Using AI to Grow Your Startup ⬆️

🤖 How AI is helping tech startups grow, US government considers AI chip restrictions on Chinese firms, AI-powered walkthroughs and tutorials, and more!

Author

Everyday AI
October 13, 2023

Outsmart The Future

Today in Everyday AI
6 minute read

🎙 Daily Podcast Episode: How can startups leverage AI to boost their growth? Today we're exploring the intersection of AI, growth, and technology startups. Give it a listen.

🕵️‍♂️ Fresh Finds: Turning your images into classic yearbook photos, researchers use AI to translate scroll from 79 AD, and a video game bringing a deceased actor’s voice back to life. Read on for Fresh Finds.

🗞 Byte Sized Daily AI News: US government considers AI chip restrictions on Chinese firms, Microsoft offers up to 15k for finding bugs in Bing AI and Google search gets text-to-image. For that and more, read on for Byte Sized News.

🚀 AI In 5: There's an easier way to make tutorials and walkthroughs for your team. It’s called Scribe and it has great AI features! See here.

🧠 Learn & Leveraging AI: Are you a startup looking to grow? Wanna add AI but don’t know where to start? Let’s break it down! Keep reading for that!

↩️ Don’t miss out: Did you miss our last newsletter? We talked about using the ScholarAI ChatGPT plugin, AI’s surging global power consumption, and making a clone of ChatGPT using its new GPT-4 vision feature. Check it here!

How Tech Startups Can Grow with AI 🚀

Are you a startup looking to grow but don’t know where to start when it comes to integrating AI? Then today’s episode is for you!

We're exploring the intersection of AI, growth, and technology startups.

Cindy Fossouo, Founder & CEO of Information Systems Builder joins us to share her experience in helping tech startups use AI.

From finding ways to implement AI to some hot takes, we cover it all.

Also on the pod today:

• How tech startups are using AI 🤖
• Will AI take jobs in tech? 🤔
• Advice on AI and growth 🗣

It’ll be worth your 27 minutes:

Listen on our site:

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Here’s our favorite AI finds from across the web:

New AI Tool Spotlight – more. lets you generate unique AI patterns, yearbookPhotos.io turns your images into classic yearbook photos, and artificial unintelligence is an AI image party game.

Trending in AI – Researchers just used AI to translate an ancient scroll….from 79 AD….and it was completely burned by a volcano. Like what?

Big Tech - Looks like those AI celebrity twins may not be working out for Meta. Celebrity twins like Kendall Jenner have been met with a lot of criticism.

Pop Culture – Cyberpunk 2077, a video game, used AI to revive the voice of a deceased actor.

Read This – Although the Writer Strike in Hollywood has ended, the actors are still going. A new bill seeks to create federal rules to protect actors and singers from unauthorized AI replicas.

1. US Government Considers AI Chip Restrictions on Chinese Firms 🇺🇸

The Biden administration is exploring ways to tighten AI chip exports to Chinese companies, particularly those operating overseas. This move aims to close loopholes that currently allow these firms to access U.S. AI technology, addressing national security concerns. The strategy could significantly impact China's tech industry and global supply chains.

2. Microsoft Invites Users to Test AI Bing for $15,000 Reward 💰

Microsoft is challenging users to find vulnerabilities in its AI-powered Bing search tools, offering up to $15,000 for successful exploits. This initiative is part of Microsoft's bug bounty program, targeting various potential security issues. The program encompasses numerous AI Bing services, including its integrations in Microsoft Edge and Skype mobile applications. Participants must meet detailed submission requirements to be eligible for the full reward.

3. Google's Copyright Safety Net for Generative AI Users 🛡️

Google is stepping up to protect users of its generative AI technologies from potential copyright infringements. By offering indemnification, the tech giant is encouraging the creative use of AI while safeguarding users from legal disputes. This move covers several AI-embedded products, ensuring users won't bear the brunt of legal challenges for unintentional copyright breaches.

4. China Tightens Leash on Generative AI with New Rules 🇨🇳

China's new draft regulations impose stricter controls on generative AI services, focusing on the data used for AI training. The rules, proposed by the National Information Security Standardization Committee, mandate security evaluations for content used in publicly available generative AI models and blacklist any content containing significant unlawful information.

5. Google's AI-Powered Search Upgrades with Images to Text 🌐

Google introduced a new feature in its search engine, leveraging AI to generate images from text descriptions. The tool, known as "SGE," uses generative AI models to create detailed images from written input, enhancing the search experience by bridging the gap between textual data and visual representation.

