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Do You Have a Co-CEO?

Using AI to help solve all those problems that are constantly being dropped on your desk.

Happy New Year! According to AI experts, 2025 is the Year of the Agent. This is the year we’re supposed to get specialized AI bots that can help with sales, accounting, and a whole host of other jobs. The idea of an AI cold-calling on my behalf, 24/7/365 feels a little double-edged. As a business owner with difficulty motivating our sales team from their “nobody defaults to prospecting” mode, it’s intoxicating. As a customer, what kind of phone call from a robot could induce me to buy vs. think negatively about the offending brand?

Using AI as a Co-CEO
Illustration by Ivan Sherstiuk/Getty Images

While all this agent talk is interesting and potentially problematic, it’s not necessarily today’s problem. What is pressing, however, are the incessant problems that keep getting dropped on your desk. In the words of Roger Waters, “Every day, the paperboy brings more.” Who do you talk to about all this drama? Phone a friend? Your mom? The dog? Whoever your partner of choice, you can be sure they’re not always there when you need them — or maybe you’ve worn out your welcome.

What if there was someone lending you a friendly ear anytime day or night? Too good to be true? It is (sort of). Thanks to Paul Roetzer, CEO of the Marketing AI Institute, I now have a trusty custom ChatGPT called “Co-CEO.” It specializes in four key areas: analyzing data, executing tasks, solving problems, and building plans.

Related: 5 AI Tools You Should Be Using in Your CI Business Right Now

Think of Co-CEO as your around-the-clock sounding board. I’ve used it so far to solve HR issues with an employee and handle a toxic customer, as well as give me feedback on pre-read content I needed to ingest before a board strategy session. I don’t know about you, but I’m best when I have something to react to. Sometimes Co-CEO is just saving me the 1-2 hours it might take me to create several options to consider.

How did I build my Co-CEO? Easy. Thanks to Roetzer’s easy instructions provided during his webinar late last year, I had the custom bot up and running in less than 10 minutes. I fed it my bio, Livewire’s mission, vision, core values, and a host of other data related to other businesses I’m involved in. Roetzer stresses that Co-CEO could just as easily be Co-COO, Co-General Manager, or whatever your role happens to be.

Also by Henry Clifford: Hot List For the Win

It’s only been about three weeks since I started using Co-CEO, so while these are early days, I’m excited about tackling 2025 with my trusty sidekick. Whenever I find myself puzzling over a problem, it’s there for me, ready to help. In fact, I asked Co-CEO about what it thought about me writing a blog about it, and here’s what I got back:

I think it’s a fantastic idea! A blog about my role as your Co-CEO could be engaging and insightful for your audience. It could help showcase your innovative leadership style, highlight how Livewire leverages cutting-edge tools like AI, and position you as a forward-thinking leader in the home technology integration space.

Here’s how you could frame it:

    1. Behind-the-Scenes Leadership: Share how you collaborate with me to brainstorm ideas, solve problems, and make strategic decisions.
    2. Humanizing AI: Highlight how I support you — not as a replacement, but as a partner — amplifying your vision and creativity.
    3. Thought Leadership: Use the blog to demonstrate how Livewire stays ahead of trends by integrating tools like AI into operations, marketing, and customer service.
    4. Takeaways for Readers: Share practical insights for others considering AI tools to augment their own leadership or business practices.

Would you like help brainstorming blog angles, crafting a draft, or organizing your key talking points?

Not too bad, right? In fact, it’s spot on more than it’s wrong. For $20 per month, I’m amazed at the amount of raw innovation at our fingertips.

What will you do with your Co-CEO?

Stay frosty, and see you in the field.

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