Most people are still typing questions into a chatbot. Brian Albert is building software while he sleeps.

Brian went from running a digital marketing agency with a team of content creators to replacing that whole function with AI the month ChatGPT arrived, and growing a YouTube following of 25,000 by simply giving away what he figured out. In this conversation we get tactical: the email workflow he runs for about $30 a month, why he builds his own tools instead of renting someone else's wrapper, what "disposable software" means, when to use a project versus a gem, and the one thing he thinks actually lasts. Playfulness.

Key takeaways:

• Why Brian replaced content creators with AI in January 2023
• The email-triage workflow anyone can build for ~$30/month
• Build vs. buy: the case for owning your own automation
• "Disposable software": agents that build throwaway tools on demand
• Projects vs. gems vs. custom GPTs, and when each one fits
• How to get unstuck by asking a different model
• The skill Brian says will still matter in six months

Connect with Brian Albert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-albert-executive/

Follow Sara & Dan:

Sara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saralynneroberts/

Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danroberts27/

Email the show: [email protected]

00:00 You can do anything with AI

00:47 Only 0.04% automate with AI

02:46 How Brian feels about this moment

04:07 Firing the content team in 2023

05:04 Six friends, then 25,000 followers

06:17 Giving everything away for free

07:39 A first agentic email workflow

09:42 Is it actually hard to build?

12:39 The real monthly cost, about $30

16:54 Build it yourself vs. buy the product

19:48 Add the next step to the automation

22:11 Was Brian always technical?

22:58 Starting with a PRD

25:29 A voice-driven book-writing app

26:02 Getting unstuck by asking another model

27:56 Disposable software, explained

30:45 Building apps vs. a whole eng team

30:54 Cowork and scheduled agents

36:01 Is this feeding the AI slop problem?

38:54 Unique perspective, value, adjust

41:22 Spotting AI writing, the do-not-use list

43:01 One thing to go do right now

45:07 Projects vs. gems vs. custom GPTs

47:25 The skill worth investing in, playfulness

50:36 Wrap up