GCM

We’re thrilled to welcome our incredible partner Brad Weber, former IBM Partner and Wharton-Certified AI Strategist, as a featured speaker at our upcoming AI for SMBs Conference! Brad brings over 15+ years of experience in implementing SaaS solutions for Fortune 100 companies, making him an invaluable addition to our speaker lineup.

Brad will be leading an illuminating, roll-up-your-sleeves session titled “Supercharging SMBs: Practical AI and Automation for Everyday Business.” This workshop is designed to unlock the potential of AI and automation for your small or medium-sized business, making these technologies accessible and actionable.

🔍 Why This Workshop?

While AI and automation have transformed large corporations, their potential for SMBs remains untapped. Brad’s session bridges that gap, turning complex technologies into practical tools for everyday business operations. You’ll gain hands-on experience with AI and automation solutions tailored for SMBs, empowering you to implement these game-changing technologies immediately.

💡 What You’ll Do:

- Demystify AI and Automation
- Master User-Friendly Tools like Zapier and Make.com
- Integrate AI into Your Workflows
- Experience Live Demos Tailored for SMBs
- Create Your Action Plan for AI and Automation

📅 Date: September 17, 2024
📍 Location: Summerville, SC

🎟️ Join us and discover how AI and automation can propel your SMB to new heights of efficiency and innovation. Brad’s strategic vision and direction are crucial as we continue to build our business, and we’re proud to have him as part of our team. Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your business’s AI strategy.

Secure your spot now at www.ai4smbs.ai!

Get ready to dive deep into practical AI applications that will transform your business. From crafting a responsible AI policy to mastering prompt engineering, our workshops are designed to give you hands-on experience with the latest AI tools and strategies. Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect during our morning breakout sessions:

Workshop #1: Crafting Your Responsible AI Policy with Melissa Hortman, Ed.D., from Microsoft. You’ll leave with an initial draft of your own AI policy, a curated resource guide for ongoing policy development, and a clear action plan to implement responsible AI practices in your organization.

Workshop #2: Social Media Made Easy: AI Strategies for Time-Strapped Businesses led by Emma Giglio of GCM. Walk away with a tailored social media strategy that aligns with your business goals, a month’s worth of content ideas, a list of high-performing hashtags, and tools to help you implement everything you’ve learned efficiently.

Workshop #3: Prompt Engineering: Crafting Effective Instructions for AI with Chris Blevins from Google. Gain a collection of prompt templates for various AI tasks, a checklist to ensure your prompts are clear and effective, and step-by-step workflows to integrate prompt engineering into your daily routine.

📅 Join us on September 17, 2024, in Summerville, SC, to unlock these insights and more! Use our special discount code LDW for 20% off this weekend only!

Excited to announce that Dr. Iris Junglas, the Noah T. Leask Distinguished Professor of Information Management and Innovation at the , will be leading one of our practical AI workshops at the AI for SMBs Conference!

With over 25 years of experience, more than 8,000 citations, and over 50 published papers, including work as a Fulbright Scholar and Editor-in-Chief of MIS Quarterly Executive, Dr. Junglas will showcase real-world success stories from local businesses using AI for growth and innovation. You’ll explore how AI is being applied across various industries in the Lowcountry, providing practical insights that can be applied to your own business.

A big thank you to Dr. Junglas and the College of Charleston School of Business for partnering with us on this event.

If you haven’t yet, register now!

Administrative work—whether it’s organizing meeting notes, drafting emails, or managing schedules—can quickly consume valuable time. By leveraging AI, you can automate and streamline these tasks, allowing you to focus on more strategic activities. This not only increases productivity but also ensures that all administrative duties are handled with consistency and accuracy.

Check out our practical, step-by-step guide on how to harness AI to enhance your administrative efficiency.

When you reduce time spent on tasks by 33% and increase task completion by 30% in just four weeks, that’s the power of strategic AI integration. Discover how the partnered with GCM to unlock efficiency, innovation, and growth. Learn more in our latest case study—link in bio.

AI for SMBs Conference 2024 AI bootcamp-style conference for small and medium businesses: Hands-on training, not just talks. Only event of its kind in the country.

