Overview
On this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, John Jantsch interviews Ava Gutierrez, founder of ThinkWithAI.com and a leading educator and consultant on practical AI adoption for business leaders. With a background in behavioral science and communication, Ava demystifies how AI can be integrated into business workflows, not as a magic replacement for jobs, but as a task-by-task partner that enhances decision-making, brainstorming, recruiting, and day-to-day operations. If you want to move beyond AI hype and build a real-world plan for smarter, more human business, Ava shares a practical, mindset-shifting framework for getting started.
About the Guest
Ava Gutierrez is the founder of ThinkWithAI.com, an educator, consultant, and trusted voice on AI adoption for business. With expertise in behavioral science and communication, she helps leaders and teams get more value from AI by integrating it into real-world processes, decision-making, and strategy.
- Website: thinkwithai.com
- AI First Business System & Notion Agents: Learn more on her website
Actionable Insights
- AI isn’t about replacing entire jobs overnight—it’s about offloading specific tasks and freeing up time for more impactful work, one step at a time.
- The biggest shift is seeing AI as a “hire”—give it as much context, onboarding, and clear instructions as you would a new employee or VA.
- Build an org chart for your AI “agents”—each person on your team can recruit AI to assist, strategize, and advise on their specific workflows and tasks.
- Don’t treat AI as a generic assistant—define clear roles for each tool/agent, and be intentional about which tasks you offload and which you keep.
- Hybrid intelligence is the future: the best outcomes come from humans and AI collaborating, with humans making the final decisions and setting guardrails.
- To create a plan, have every team member list their daily/weekly tasks, then use AI itself to suggest where it can help as an assistant, strategist, or advisor.
- Leaders must proactively guide and train teams on how to use AI—don’t just say “go use it” and hope for the best.
- The skillset of AI is foundational—learn enough to know what to delegate, what to automate, and when to bring in expert help.
- AI can also be your “recruiter”—use it to audit your workflows and identify where hiring an AI agent will have the highest impact.
- The real mindset shift: AI isn’t just a tool to tell what to do—it can help you discover what’s possible (and what you don’t know you don’t know).
Great Moments (with Timestamps)
- 01:08 – The Mindset Shift: Task-by-Task, Not Job-by-Job
Why AI adoption is about gradual, practical changes, not sweeping replacements. - 03:34 – Treating AI Like a New Hire
How giving AI more context leads to better results and less frustration. - 07:31 – The New Org Chart
Envisioning each person with their own suite of AI agents supporting their role. - 10:42 – Hybrid Intelligence Defined
Why humans plus AI are stronger together, with humans setting the constraints. - 12:22 – Should You Hire an AI Agency or Build the Skill In-House?
Why every leader (and team member) needs foundational AI skills—even when outsourcing. - 15:36 – How Leaders Can Build a Company-Wide AI Plan
Why your team is waiting for guidance, and how to map out opportunities for AI support. - 17:31 – Using AI as Your Own “Recruiter”
How to have AI audit your workflows and suggest high-impact automation.
Insights
“The true power of AI is in letting it take over the tasks you don’t want to do—so you can focus on what matters most.”
“Treat AI like a new hire: the more context and clarity you give, the better the output.”
“Hybrid intelligence is about humans and AI collaborating—humans make the decisions, AI gives you superpowers.”
“Don’t outsource your understanding of AI; learn enough to know what’s possible, so you can lead your team (and not get left behind).”
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