Cody”) for her audience—generating 600 sign-ups within two weeks. Amy and Becca discuss harnessing AI as a tool to enhance student experience, create new revenue streams, and support business owners in delivering value (and freeing up their own time). The conversation is a practical roadmap for anyone curious about developing proprietary AI tools for their online business, with a focus on authenticity, scalability, and real-world application.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Becca's Journey: From Struggling Freelancer to Successful Course Creator

• Background: Becca started as a website designer struggling to secure clients (04:21). She began sharing her custom code snippets online, which resonated with the Squarespace user community.
• Transition to Courses: Realized people wanted not only the code, but to understand and create their own. She moved from selling a single PDF ($34.99) to building a full digital course, “Beyond the Basics: Advanced CSS for Squarespace.”
  • Quote: “People loved these codes, but they still didn’t understand how to do more than just copy and paste them. That was the aha moment...I can teach them how to make their own.” – Becca (05:05)

2. Identifying the Need for Custom GPT: Listening to the Audience

• Gap in Support: Becca noticed not all of her audience wanted to become experts; some needed simple, fast code solutions instead of a course (10:03).
• Genesis of Custom Cody: Inspired by a conversation about innovation, Becca flipped her outlook on AI—from fear of being replaced to leveraging AI as a vessel for her expertise.
  • Quote: “Instead of AI replacing me, how can I make AI rely on me? What information do I have that I can amplify with AI?” – Becca (06:42)

3. How Custom Cody Works & Its Role in the Business Model

• 700+ Signups in 2 Weeks: Becca launched the GPT as a standalone product and set pricing at a one-time $30 for lifetime access (07:57).
  • Positioning: The AI tool caters to users wanting quick, actionable answers without needing to enroll in a full course. The course remains for those wanting deeper expertise (10:03).
  • Quote: “You have a digital course for a specific ideal customer avatar. You have an AI bot for a different avatar. These are not the same avatars. And I think that is brilliant.” – Amy (10:50)

4. Building a GPT That Reflects Expertise, Not Just Intelligence

• Beyond Transcripts: Simply uploading existing course transcripts wasn’t enough. Becca uploaded her code database, standard operating procedures, and nuanced processes—creating decision protocols the AI could follow (12:24).
  • Quote: “Artificial intelligence can do part of the work, but we need to teach it the expertise that we know.” – Becca (14:17)
• Continuous Learning: Becca regularly updates the AI with new terms and questions from her YouTube community (13:12).

5. Practical Tips for Course Creators Considering Custom AI

• Advice #1: Don’t use AI to simply regurgitate information. Train it to apply your expertise, embedding your unique point of view and methodology (17:03).
• Advice #2: Be transparent—AI isn’t perfect and will make mistakes. Set expectations and commit to iterating your tool over time.
  • Maintenance: “I spend every weekend...continuing to work with Custom Cody to make it better.” – Becca (17:19)

6. Technical & Launch Details

• Platform Choice: Started by trying to build her own software, but quickly pivoted to using OpenAI’s custom GPT for speed and simplicity (20:42).
• Delivery Mechanism: Delivered access via a Notion dashboard (shared link) with usage instructions, FAQs, and feedback options (22:24).
• Security Tradeoffs: Chose trust over tech restrictions due to the MVP approach—focused on fast delivery over piracy prevention (23:43).

7. Marketing & Audience Education

• Positioning AI to Non-Tech Audiences: Addressed skepticism and fear about AI by contextualizing it as part of a larger tech evolution (25:21).
• Content Strategy: Promoted Custom Cody at the end of weekly YouTube tutorials, using demos and simple messaging to lower the technical barrier (26:21).
• Pricing:
  • Digital course: $247 lifetime
  • AI tool: $30 lifetime (26:55)

8. Scaling with Life & Business Changes

• Maternity Leave Planning: Built the AI to support her community during her leave—demonstrating how custom AI can free up founders from daily support roles (28:43).
• Team Enablement: Even non-expert assistants can use Custom Cody to provide fast, accurate answers to course/student questions (30:14).
• Amy’s Parallel: Plans to integrate custom GPTs in her own Digital Course Academy for both student and internal team support (31:00+).

9. Final Advice and Philosophies on AI Adoption

• Start Conversing with AI: Don’t be afraid to “chat” with the tool about your business and needs. Use AI to help format your knowledge and processes for effective upload (31:32).
  • Quote: “AI is a tool, and if you use it as a tool by having a friendly chat about literally any topic related to your business, it can be incredibly helpful. So don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation.” – Becca (32:16)
• Embrace Change: Amy’s direct message to listeners—embrace AI or risk being left behind in the evolving digital business landscape (33:47+).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Instead of thinking about how AI can replace you, think about how AI can rely on the information that you have.”
  – Becca Harpain (17:06)

• “Artificial intelligence can do part of the work, but we need to teach it the expertise that we know.”
  – Becca Harpain (14:17)

• “You have a digital course for a specific ideal customer avatar. You have an AI bot for a different avatar...I think that is brilliant.”
  – Amy Porterfield (10:50)

• “I wanted to create this bot that could help as many people as possible...$30 to get the one answer that you need sounded like a reasonable amount to me.”
  – Becca Harpain (08:46)

• “You will get left behind if you do not embrace it [AI]...I really want you to find a way to dance with it and use it to your highest advantage.”
  – Amy Porterfield (33:47)

• “AI is a tool, and if you use it as a tool by having a friendly chat about literally any topic related to your business, it can be incredibly helpful. So don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation.”
  – Becca Harpain (32:16)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Background & Course Creation: 04:00–05:40
• Why & How Custom Cody Was Created: 06:24–08:46
• Pricing & Positioning: 07:57–09:21, 26:55–27:10
• Building & Training the AI: 12:00–14:17
• Advice to Course Creators: 17:03–18:27, 31:32–32:27
• Technical Approach & Delivery: 20:42–23:43
• Marketing & Messaging: 25:21–26:49
• Life/Business Integration (Maternity Leave): 28:43–30:44
• Closing Thoughts on AI Adoption: 33:47–end

Resources & Links

• Custom Cody:
  • Website: customcody.com or customcody.com/amy (step-by-step case study)
• Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy Waitlist:
  • amyporterfield.com/dca
• Formwise AI:
  • A no-code platform for uploading, selling, and deploying custom GPTs
• Becca Harpain’s YouTube Channel:
  • For weekly Squarespace code tutorials (channel not directly linked but referenced)

Tone, Language, and Takeaways

The episode is friendly, energetic, and packed with real-world insights—balancing Amy’s signature encouragement with Becca’s candid explanations and tech-savvy tips. Both stress maintaining authenticity, leveraging personal expertise, and not being intimidated by rapid AI changes.

Key Takeaways:

• You don’t need to be a developer to create custom AI tools—start with what you know and scale your expertise.
• AI is best when it amplifies your proprietary knowledge, not when it tries to “replace” you.
• Getting scrappy and shipping—even in MVP form—trumps endless perfectionism.
• Being transparent with your audience about AI’s limits builds trust.
• Custom AI can empower you and your team to maintain high-value student support even during life transitions.

For course creators at any stage, this episode is a field guide on blending human expertise and smart automation for sustainable business growth, with practical strategies to take action right now.