Building With AI

In this episode of Building With AI, host Haroon Choudery is joined by Bryan Bischof, the AI lead at Hex. Bryan joined the Hex Magic team in 2023, leveraging his insights to improve data science workflows through LLM integrations.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• The Hex way of approaching jobs to be done,
• Why Bryan is over synthetic data,
• Bryan's three-stage recommender system,
• Retrieval techniques that don't work,
• Hex's game-changing metrics for AI performance,
• And much more!

Bonus: Bryan reveals the questions he asks candidates during interviews...and guess what? Hex is currently on the lookout for fresh talent! So keep your 👀 peeled!

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[00:00] Up next:

[00:08] Episode introduction

[00:55] Autoblocks: AI Optimization Platform

[01:48] Bryan’s introduction

[06:47] The Hex way of approaching jobs to be done

[10:34] To blank slate or not to blank slate

[11:32] How Hex prioritizes different pain points

[15:37] Challenges of building Hex: chain reactions, entropy, and latency issues

[19:04] How to build accurate and reliable agents

[22:27] The solution to evals

[26:33] How to build powerful evals

[31:46] Why Bryan is over synthetic data

[35:48] Bryan's three stage recommender system

[44:35] The role of data managers

[46:27] Retrieval techniques that don't work

[47:57] The team behind Hex Magic

[50:04] Hex vs. Jupyter

[51:41] Hex's game-changing metrics for AI performance

[54:39] The nuances of developing AI products

[01:00:40] Hex's future projects

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Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai/) — how product teams deliver better AI experiences.

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Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with top AI product builders and leaders. Through thoughtful dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that help listeners build & scale world-class AI products.

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Subscribe to Building With AI:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai/bwai
• X: https://twitter.com/buildingwith_ai

Where to find Bryan Bischof:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-bischof/
• X: https://twitter.com/BEBischof
• Bryan’s Book: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/building-recommendation-systems/9781492097983

Learn more about Hex:

• Website: https://hex.tech
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hex-technologies/
• X: https://twitter.com/_hex_tech

Learn more about Hex Magic:

• Website: https://hex.tech/product/magic-ai/

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai/
• X: https://twitter.com/AutoblocksAI

In this episode of Building With AI, host Haroon Choudery is joined by Chelsey Tanaka, the Product Lead for AI at Airtable. Chelsey is a seasoned product manager with over 12 years of experience in enterprise SaaS companies across diverse industries like energy, construction, and autonomous vehicles.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• How Airtable integrated AI into their product,
• Large enterprises and the fear of AI adoption,
• Airtable's AI team and initiatives,
• The AI space's moonshot,
• Airtable’s different success metrics for AI features,
• And much more!

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[00:00] Up next:

[00:44] Episode Introduction

[01:32] Autoblocks: AI Optimization Platform

[02:25] Chelsey’s introduction

[04:01] Airtable's journey to where it is today

[06:20] How did Airtable go about integrating AI into their product

[10:28] Large enterprises and the fear of AI adoption

[13:11] How Airtable got enterprises on board with GenAI

[18:35] Prioritizing initiatives: easy solutions to paradigm shifts

[22:28] AI space's moons: the Q&A project

[24:01] The different success metrics for AI features

[25:15] Working with traditional products vs. AI products

[28:58] Unique challenges of working with GenAI products

[33:47] Learning as a way to build great GenAI products

[34:57] Agility: the name of the game

[37:51] The fundamental principles of product development in AI

[40:41] Vision for the future of the low Code/no Code space

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Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai) — how product teams deliver better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with top AI product builders and leaders. Through thoughtful dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that help listeners build & scale world-class AI products.

—

Subscribe to Building With AI:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai/bwai
• X: https://twitter.com/buildingwith_ai

Where to find Chelsey Tanaka:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseytanaka/

Learn more about Airtable:

• Website: https://www.airtable.com/v1
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airtable/
• X: https://twitter.com/airtable

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai/
• X: https://twitter.com/AutoblocksAI

In this episode of Building With AI, host Haroon Choudery is joined by Jason Liu, a seasoned AI operator and consultant who advises seed-stage start-ups on tech strategy, research, and infrastructure. 

With several years of experience in machine learning, Jason has gained recognition for creating AI-specific dev tooling and contributing to several open-source projects.

During the conversation, they discuss: 

• General applications vs. AI applications,
• How developers should work with LLMs,
• What LLMOps companies need to focus on,
• Why saying 'no' can improve your AI's success rate,
• Building agile AI systems,
• Best practices for RAG systems,
• And much more! 

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[00:00] Up next: Jason Liu

[00:25] Episode Introduction

[01:12] Autoblocks: AI Optimization Platform

[02:07] Jason's introduction

[03:44] General applications vs. AI applications

[05:08] The two categories of dev tools

[06:43] The AI landscape for non-technical users

[08:47] The one skill developers need

[09:57] The eval puzzle

[11:52] What LLMOps companies need to focus on

[16:26] Why saying 'no' can improve your AI's success rate

[18:15] How can you build an agile AI system?

[21:41] Strategies for building products that stick

[24:29] Similarities between RAG and recommendation frameworks

[26:03] Best practices for RAG systems

[28:27] The importance of short-term metrics

[29:30] Data strategies for effective RAG systems 

[35:22] Jason's hottest take on AI

[36:22] Jason's future projects

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Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai) — how product teams deliver better AI experiences.

—

Subscribe to Building With AI:

• Website: https://www.bwai.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/bwaipodcast

Where to find Jason Liu:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jxnlco/
• X: https://twitter.com/jxnlco

Where to find Haroon Choudery: 

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks: 

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai/
• X: https://twitter.com/AutoblocksAI

In this episode of Building With AI, host Haroon Choudery is joined by Logan Kilpatrick, who leads developer relations at OpenAI. After a year at the frontier of AI development, Logan digs into an important question: How do you empower developers to build with GenAI?

During the conversation, they discuss:

• Crafting robust and reliable AI systems,
• The trade-off between creativity and control,
• The role of OpenAI in the developer ecosystem,
• Opportunities & risks for AI developers,
• Best practices for AI product builders,
• And much more!

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[00:00] Up next: Logan from OpenAI

[00:28] Episode introduction

[01:04] Autoblocks: AI Optimization Platform

[01:56] Logan’s Introduction

[03:26] Challenges in AI development

[06:50] Trade-off between control and creativity

[09:51] Improving developer experience with OpenAI

[11:51] OpenAI’s vision for the future

[12:34] Opportunities and risks for AI developers

[15:01] Industry best practices for developers and builders

[16:84] Future of retrieval

[18:54] Evolution of the data ecosystem

[20:50] First principles approach to AI products

[23:12] Startups vs. incumbents

[26:01] What future models have in store

[29:54] Role of open-source models

[33:45] Advice for AI builders

[35:19] Reflections on recent events at OpenAI

[36:51] Logan’s hottest take on AI

[38:14] Predictions on the future of AGI

[39:52] Outro

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Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai) — how product teams deliver better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with top AI product builders and leaders. Through thoughtful dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that help listeners build & scale world-class AI products.

—

Subscribe to Building With AI:

• Website: https://www.bwai.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/bwaipodcast

Where to find Logan Kilpatrick:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/logankilpatrick/
• X: https://x.com/OfficialLoganK

Learn more about OpenAI:

• Website: https://openai.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/openai/
• X: https://x.com/OpenAI

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/AutoblocksAI

In this episode of Building with AI, host Haroon Choudery sits with Fergal Reid, VP of AI at Intercom, a platform that empowers businesses to deliver better customer support. Fergal sheds light on Intercom's transition into an AI-first company, highlighting his role as the first dedicated machine learning hire. He narrates the various changes and developments that the company experienced during this journey, which became especially pronounced with the arrival of ChatGPT.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• Intercom's evolving AI development strategy,
• Intercom's strategies to counter AI hallucinations,
• Crucial choices behind Intercom's successful AI integration,
• Fergal's perspective on an AI-driven software revolution,
• Navigating challenges in the rapidly evolving AI industry, 
• And much more!

—

Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai)—how product teams build better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing business leaders at the forefront of AI. Through thoughtful and engaging dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that empower listeners to build and scale better AI products.

—

Where to find Fergal Reid:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fergalreid
• X: https://x.com/fergal_reid

Learn more about Intercom:

• Website: https://www.intercom.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intercom/
• X: https://x.com/intercom

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/AutoblocksAI

Subscribe to our newsletter, Not A Bot:

• Website: https://www.notabot.tech
• X: https://x.com/notabotdaily

In this episode of Building with AI, host Haroon Choudery sits with Alex Roe, Co-founder of Summit, an AI-powered life coach. In the episode, Alex discusses how his experience at Google and Cresta shaped his understanding of AI and machine learning.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• AI’s unique ability personalize products,
• Versatile vs. vertical AI,
• Creating human-like interactions in AI interfaces,
• How Summit has overcome challenges in building with AI,
• Native integrations vs. add-ons in product development,
• And much more!

—

Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai)—how product teams build better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing business leaders at the forefront of AI. Through thoughtful and engaging dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that empower listeners to build and scale better AI products.

