May Contain Jab Ep 1: What in the AI is Going On?

Most business owners underestimate how far AI automation has come — until they see what it can actually do. May Zhan walks through the tools (Claude, NanoBanana, Perplexity), the frameworks, and the concrete wins: email triage for a government agency, automated bookkeeping, financial projections, and customer support that feels human.

This is the episode to send a founder who's still sceptical. No hype, no slop — just what to actually build first.

Key takeaways

• AI agents are dynamic decision-makers, not just helpers.
• The real unlock is mental frameworks, not the tools themselves.
• Guardrails and human-in-the-loop review prevent "AI slop."
• Creative and strategic thinking stay human — AI amplifies them.
• Start small (ChatGPT, Claude) and scale with structure.

Topics covered

• The evolving landscape of AI tools (Claude, NanoBanana, Gemini, Perplexity)
• Practical automation in real business processes
• Where beginners should start with AI
• AI for finance: bookkeeping, cash flow, projections
• Voice AI, deepfake tech, and human-AI customer support
• Claude vs. ChatGPT: which for what

Timestamps

• 00:00 — Why AI and automation matter for modern businesses
• 01:23 — Understanding your current processes before automating
• 03:40 — Email triage demo: the European Union Drug Agency
• 05:18 — What AI agents really are and how they decide
• 11:27 — Tool tour: ChatGPT, Claude, NanoBanana, Perplexity
• 17:43 — AI for bookkeeping, cash flow, and projections
• 29:48 — Creative work, design, and personalization with AI
• 40:02 — Customer support: chatbots, voice, and video AI
• 49:36 — How AI reshapes the full marketing lifecycle
• 58:08 — Overrated vs. underrated AI trends
• 60:39 — How to stay sharp: books, podcasts, continuous learning

Resources mentioned

• Claude by Anthropic
• NanoBanana / Flash models
• Perplexity AI
• ElevenLabs Voice AI
• Buy Back Your Time — Dan Martell