AI-powered walkthroughs and tutorials🚶

There's an easier way to make tutorials and walkthroughs for your team.

Scribe has already been a game-changer for creating walkthroughs and tutorials but now it's even better with AI.

We're peeling back the layers to explore Scribe's AI features and showing you how to use them.

🤷‍♂️ What’s Going On and Why It Matters:

How can startups use AI to grow?

Maybe just say, ‘We use AI!’ and try and fundraise like crazy? After all, if AI is all the rage, should startups just try and sprinkle it everywhere?

Not exactly.

We tackled this issue and more with Cindy Fossouo, the Founder and CEO of Information Systems Builder, a branding and tech marketing company that works with tech startups.

Cindy shared her experiences and best advice for tech companies looking to use AI to grow.

And an Everyday AI first — she turned the tables on our host and grilled Jordan a bit on the future of AI in the tech space.

If you missed today’s convo, don’t worry. If you’re in tech or a startup and are looking for a blueprint, or even trying to find the best way to leverage GenAI in a young company, we’ve got the essential CliffsNotes version. 👇

  • Challenges tech start ups face in branding and marketing

  • The need for startups to have effective messaging and targeting in marketing in the age of AI

  • Exploring how AI can enhance marketing efforts for tech startups

  • Knowing when to actually leverage AI and when not to

 Whew.

Now, let’s break it all down.

🦾How You Can Leverage:

Must be tough to be a tech startup right now, to be honest.

Cindy let us in on some insights on the startup and AI landscape in California, the hotbed for innovation in the US. And while tech companies and startups were able to ride the GenAI wave early on, it’s not as easy now.

❌ It’s getting more and more difficult for tech startups to raise money.

❌ The market is getting kinda flooded with so many companies trying to solve the same problems.

❌And being aligned with AI tech doesn’t go as far as it used to.

So now tech startups are left in a bind — continue trying to force AI-powered features in every aspect of their company, or go against the grain and not rely on GenAI to get you to the next step.

Let’s try and create some clarity and give it the 1-2-3 breakdown. 👇

1 – Have a reason to use AI 🤖

One of our favorite takeaways from Cindy was her advice for tech startups not to just use AI because they can. She emphasized that it's not just about using AI for the sake of using it, but rather understanding the target audience, creating effective messaging, and leveraging AI to communicate the value of the product or service to potential customers.

And this message holds true for all of us, not just tech startups.

Try this

We get it y’all. We talk about AI every.dang.day. And yet, there’s still use-cases where we DON’T use AI. Example: this is a human typing right now, not ChatGPT. Lolz.

See, just because you CAN use AI anywhere and everywhere doesn’t mean you should. Instead, focus on areas where AI can complement your current efforts, or take away the mundane to help you focus on the meaningful.

2 – AI won’t solve all your problems❓

Cindy talked about how there’s a misconception that having a great product automatically leads to success.

We agree. And sometimes, Saas companies and tech wizkids wanna force AI into their companies, regardless of if it helps solve the problem. Like that flex seal infomercial — just slap some AI on it!

Try this: Focus on what your end customer or client actually needs. Will a ChatGPT-powered weather chatbot be useful? Or maybe your users just want to more quickly see if it’s raining without having to click through 4 popup ads. In the age of an AI gold rush, don’t forget to keep an actual line of human connection with your customer and see if shiny AI features will actually solve their problems. Don’t just slap ChatGPT on it. 

3 –You might get squashed 🐜

Alright, Cindy turned the tables and asked for Jordan’s hot take in the episode, so we’re gonna sneak in one last 🔥 spicy take🔥.

So, Saas founders, tech startups and others take note — if you’re over-reliant on AI, there’s a good chance you’re gonna get squashed. Here’s why. At any point, companies like OpenAI, Microsoft or Google could add one simple feature to their current offering and make your Saas or tech startup obsolete. Even hotter take 🔥 🔥 🔥 Microsoft Copilot will likely make hundreds of newer AI-heavy startups obsolete. #bookmarkit

Try this: Focus on what makes your tech startup or Saas company uniquely better. Don’t feel forced to integrate GenAI just to follow the crowd or because you think you need to check some Generative AI boxes to raise more money. If you lean too heavily into a GPT-powered features, as an example, one new feature update or acquisition from a billion dollar company could make you obsolete in minutes.

Now This …

Let’s take it off topic — what are you building this weekend? What’s your next big project you’re tackling?

Hit us with a reply and lets talk about it!

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