Episode 5

Episode 5 – AI Tools That Replace Manual Labor

15 min · February 6, 2026

Business owners on moving past the hype to use AI as a sales coach, a document decoder, and a starting point for bigger decisions.

Key Takeaways

  • Recording meetings and calls (with tools like Fathom or Zoom) and feeding the transcripts into an LLM turns them into a coaching or project-tracking tool.
  • AI can condense dense, technical documents — like 50-page federal grant guidelines — into plain-language summaries in a fraction of the time manual review takes.
  • Authenticity still matters most in high-stakes situations like grant applications and hiring — funders and interviewers can tell when something is fully AI-generated, and it can work against you.
  • AI tends to level the playing field for experienced professionals: less speed learning new tools, more knowing which questions to ask.
  • The best use of AI is often as a starting point — organizing your thinking before you bring in a human expert like a CPA or attorney, not a replacement for one.

Main Topics

1COACH YOURSELF

See how recording calls and feeding them to AI creates an on-demand sales or presentation coach.

2DECODE THE DENSE

Learn how AI turns complex documents into plain-language summaries that actually get read.

3STAY AUTHENTIC

Discover why the businesses winning with AI still lead with a real, human voice.

Featured Guests

Jess Todtfeld

Records every call and training session, then uses an LLM to score performance and track improvement over time — an on-demand sales and presentation coach.

Jess TodtfeldMedia Ambassadors
WebsiteLinkedIn
Micki Vandeloo

Uses AI to summarize dense, 50-page federal grant opportunities into simple, digestible documents clients can actually act on.

Micki VandelooLakeview Consulting
WebsiteLinkedIn
Kenny Kelley

Turns scattered notes and ideas into structured business plans with AI, and uses it to help automate code testing.

Kenny KelleySilent Beacon
WebsiteLinkedIn

Meet the Hosts

Elizabeth Gearhart
Elizabeth Gearhart, Ph.D.Chief Marketing Officer, Gearhart Law

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.

WebsiteLinkedIn
Richard Gearhart
Richard Gearhart, Esq.Founding Partner, Gearhart Law

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.

WebsiteLinkedIn

Whether it’s coaching, grant writing, or hiring, the panel agrees AI works best as a starting point that saves time — not a replacement for a real, human voice.

Episode Summary

Elizabeth and Richard Gearhart lead a roundtable on moving past AI hype toward practical, ROI-driven use. Jess Todtfeld uses AI as a sales and presentation coach built from recorded calls; Micki Vandeloo turns dense federal grant documents into plain-language summaries; and Kenny Kelley uses AI to organize scattered ideas into structured plans and to help automate code testing.

The group also digs into where AI can backfire — grant funders and hiring managers can spot fully AI-generated material — and lands on a shared theme: AI is a starting point that saves time, most powerful when it’s paired with real human judgment and voice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it ethical to use AI in grant writing?
Using AI for research, summarization, and structuring is a major time-saver, but you shouldn’t copy-paste its output directly. Funders want authentic detail only you can provide.
How can AI improve my public speaking or sales calls?
Recording your sessions and running the transcript through an LLM lets you ask it to act as a coach — spotting weak points, suggesting better structure, and building cheat sheets for next time.
Will AI replace the need for a CPA or attorney?
No. AI works best as a starting point that helps you organize your thinking and ask sharper questions, making your time with a human professional more efficient.
How do you tell if someone’s email was fully AI-generated?
One guest’s trick: slip an unusual instruction into your reply, like asking them to include a specific word. If they don’t catch it, there’s a good chance they didn’t actually read what they sent you.

Episode Recap

View Episode Recap

Spotting the “Autopilot” User: The panel talks through the rise of AI-generated emails people send without reading. Jess shares a trick for testing it: slip an odd, specific instruction into a reply and see if the other person’s AI-assisted response actually follows it.

The Ethics of Grant Writing and Hiring: Micki explains that grant funders increasingly use AI-detection tools, and that they’re listening for the applicant’s own voice — leaning too heavily on AI can work against you. Kenny shares a similar pattern in hiring: candidates who lean on AI scripts during interviews often struggle to back it up in person.

The Wisdom Gap: AI for Experienced Professionals: The hosts discuss how AI can level the playing field for more experienced professionals. Younger users might move faster with the tools themselves, but experience brings a different edge: knowing which questions are actually worth asking.

Everyday Use Cases Across the Panel: Jess records calls and trainings and runs them through an LLM as a sales coach. Micki turns dense federal grant paperwork into plain-language client summaries. Kenny uses AI to organize scattered notes into real business plans and to help automate code testing. Richard uses AI to model tax and financial scenarios before bringing in a human CPA, and Elizabeth uses it to shape marketing collaboration plans for YouTube clients.

Keep exploring the show

Hear how more business owners are putting AI to work in their day-to-day.

← Previous EpisodeNext Episode →Browse All Episodes