Stop Buying AI Tools: How to Work Smarter With What You Already Have (with Lauren Irving)
listen wherever you get your podcasts:
You don't need a stack of expensive subscriptions to build something powerful with AI. Lauren Irving, quality and training manager at Zinnia and head of education and community at Women Defining AI, joins Erika to break down how she transformed a team of 12 with nothing more than ChatGPT and Google Apps Script — and why going deep on the tools you already have beats chasing every shiny new one.
Key themes from this episode:
Why the biggest AI myth is that you need to buy every new tool that drops
How Lauren's team went from analyzing 24 calls in 10 business days to 41 calls in five — using a custom GPT
Using Google Apps Script to automate reporting, frequency analysis, and coaching feedback inside Google Sheets
How to build a culture of AI experimentation on a team, even when you're not in the same room (or country)
Why Lauren's ultimate goal is to make herself replaceable — and why that's the smartest leadership move she's made
Stopping the habit of using AI like Google search and starting to actually have a conversation with it
The prompt trick that trains the tool to train you: asking it to build the best prompt for what you're trying to achieve
If you've been sitting on the free version of a tool and wondering if it's enough, this episode will push you to stop waiting and start digging deeper into what you already have.
Connect with Lauren Irving on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-irving-nc/
AI Basics/AI Foundations Program through Women Defining AI: https://www.womendefiningai.org/
