Switchboard Connect

Every other week, I curate a few relevant pieces of AI & Automation content to help SMB execs, operators, and teams navigate these new waters.

Let’s dive in.

Why it matters: As AI moves from buzzword to business essential, understanding spending trends can help SMBs make informed decisions about their own AI investments.

By the numbers: Ramp's latest spending report reveals some eye-opening stats:

• 375% increase in mean AP spend with AI vendors since Q1 2023

• 70% of businesses that started using top AI vendors in 2023 are still with them after 12 months

• 104% year-over-year increase in credit card spend on AI tools

The big picture: SMBs are moving beyond experimentation and committing to AI long-term. While there’s lots of hype out there, this shift suggests AI is delivering real value for more and more teams.

Anthropic rising:

• OpenAI remains the top dog, but keep an eye on Anthropic. Their market share jumped from 4% to 17% in Q2 2024.

• Personal anecdote: I’ve started using Anthropic’s Claude more than ChatGPT. I find Claude is better at “keeping the plot” in long back and forth’s or when uploading big documents to interact with.

What's next: It’s great to see companies trying to build “AI tools for everyone” and instead start to unlock the power of the tech we already have by being more purposeful and specific in what they’re building. And this is all before The Strawberry™ lands.

👀 Check out the full report here.

The down low: While we at Switchboard focus on team-wide automation, we often get asked about tools for individual productivity. Enter Bardeen 3.0 - the Swiss Army knife of personal automation.

The big picture: Bardeen has evolved from a simple Chrome extension to an AI-powered automation platform that works where you do - in your browser.

What's new:

1. Conversational automation creation: Describe your task, and Bardeen builds it. No more complex builders or scripts.

2. Team features: Share workflows across your org (but we still think it shines for personal use).

3. Cloud-based workflows: Automations that run even when you're offline.

Why we're fans:

• Browser-first approach: Perfect for individual workflows

• Low learning curve: If you can describe it, you can automate it

• Ease of use: Works across hundreds of tools with pre-built integrations

Bottom line: For individuals looking to boost their productivity without a steep learning curve, Bardeen is worth a look.

👀 Check out their 3.0 launch video or visit their site.

Overview: I recently chatted with Alex Bridgeman on the "Think Like an Owner" podcast about all things AI, automation, and digital operations for SMBs.

Some key items we cover:

1. The Three Pillars of Automation: People, Process, Technology. Neglect none.

2. Data & Sources of Truth: How structuring data unlocks a lot in an org.

3. Getting Quick Wins: Why targeting inter-departmental processes gets momentum going in improving operations.

4. AI Hype vs. Reality: Sharing what’s advancing rapidly and where limitations exist.

Want more? Check out the full conversation on the Think Like an Owner podcast. We dive deep into these topics and more, including the anatomy of automation and reinventing sales, HR processes, and more.

What & Why: Visually documenting workflows can dramatically improve understanding and speed of execution for teams.

We chatted about ERD’s in the last edition of Connect and how SMB’s can structure their data around sources of truth to unlock automation and saving people time not chasing info so much.

Miro's new AI features make creating these visuals accessible to everyone, regardless of design skills.

Bottom line: These tools democratize visualization, making it easier for teams to create, understand, and improve their processes.

👀 Want the full scoop? I posted about it in more depth here.

That’s all for this week.

But before you go…

Chat soon 👋