Welcome to the Business Owners Roundtable, where we move beyond the hype to discuss how real companies are leveraging artificial intelligence today. In this episode, hosts Elizabeth Gearhart and Richard Gearhart sit down with a diverse panel of entrepreneurs to explore practical AI applications across marketing, dating, automation, and legal sectors.

From uncovering "environmental hypocrites" using ChatGPT to building complex automation workflows that eliminate daily "busy work," our guests share the specific tools and strategies they use to stay competitive. We also dive into the "human-centric" perspective, discussing why some industries choose to limit AI to maintain authentic connections.

• Audit & Accountability: Jim Beach uses ChatGPT to rank celebrity environmental claims against actual actions to identify discrepancies.

• Massive Automation: Joe Massa explains how he uses no-code tools like Make.com and Zapier to create AI-driven systems for CRM management and email sequences.

• The Human Element: Nikki Wake shares why her dating app for the over-50 demographic prioritizes manual vetting over AI to ensure community safety and authenticity.

• Efficiency Gains: Richard Gearhart reveals how a simple AI-generated script saves him 30 minutes of manual file cleanup per show.

• Prep & Strategy: Elizabeth Gearhart demonstrates using multiple LLMs (Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity) to anticipate audience questions and refine public presentations.

Featured Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Zia, Make.com, and Zapier.

• (00:00:00) - intro
• (00:01:48) - Jim Beach: Identifying Truth and Hypocrisy with AI Data
• (00:02:53) - Joe Massa: Moving Beyond LLMs: The Power of AI Automations
• (00:04:43) - Nicky Wake: Dating Apps and AI Integration
• (00:07:11) - Richard Gearhart: Clening up Files names with Powershell
• (00:09:07) - Elizabeth Gearhart: Using AI to anticipate to audience questions

In this episode of the Real AI Use Cases business owners' roundtable, hosts Dr. Elizabeth Gearhart and Richard Gearhart sit down with a diverse group of entrepreneurs to discuss the practical—and sometimes surprising—ways AI is reshaping their industries. From instant high-end media production to automating standard operating procedures, our guests share the tools that are saving them thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours.

But it’s not all praise; the group dives into the "echo chamber" effect of certain LLMs, the dangers of AI hallucinations in legal and research work, and why Emotional Intelligence (EQ) may become the most valuable human asset in an increasingly automated world.

• Instant Production: Ralph Sutton explains how he replaced a full creative team with AI to generate high-quality video intros and music in seconds.

• Operational Efficiency: The team from MasonMade discusses leveraging AI to build standard operating procedures (SOPs) and streamline the customer journey.

• The Privacy Trade-off: Richard Gearhart explains the shift from ChatGPT to Microsoft Copilot to maintain client confidentiality in the legal field.

• The "Hallucination" Reality Check: A candid discussion on AI’s tendency to fabricate sources, fake websites, and even lie about its own capabilities.

• The Future of EQ: Why the next generation must focus on human connection and risk-taking as AI handles the analytical heavy lifting.

• Ralph Sutton: Gas Digital (https://www.google.com/search?q=gasdigital.com)

• Joe Squeretta & Moses Carrasco: MasonMade (masonmade.co)

• GG Mirvis: Desolas Mezcal (desolasmezcal.com)

• (00:00:00) - Intro - Business Owners Roundtable: Real AI Use Cases
• (00:01:36) - Ralph Sutton
• (00:02:18) - Joe Scaretta
• (00:02:35) - Moses Carrasco
• (00:03:05) - GG Mirvis
• (00:03:36) - Richard Gearhart
• (00:04:26) - Elizabeth Gearhart

In this episode of Real AI Use Cases, hosts Elizabeth and Richard Gearhart dive into practical applications of AI with a panel of business owners. The discussion covers everything from AI-driven "digital immortality" and automated content generation to using AI for pattern recognition in sales calls and advanced market research. The group also tackles critical concerns around data security between different LLMs like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, and the emerging field of intellectual property protection for AI prompts.

• Legacy Building: How authors are training AI on their unique "voice" to continue publishing work posthumously.

• Sales Optimization: Using AI to identify hidden objections in sales transcripts to improve follow-up and closing rates.

• Security & Privacy: The distinct security advantages of Microsoft Copilot over ChatGPT for handling sensitive client data.

• Prompt Engineering as IP: Why custom-engineered prompts are becoming a company's most valuable intellectual property.

• (00:00:00) - Business Owners Roundtable: Using AI in their Business
• (00:01:19) - Dave Anderson on Using AI in His Business
• (00:03:29) - How Businesses Are Using AI in Sales
• (00:04:57) - One Way We're Using AI in the Law Firm
• (00:08:55) - Prompt Engineering as a Career
• (00:09:12) - ChatGPT: More Instructions Than Suggestions?
• (00:10:28) - Intellectual Property in the AI Age
• (00:14:40) - Handling Sales with AI Efficiency