Make It All Make Sense! Automating Workflows (No Coding Required!)

Hi friends,

Being here, at the start of, what I call, the ‘consumerization’ of AI, is exciting but undeniably messy with hundreds of new developments and products emerging each month.

Unlike the PC revolution, the rise of smartphones, or even the dawn of the internet, AI is infiltrating our lives at breakneck speed.

So how do we make sense of it all?

How do we fit the jigsaw pieces together?

And most importantly, how do we leverage AI power to work for us?

This week we explore the intriguing world of no-code automation, empowering you to put AI to work in your everyday life, without needing to be a programming whiz.

You know the drill by now: We believe AI authority is built brick by brick, project by project.

This week, those bricks are Zaps, Makes, Flows, and Applets – the building blocks of no-code automation!

AI SMORGASBORD

“Come Fly the AI Skies”: How UA is onboarding AI across operations, augmenting, not displacing humans.

Tiny-But Mighty AI: Just launched, the Phi-3 self-contained small language models have great potential, from smaller businesses to highly regulated sectors, and mobile devices not connected to the cloud.

Rayban Glasses with Meta AI: They may not be everyone’s cup of tea but these glasses can record, photograph, and play audio with discrete open-ear speakers and offer voice controls. With all this wrapped up in Rayban design, they’re raising the bar for wearables.

AI MADE EASY

Today’s video is an example of ‘AI integration’ and how companies like (fictional) Sparks & Co. have the opportunity to deploy multiple AI tools strategically, to gain ‘Big Company Advantage’.

Video made on Canva. AI VoiceOver from Eleven Labs.

AI-FLUENT?

Boost your understanding and vocabulary with our plain English glossary, explanations, and easy analogies.

NO CODE AUTOMATION

Imagine making a sandwich. That's your process workflow - the actions required to complete a task (bread, spread, filling, condiments, done!). But what if making that sandwich could be faster and easier?

Automation is like having a mechanical sandwich maker that takes the required actions to make the perfect sandwich, as smartly and efficiently as possible, without your assistance.

In other words, you now have a streamlined, sandwich-making system.

In the past, you had to be something of an engineer to build such systems. But today it’s much simpler due to the availability of no-code platforms.

No-code tools enable you to connect disparate apps and services to create a streamlined workflow. You can usually build these automations by drag-and-drop, without the need for coding skills.

1. Trigger: A trigger starts your automation. Say you want to send an alert to Sales whenever someone submits an inquiry—the trigger would be "new lead."

2. Action: Actions are what your automation does when it's triggered. If your trigger is “new lead” the action could be “send a message to your Sales team.”

So, is Workflow Integration Always No-Code?

No. More intricate integrations might still need coding. But no-code platforms empower everyday people to automate tasks and create a smooth workflow without needing to be a programming whiz.

AI TOOLKIT

AI SKILLS-SHIFT

The first step to automating any workflow is to map it. There are many different ways to do this but if you’re relatively new to workflow mapping, I’d recommend keeping it simple by using good old-fashioned sticky notes!

Process Mapping with AI: Use Chat GPT to organize your workflow into a written list, which can then be used as a prompt for an app or GPT such as Lucid to generate a visual diagram. ChatGPT can also suggest process modifications and the points at which AI capabilities and tools could be integrated.

FREE RESOURCES

CURIOUS CAT

Meet Jackson Barn Cat a.k.a. JBC, office manager, resident AI-whisperer, and all-around curious cat. Each week he’ll nose bop a new challenge 😺

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