Most founders use AI wrong

I used to use AI like a better Google.

Ask a question. Get an answer. Copy and paste it somewhere else. Ask another question. Copy-paste again.

I'd let ChatGPT draft an email, then manually paste it into Gmail. I'd ask for 10 target companies, then copy them into LinkedIn to search manually for the right contact.

It saved me maybe 10 minutes here and there. Nothing transformational.

Then I had coffee with a friend. He's the founder and CEO of an AI consulting company.

"We used to work with 45 external developers to get all projects done," he said. "Now we're 8, delivering the same amount of output to our clients"

I almost choked on my flat white.

"We automated everything. Internal processes, customer success, accounting, even most parts of software development—all of it. Claude runs in our terminal. It controls the whole notebook - its even able to analyze and optimize our Google Ads to generate better lead conversion over time."

That number stuck with me. 45 to 8. Not caused by budget cuts. Through automation and therefore a massive increase in real productivity time.

But I'm not a developer. I don't write code. As a CEO, I never found time to go deeper into this stuff. There's always another fire to put out, another project or client to push further.

Then I found a tool that changed everything. You may have heard of it - OpenClawd.
I set up the AI agent (I named it Putu) on my own AWS server. And I just asked it, "How can I use you to automate my daily work?"

That conversation was the start.

Here's what my AI assistant does for me now—end-to-end, no copy-pasting:

Daily recommendations. Every night, Putu analyzes my goals, calendar, and open tasks. He generates 5-7 specific recommendations for the next day. Each one is tied to a real goal. I wake up to an actionable list, not an empty to-do wondering where to start.

Landing pages. Before, building a landing page meant 2-3 weeks with an agency. Or pulling my developers off product work. Now? Half a day. I tell my agent what I want; he builds it. Copywriting, layout, checkout integration—all of it.

Outreach campaigns. Putu analyzes my campaign performance, runs A/B test insights, and prepares new campaigns with optimized copy. What used to take my team hours happens automatically.

The difference isn't working 10% faster. It's working completely differently.

I used to think of AI as a tool I pull out when I need something. Now I think, how can AI own this entire process from start to finish?

That mindset shift is everything.

Here's what I've learned: you don't need to be technical. I learned how to set up a GitHub account, buy a domain, configure DNS, deploy code, review pull requests—all within days. Not by taking courses. By telling the AI my goal and asking it to guide me step by step.

Before, I was missing information the moment I needed it. So I failed to apply what I knew. Now I have an expert in almost everything, waiting to be pointed in the right direction.

Don't get me wrong. AI won't fix a broken business. It won't replace strategy or relationships. And you definitely can't trust it blindly. But if you're still using it like a search engine—asking one-off questions and copy-pasting answers—you're leaving 90% of the value on the table.

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This week's action:

➡️ Pick ONE process you do repeatedly. Something that touches multiple tools or steps.

➡️ Map it end-to-end. Write down every step, every click, every copy-paste.

➡️ Ask an AI: "How can I automate this entire process from start to finish?" Then follow its guidance, step by step.

Pro Tip: Use Claude Cowork to start automating small processes - Claude Cowork can control your computer. It can only execute the tasks while your computer is running, but this is the first step towards building real agents.
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​If you are interested in learning more about how to run a full AI assistant 24/7 on your own AWS server, just reply to this email.​

That's how you stop using AI wrong.

All the best,

🌱 Tim