🔍 A recent study revealed a surprising disconnect between C-suite expectations and employee experiences with AI: while 96% of leaders expect AI to boost productivity, 77% of employees feel their workload has increased. 🤔

But, our experience tells a different story. By strategically implementing AI and providing comprehensive training, we’ve seen businesses transform their work processes, leading to major time savings, productivity boosts, and happier employees. 😊💼

Have you noticed a difference in your workplace with AI? Share your thoughts below! 👇

I was hitting a wall on a social post today, so our incredible designer took it upon himself (because timezone arbitrage) to create an image without a caption. What a cool use case for AI in design!

Gustav used Firefly to create this image with the following prompt:
“a single robot hand balancing a small city inside a glass globe on its finger, light purple background, commerce concept.”

He also selected the “Minimalism,” “Hyper-realistic,” and “Studio lighting” styles. Then, he extended the image in to create more white space and added the two ellipses for an extra touch.

While AI is a powerful tool, we still need Gustav’s expertise to set the right parameters and know which prompts will achieve the desired results. AI and human creativity together make an unbeatable team!

As generative AI technology becomes more accessible, the potential for misuse has escalated, making awareness and vigilance more important than ever.

Here’s why you should be aware:
🔍 Automated Phishing Attacks: AI crafts personalized emails that mimic trusted organizations to trick individuals into providing sensitive information.
🔍 Identity Theft: AI compiles personal data to create complete profiles for opening fraudulent accounts or making purchases.
🔍 Fraudulent Transactions: AI analyzes transaction patterns to execute transactions that mimic legitimate behavior, making them harder to detect.
🔍 Deepfakes: AI generates convincing video or audio clips that mimic real people, often used to request money or sensitive information.

Understanding these threats and implementing proactive measures can help protect your business from falling victim to AI fraud.

Here are some pratcial steps we can all take to fight against these frauds. ☝️☝️☝️

How has AI fraud impacted your field, and what measures do you find most effective in countering it?

Implementing AI in your business is not a 'one-size-fits-all' scenario. Generative AI tools are as diverse as the industries they serve. This infographic provides a roadmap for selecting and trialing the right AI tools to enhance your workflow and creativity.

From understanding your needs to implementing a structured trial process, these steps will help you find the perfect AI companion for your business.

The key to success lies in personalization, agility, and embracing new technologies.

For a more detailed breakdown of these tips, see Edition #16 of GCM's AI in Business Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ey-D5muB

The proof is in the results! 👏👏👏

The embraced AI technology to improve its functions and services, achieving a remarkable 3X ROI in just 3 months!

Dive into the full case study to see how AI can drive efficiency, innovation, and growth for your organization too.

🔗 Read the full case study in our bio.

Ready to transform your operations with AI? We can help! Get in touch.

Although we have now spoken to, workshopped, and trained more than 1,000 chambers, associations, and their small business members on AI, this still represents just a small fraction of our early adopters. Despite our extensive efforts, those who have participated are truly at the forefront of adopting this technology and we cant wait for others to join this movement.

Major props to the for dedicating time in your busy schedules yesterday to learn how to leverage this cutting-edge technology. Your commitment to innovation sets a standard for your community and enhances your ability to serve your members better. We are excited to see the impact of your forward-thinking approach and how you will continue to lead your community in innovative thinking and technological advancement. Congratulations!

At GCM, we’ve been using .ai every day, and it has completely revolutionized the way we gather information and tackle our tasks.

With its AI-powered natural language processing and machine learning, Perplexity understands our queries and provides us with concise, conversational answers along with relevant excerpts, images, and citations. No more cycling through endless links to find what we need!

What we love most about Perplexity is its ability to understand complex queries and assist with various tasks like writing, analysis, and problem-solving. It’s like having a personal research assistant at our fingertips!

Perplexity has truly transformed our search experience, making it more efficient, convenient, and even enjoyable. We highly recommend giving this innovative tool a try. 👍

What do you think of Perplexity? Try it out and let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 💬

The ONLY conference on AI for small and medium businesses in the country.

Get $200 off your ticket price today with code EARLYBIRD. This offer is available for a limited time only.

Comment AI4SMBS for more info and the link to register.

We had the most incredible time at the 2024 Annual Conference, where the sun was shining and the vibes were sizzling!🔥

We even made it a family affair – scroll to the last pic to catch a glimpse of our little beach bums headed to Sunday night’s welcome reception.

Massive thanks to SCSAE for bringing Zach back to the shore. Associations like SCSAE are truly riding the wave of innovation and AI, making a splash in their industries.

