I’m going to keep this week simple and highlight three ridiculously easy ways I used AI recently that made a big difference. View this email in your browser

The Weekly AI Briefing

🧑‍🏫 Latest AI thoughts, tools, and news from unburdn Housekeeping: More trainings coming soon (aka, the Nick-bot factory was slowed down thanks to tariffs on dad jokes—maybe a blessing in disguise…). Until then, here’s what we have: August. Sold out. September. 8, 15, 16, 22 (Denver preferred) October. 6, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31 🎃 November. Filling up fast!

Main Idea

I’m going to keep this week simple and highlight three ridiculously easy ways I used AI recently that made a big difference. In a world where headlines celebrate complicated “agentic AI” systems that help 20 people launch billion-dollar startups, it’s worth stepping back. The truth? AI is just as powerful when used properly as a thought partner. Or in our words: “AI for the rest of us.” Nick Bot 3.0 — I built a simple GPT with two jobs: (a) draft/review email chains and (b) summarize call transcripts with action items. It only took six interview-style questions with ChatGPT, and now I’ve got a refreshed third version my own custom assistant. The To-Do List Rescue — I was drowning in tasks scattered across emails, Notion, HubSpot, and Apple Reminders. Action paralysis was real. I used ChatGPT voice, dumped everything into it, and in three minutes had a single clean list. I was back in business! Leasing a Car — I normally don’t lease, but Reddit convinced me there were insane EV deals. I had ChatGPT translate the lease terms into plain English. Result: My wife is driving a $60K car for $480/month with almost nothing down.

Here’s the play:

Don’t overthink AI. Start with simple use cases that solve everyday pain points. Use ChatGPT as a thinking partner, not just a search engine. Build your own “mini-bots” with clear instructions—it’s faster than you think. PS: Keep reading for hot-takes on headlines, AI tools, and a personal story + pic

📰 AI News Worth Knowing

😬 The Doomer Take on AI’s Future – A sharp piece connecting tech layoffs, AI job displacement, consumer credit stress, and inflation into a possible economic crisis. If you only read one “AI doomer” article this year, make it this. For the record, I’m an AI “Boomer” (just want all perspectives shared) Read Here 💸 The AI Startup Bubble Pops? – Windsurf, a fast-growing AI coding startup, sold for pennies. Why? Subsidized pricing + massive API costs = negative margins. A warning for leaders: judge AI tools by their unit economics, not their hype. Read Here 🔍 SEO is Dead, Long Live AI Visibility – AI assistants are rewriting search. It’s not just about ranking on Google anymore—you need content structured for AI summaries. Clear, helpful writing wins. Read Here 💼 AI Skills = Higher Pay – New data shows candidates with AI coursework land more interviews and better offers—especially at big firms. For SMB leaders, this is a nudge: train your people or risk overpaying for talent. Read Here 🧪 AI Fights Superbugs – MIT researchers used generative AI to design new compounds that kill drug-resistant bacteria. Proof that AI isn’t just hype—it’s saving lives. Read Here

🛠️ AI Tools You Need to Try

🖥️ Microsoft CoPilot with GPT-5 – Microsoft finally rolled out a GPT-5 powered version of CoPilot, and it might not suck. Try it inside Word, Excel, or Teams to see if it can replace that “open ChatGPT in a browser” habit. Check it Out 🧰 Unburdn’s Vault. A curated library of AI tools mapped to Crawl → Walk → Run stages. Great cheat‑sheet for leveling up your team’s stack. Explore Here

📢 Take Action

Stop waiting for the “perfect AI strategy.” The power is in small, practical wins stacked over time. Let’s get your team unstuck fast. Book us with a “Reply” or go here[Subscribe

From the Field: 🍨 The Gelato Principle

Life on the road isn’t always ideal, but there are small luxuries that make it worth it. For me, that’s Anita La Mamma Del Gelato in NYC. It’s stupidly expensive for gelato, but also stupidly good. I live very clean—exercise, diet, sleep dialed in—but without a vice or two, life gets boring. Same for business: discipline matters, but don’t forget to build in joy. Thanks for reading. 🙏 Copyright (C) 2025 AI for the Rest of Us LLC dba Unburdn. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe