Episode 4 – Why Your Business Can’t Ignore AI
19 min · January 28, 2026
Business owners on turning AI into a trusted advisor, a content engine, and a brand-consistency machine.
Key Takeaways
- Custom GPTs can be trained on a real mentor’s past conversations and writing to act as an on-demand advisor — useful for surfacing blind spots and pressure-testing decisions.
- AI can help create sensitive, high-stakes content (like material for women navigating perimenopause and menopause) by surfacing themes and language that actually resonate, instead of starting from scratch.
- Deep Research features in tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT can identify high-intent keywords and market data in minutes — work that used to take days of manual digging.
- Training AI on a specific brand voice keeps tone consistent across platforms without a large team, turning what used to take days into hours.
- A well-prompted AI can draft a full strategic plan (like a marketing plan) in minutes, surfacing priorities a team might not have considered.
Main Topics
See how a Custom GPT trained on a real advisor can help you spot your own blind spots.
Learn how AI helps tackle sensitive, high-stakes content topics without losing your voice.
Discover how training AI on your brand keeps tone consistent across every platform.
Featured Guests
Meet the Hosts
Elizabeth Gearhart, Ph.D. is the host of Real AI Use Cases: Business Owners Roundtable, where she explores how businesses are actually putting AI to work. She is also CMO of Gearhart Law and co-host of the nationally syndicated Passage to Profit radio show and podcast.
Richard Gearhart, Esq. is co-host of Real AI Use Cases: Business Owners Roundtable and founder of Gearhart Law, a full-service intellectual property law firm. A longtime podcaster, he hosts Intellectual Property News and is the host of the nationally syndicated Passage to Profit radio show and podcast.
From custom AI mentors to brand-consistent content, the throughline is the same: AI works best when it’s trained on who you already are, not used as a generic shortcut.
Episode Summary
Elizabeth and Richard Gearhart lead a roundtable on turning AI from a simple tool into a strategic partner. Joseph Varghese has trained a Custom GPT on his real mentor to act as an on-demand advisor; Jen Rulon uses AI to create sensitive, resonant content for women navigating major life transitions; and Alice Frankel relies on Deep Research and brand-voice training to keep The Clutcher Pillow’s content consistent across platforms without a large team.
Richard shares how AI drafted Gearhart Law’s 2026 marketing plan in minutes, and the group closes by imagining what’s next: AI agents that can manage calendars, screen calls, and handle routine admin work end to end.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I create an AI mentor like Joseph Varghese did?
Can AI help with technical research for content or marketing?
Is my business data safe when using AI tools?
What is an AI agent, and how is it different from a chatbot?
Episode Recap
View Episode Recap
Show Intro: Elizabeth Gearhart opens the roundtable alongside Richard Gearhart, joined by Joseph Varghese, Jen Rulon, and Alice Frankel to talk through how each of them is actually using AI in their business.
Joseph Varghese – The AI Business Advisor: Joseph spends one to two hours a day working with AI, describing it as a way to recreate a mentor with vast knowledge on demand. He’s built a Custom GPT trained on past conversations with his own mentor, prompting it to “put on the hat” of that mentor and review his business plan. One of his favorite prompts asks the AI to name his top five blind spots — a way to get useful pushback. He also uses a named, voice-based AI assistant to sit in on live meetings and offer real-time input.
Jen Rulon – Content for Life Transitions: Jen uses AI to help create content for women navigating major life changes like perimenopause and menopause. Rather than reading through hundreds of research papers herself, she asks AI to distill the basics and surface hooks that speak to women searching for answers, then uses those hooks to build out longer-form content across channels.
Alice Frankel – Giving Ideas “Wings”: As a startup founder wearing every hat, Alice uses AI’s Deep Research tools in Perplexity and ChatGPT to find high-intent keywords for the bedding industry, and has trained her AI on The Clutcher Pillow’s brand voice so tone stays consistent across TikTok, Instagram, and X — turning roughly five days of work into one.
Richard Gearhart – The 2026 Marketing Plan: Richard shares how the firm used ChatGPT to draft a full 2026 marketing plan, feeding it specifics about the team, social presence, and publications. What would have taken four to five hours to type out manually came back in minutes, surfacing priorities the team hadn’t considered.
Future Outlook – AI Agents: Elizabeth describes her “dream” AI agent: something that manages her calendar and phone, filters spam calls, verifies unknown numbers, and proposes callback times automatically. Joseph notes that this kind of agentic AI is already being built, pointing to tools like Microsoft Copilot integrations.
Keep exploring the show
Hear how more business owners are putting AI to work in their day-to-day.