By diving into AI, they’re at the forefront of technological advancements, setting an example for their members to innovate and stay ahead of the curve. Together, we’re making waves and turning heads! 🌊

☝️ Written in a “sexy beach voice” IYKYK 😂

Using AI effectively in your business can provide a significant competitive advantage, but off-the-shelf AI models may not always be optimized for your specific needs. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a technique that allows you to augment AI models (like ChatGPT, CopyAI, Claude etc.) with your own business data, making them more accurate and relevant.

By leveraging RAG, you can reduce hallucinations (false or misleading information) and ensure that the AI’s outputs are tailored to your business context. This not only improves the quality of the AI’s work but also increases trust and confidence in its capabilities.

⬇ Check out our Step-by-Step Guide to using RAG for your business. ⬇

Whether you’re using AI for content generation, analysis, or decision-making, RAG can be a game-changer in terms of accuracy and relevance.

’s recent 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey reveals mixed feelings about AI’s future role in the workplace.

While there’s optimism about AI improving work-life balance and enhancing job efficiency, there’s also concern about job security, with 60% of workers fearing job losses due to AI-driven automation. Additionally, less than half feel that their employers are providing adequate training on AI.

Implications for Average Businesses:
💡 Invest in AI Training: Enhance training programs to build confidence and competence in AI technologies, as only 45-51% of younger workers feel they receive sufficient training.
💡 Address Job Security Concerns: Communicate openly about how AI will reshape roles rather than replace them, focusing on AI as a tool for augmentation rather than substitution.
💡 Encourage Reskilling: Support and fund employees’ efforts to adapt to new technologies, as millennials and Gen Z workers are proactive about reskilling.
💡 Leverage AI for Efficiency: Emphasize the positive impacts of AI on work-life balance and job efficiency to foster a more accepting and optimistic view among employees.

By implementing these strategies, businesses can better prepare their workforce for the inevitable integrations of AI and maintain a competitive edge in the evolving job market.

The worry “Will AI replace my job?” is an increasingly common one as AI capabilities advance rapidly.

In fact, this fear is even stopping some people from using and benefitting from AI tools, essentially hiding their heads in the sand hoping the wave of AI transformation will simply pass. But that mindset is misguided and self-limiting.

Instead of fearing AI, the smarter approach is to reframe the mindset as: “What new skills must I develop to thrive by working alongside AI?”

We know that most people are not maximizing the full potential of AI models when it comes to prompting. But did you know there are specific prompting frameworks that can significantly enhance your ability to leverage AI effectively?

Get the most out of your AI interactions by trying these prompting techniques ⬆️

Which one works best for you?

ChatGPT has leveled up with its new ‘Memory’ feature for Plus subscribers. This innovative tech allows the AI to recall and build upon previous conversations for seamless, personalized interactions. Think:

✅ Streamlined communication

✅ Enhanced customer service

✅ Continuous project context

✅ Tailored training material ...and so much more!

This is a game-changer for businesses looking to boost efficiency and create awesome customer experiences using AI.

But like all new tech, there are some things to keep in mind like privacy concerns and potential memory inaccuracies.

What’s your take - excited about the possibilities or skeptical about the risks? Let us know in the comments! 👇

Thank you to the Clayton Chamber of Commerce for having Zachary Giglio speak at your event. Your forward-thinking approach and dedication to staying ahead of the curve is truly commendable.

Here's what Dana Wooten, President & CEO, had to say about the session:

"As the President CEO of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce, I've had the pleasure of hosting numerous events, but Zach's AI presentation stands out for its remarkable attendance and engagement.

Zach had a unique way of making complex AI concepts approachable and relevant, ensuring that every attendee left with tangible skills and knowledge they could apply immediately to their businesses.

This session wasn't just about theories; it was a hands-on experience that empowered our members with practical AI tools for their marketing and sales strategies. Many of the attendees touted that the presentation was practical, interactive and informative

For businesses ready to embrace AI and its potential, GCM's workshop is an invaluable opportunity to learn and grow."

🎧🔥 Check out our latest article about the dynamic collaboration between human flow and AI's beat in the realm of marketing. We're talking about how we started from the bottom and now we're here, just like Drake said. Read all about it: https://rb.gy/3fv0g 🚀💫

And while you're at it, drop a comment below with your favorite rap song of all time. We love rap music almost as much as we love AI in marketing. Let's keep the conversation flowing! 🎤 🎶