—

Where to find Alex Roe:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-roe
• X: https://x.com/AlexRoe

Learn more about Summit:

• Website: https://www.summit.im
• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/company/summitdotim

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/AutoblocksAI

Subscribe to our newsletter, Not A Bot:

• Website: https://www.notabot.tech
• X: https://x.com/notabotdaily

In this episode of Building with AI, host Haroon Choudery sits with Paul Yacoubian, Founder and CEO of Copy.ai, an AI-driven platform designed to help marketing teams write better copy. In the episode, Paul shares his story of developing five AI product MVPs in 90 days. He explains how the fourth MVP (a tagline generator) transformed into Copy.ai's core product.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• Intelligence as a business KPI,
• The benefits of highly personalized, configurable products,
• Marrying qualitative and quantitative data to improve user experience,
• How Copy.ai capitalizes on being a pioneer in the industry,
• AI's power to drive innovation with minimal resources,
• And much more!

—

Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai)—how product teams build better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing business leaders at the forefront of AI. Through thoughtful and engaging dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that empower listeners to build and scale better AI products.

—

Where to find Paul Yacoubian:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulyacoubian/
• X: https://x.com/PaulYacoubian

Learn more about Copy.ai:

• Website: https://www.copy.ai
• X: https://x.com/copy_ai

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/AutoblocksAI

Subscribe to our newsletter, Not A Bot:

• Website: https://www.notabot.tech
• X: https://x.com/notabotdaily

In this episode of Building with AI, host Haroon Choudery sits with Ryan Alshak, the CEO of Laurel, an AI-powered timekeeping software for professional services. Ryan discusses how he observed the inefficiencies of timekeeping in his role as a lawyer. This realization prompted him to create an AI-powered tool to address these challenges.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• Ryan’s decision to use the legal industry as a beachhead,
• Laurel’s metrics for determining client impact,
• The company’s broader vision and expansion,
• Laurel’s integration strategies,
• Traditional ML vs. GenAI,
• And much more!

—

Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai)—how product teams build better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing business leaders at the forefront of AI. Through thoughtful and engaging dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that empower listeners to build and scale better AI products.

—

Where to find Ryan Alshak:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-alshak
• X: https://x.com/ryanalshak

Learn more about Laurel:

• Website: https://www.laurel.ai/
• X: https://twitter.com/getlaurel

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/AutoblocksAI

Subscribe to our newsletter, Not A Bot:

• Website: https://www.notabot.tech
• X: https://x.com/notabotdaily

In this episode of Building with AI, host Haroon Choudery sits with Yana Welinder, the CEO and Co-founder of Kraftful, an AI-powered copilot for product builders. Yana shares the importance of incorporating user feedback from various channels for product development.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• The insight and vision that led to Kraftful,
• The stages of Kraftful's AI feature development,
• Fine-tuning and scalability challenges,
• Yana’s hot take about AI and its future,
• And much more!

—

Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai)—how product teams build better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing business leaders at the forefront of AI. Through thoughtful and engaging dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that empower listeners to build and scale better AI products.

—

Where to find Yana Welinder:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ywelinder/
• X: https://x.com/yanatweets

Learn more about Kraftful:

• Website: https://www.kraftful.com/
• X: https://twitter.com/Kraftful

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harooncho...
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/AutoblocksAI

Subscribe to our newsletter, Not A Bot:

• Website: https://www.notabot.tech
• X: https://x.com/notabotdaily

In this episode of Building with AI, host Haroon Choudery sits with Omar Shaya, the founder of MultiOn, a personal AI assistant that democratizes access to AI. In the episode, Omar talks about his background at Microsoft and Facebook AI teams, and how these experiences led to the creation of MultiOn.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• The importance of a user-centric approach in developing products,
• Insights from interviewing human assistants,
• Balancing novelty and familiarity for users in its product,
• How developers can effectively utilize LLMs,
• Hot takes around AI,
• And much more!

—

Brought to you by Autoblocks (https://www.autoblocks.ai)—how product teams build better AI experiences.

—

Building with AI is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing business leaders at the forefront of AI. Through thoughtful and engaging dialogue, host Haroon Choudery (CEO of Autoblocks) uncovers tactical insights that empower listeners to build and scale better AI products.

—

Where to find Omar Shaya:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omarshaya/
• X: https://x.com/omarshaya

Learn more about MultiOn:

• Website: https://www.multion.ai/
• X: https://twitter.com/MultiON_AI

Where to find Haroon Choudery:

• Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haroonchoudery/
• X: https://x.com/haroonchoudery

Learn more about Autoblocks:

• Website: https://www.autoblocks.ai
• X: https://x.com/AutoblocksAI

Subscribe to our newsletter, Not A Bot:

• Website: https://www.notabot.tech
• X: https://x.com/notabotdaily