In this episode of Early Adopter, Jess and Kyle launch their new beginner-focused series "Where Do I Even Begin?" They break down what Large Language Models (LLMs) are, explain the core AI tools available today, and provide a comprehensive comparison of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, DeepSeek, and Grok. The hosts also dive deep into Google's massive I/O 2025 announcements that could revolutionize small business operations, share listener poll results about most-hated work tasks, and discuss a cautionary tale about AI-generated content gone wrong at the Chicago Sun-Times.

• LLMs are pattern-based text generators trained on massive amounts of internet data - they predict the next word rather than truly "knowing" answers

• Google's I/O 2025 announcements democratize enterprise-level AI capabilities for small businesses through tools like Gemini 2.5, AI search mode, and Google Flow

• 57% of listeners identified boring admin tasks as their biggest pain point - exactly what LLMs excel at solving

• Always implement human oversight for AI-generated content, especially anything public-facing

• Start small and build confidence - pick one tool and test it with simple admin tasks before moving to complex applications

00:00 Intros Welcome back and listener feedback from Episode 1 Shoutout to moms experimenting with ChatGPT! 

03:34 Introducing...Where Do I Even Begin? 

• New beginner-focused series going back to the basics. 

• This week, we’re starting with Large Language Models (LLMs) and the primary tools.

05:01 The Rise of Generative AI and LLMs 

• AI vs. generative AI vs. machine learning explained. 

• The importance of the ChatGPT moment: November 2022. 

• How LLMs work: pattern recognition and word prediction

10:00 Why Do LLMs matter for your business? 

• Understanding the time-saving capabilities and productivity gains

14:51 Inspiration - Some Real World Use Cases 

• Legal document analysis ("explain it like gossip") 

• Email chain summarization and tone analysis 

• Meeting transcription and action item extraction 

• Investor report analysis and metric comparison

20:53 The Evolution of AI Tools

Introduction to the major LLM platforms - all are available as browser / apps (except Grok which is also available on X) 

21:07 OpenAI - ChatGPT 

•  The Swiss army knife, best for beginners 

25:18 Google - Gemini 

• Perfect for Google Workspace users - lots of new features coming

26:22 Anthropic - Claude 

• Superior for writing and sensitive documents, with a privacy-focused approach

28:57 Perplexity 

• The fact-checker with citations and more research-focused capabilities

30:44 DeepSeek 

• Cost-effective coding and logic tasks, with a focus on performance vs. price considerations

31:45 Grok 

• Real-time social insights (with limitations), Twitter (X)  integration 

33:34 Deciding Which Tool Is Best for You 

• Decision framework based on business needs 

• Recommendation strategies

34:58 Poll Results: Your Most Hated Work Tasks 

• 57% chose boring admin tasks 

• 29% selected slides and presentations 

• 14% picked content creation 

• 0% said endless emails (surprising!)

37:29 AI News of the Week: Google I/O 2025 

• Gemini 2.5 with 1 million token context window AI mode in Google Search 

• Real-time translation in Google Meet 

• Google Flow for AI filmmaking 

• Virtual try-on technology for e-commerce 

• Agent mode for complex task delegation

45:52 AI Gone Wrong 

• Chicago Sun-Times incident with non-existent books 

• Vendor-supplied content without proper review Importance of AI policies and quality control

49:43 Homework Time 

• Pick one LLM and test with simple admin task 

• Share your AI success stories and use cases! 

• Email results to [email protected]  

51:05 That's a Wrap! 

• Next week preview: Prompt Engineering 101 

• Testing new Google features 

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