I used ChatGPT to write my retirement email. It needed some tweaking from sensational BS to engineering speak, but it was good for that task. Never found any significant use for the tool, only tried the free version.

I really like Google AI. This is my biggest use of AI in retirement.
https://www.google.com/search?q=show+me+the+ultimate+7+day+vermont+craft+beer+plan.&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#lfId=ChxjMe

Is anyone applying it in a skilled trade industry setting?

I use claude, gemini, and chatGPT (in general order of preference). They give me a good first pass for investment evaluations and market/sector research.

redsquirrelAG said:

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Is anyone applying it in a skilled trade industry setting?

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I'm sure some small businesses are using it for invoicing and writing bids. Landscapers would be idiots not to use it to create 'after' images to sell their services.

On the job site nobody is asking AI to run their table saw but it wouldn't surprise me to see home inspectors uploading photos and asking about code compliance, etc…

Exactly the response I expected.

And I haven't figured out how to incorporate it yet with my bids they are so different site to site. Thank you.

My firm is too nervous (for good reason) to pull the trigger on another service, but Westlaw requires all attorneys in the firm to have the same level of service.

Two of my partners are in their 70s and not very "tech savvy." Once just got his first cell phone in the last 5 years and just this year, we just recently decided to drop "books." Trying to explain AI to these guys is a challenge. We have young guys here too, so picking technology suitable for all is rough. Unfortunately, I'm the partner here who has to navigate all of this.

Midpage AI is $99 per month per attorney, and it syncs with Claude Cowork. You do not have to have all attorneys on it or at the same level of service. MIdpage does not go to the internet to search the law but has all 50 states' statutes, regulations and case law in its database. For law, that is important because a hallucination could land you in some big trouble.

We could have our entire staff on Cowork and all attorneys with Cowork and Midpage for thousands of dollars less per month than Westlaw only for attorneys. The Enterprise level Cowork is HIPAA and attorney client privilege, etc. compliant.

I have subscriptions to Claude Cowork and Midpage to test it out. We are sticking with Westlaw/Thompson Reuters for now, but the future is already here. Westlaw has AI, but I'd place my bets on these other companies being big time disrupters.

Ag92NGranbury said:

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can you expand on this:

- GPT for P&L analysis (I have to manage 5 of them), gives me executive level insights with a click of the button.


and also... do you trust putting your data into chatgpt?

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If you are part of a company, you should get a paid version of Chat / Claude /Gemini.
And then turn off sharing Info with the platform.

These platforms are getting better at an exponential rate.
If you want to get started, I would suggest https://starthereseries.com/

I detest podcasts, don't have the patience fro them, but these were absolutely worth it.
So you could start here as well:
https://community.youreverydayai.com/c/ppp-v3-beta

These are all small tangible steps, to get you ready for a tech that is going to be as pervasive as the internet and unfortunately a lot more disruptive.

Also, for the first, I assume the poster is uploading his excel spreadsheet or PDF into chatGPT and having Chat analyze it. I have found Claude to be much better with Visualizations, so its worth a try there as well. If you are worried about it, just fake some numbers, but keep the same format, and upload into Claude. it helps, with all these engines to give them context. Who you are, what is your job position, what are you expecting from the engine

Frankly, few CEOs are worth their price. It's like SEC coaches, they get paid a ton based on comparable, but many are not good. Many got there because of politics or being ruthless. Tech was supposed to be the smartest in the room, yet Covid times showed they are as susceptible to group think as olds on Facebook.

500,000ags said:

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Frankly, few CEOs are worth their price. It's like SEC coaches, they get paid a ton based on comparable, but many are not good. Many got there because of politics or being ruthless. Tech was supposed to be the smartest in the room, yet Covid times showed they are as susceptible to group think as olds on Facebook.

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CEOs fall on a bell curve too. Just like companies.

Buddy of mine's company is trying to replace a common piece of software (on the sales side) with an AI, vibe-coded alternative by their software contract renewal in July. Not a small company, it's around $400MM in revenue. They started gathering requirements this week. I told him to keep me in the loop because out of 4 calls I had this week with people at different companies, it was by far the most aggressive stance.

On every thread is GAag and the retired Product guy just talking AI up, and I get it, it's a wonderful, shiny new thing that is legit revolutionary for anyone working with long-form text (and no concern for tech, data, or workflow debt). But, anyone going all-in on a propriety AI workflow when you don't even know the long-term cost (non-fundraising subsidized cost I mean), is crazy. I have a strong hunch the cost savings and non-plug and play part of your workforce tied to these proprietary workflows isn't going to save much. Right now, OpenAI likely loses $60-80/mo on their $20/mo plan, and this cost doesn't scale, it's variable. So when OpenAI or Anthropic needs to raise $100s of Bns from non-customers and non-partner investors, we'll see how much the supply side can truly handle. I used to cover SK Hynix in banking, and they announced on 1/12, their 2026 data center memory was completely sold. Price per GB of memory is skyrocketing.

This is just getting unbearable and way out over its skis, as someone who uses AI every single day.