Issue #56: Your AI Business Partner, Small Teams Big Money, Grok 3

Good morning.

We’re back with a regular issue today.

(If you’re a Cortex subscriber, you get the full issue. If you’re a free subscriber, you get a shorter version of it).

Plenty of interesting developments hit the AI world in the past couple of weeks. Many of them do not matter and are more hype than anything else.

But there are a few of them you and I should care about: the ones that will improve your business.

Today, we’re focusing on how AI can take on the role of a strategic partner.

Both for large companies and one-person businesses.

For Cortex subscribers, the first SIGNALS issue goes out next week.

Let’s dive in.

—Sam

IN TODAY’S ISSUE 👨‍🚀 

• AI Business Intelligence: True Power of AI

• Small Teams + AI + The Right Market = Big Money 

• Grok 3 is Perfect for Research and “Thinking”

• The Best Use of Agents for Social Media (Most Have This Wrong)

Let’s dive in.

Intelligence, Big Money, Grok 3, and Social Media Agents

(This is a shorter version of the full issue, available to free subscribers and on the web. If you’re a Cortex subscriber, you get the full issue below—if you’re reading on the web, make sure you’re logged in).

AI Business Intelligence: Beyond Task Execution

AI has evolved from a productivity tool into an autonomous decision-making partner.

Key advantages of AI-powered business intelligence:

• Real-time insights: AI analyzes data instantly, eliminating the wait for reports or dashboards

• Partner-level intelligence: AI functions more like a business partner than a team member

• Competitive advantage: Most companies collect data but rarely use it effectively for decision-making

The power becomes clearer in specific applications:

When running multiple ad campaigns, AI can analyze performance metrics in real-time, identify underperforming campaigns, and automatically reallocate your budget to maximize ROI.

This works for businesses of all sizes—even solopreneurs can leverage AI as a "second brain" to:

• Eliminate guesswork by systematically analyzing financials and customer behavior.

• Make faster decisions without waiting on reports.

Small Teams Making Big Money with AI

The traditional correlation between business growth and headcount is being fundamentally disrupted by AI technology.

AI-first startups are now scaling with just 3-5 employees while generating revenue equivalent to teams 10 times their size. These lean teams use AI to handle customer support, generate marketing content, manage operations, and analyze performance data.

However, this approach works best in growing markets—AI won't save a business in a declining industry. Fundamental business principles remain crucial even in an AI-powered business model.

The "Bionic Business" model exemplifies this approach:

• Example: BoardyAI reached $25M revenue with only 5 employees

• AI runs all repetitive tasks such as customer service, data processing, and reporting

• AI manages the decision-making framework, flagging only situations requiring human intervention

• The human team focuses solely on high-value strategic actions

It's important to note that AI doesn't replace good business fundamentals—it amplifies them.

Grok 3: Real-Time Intelligence

In the evolving landscape of AI tools, Elon Musk's Grok 3 stands out with a distinct advantage: access to real-time data.

Grok 3's key differentiators:

• Processes current information from across the internet, including social media platforms

• Transforms from a static knowledge base into a dynamic intelligence system

• Analyzes breaking news and emerging trends for time-sensitive decisions

• Requires simpler prompts than earlier models due to sophisticated reasoning capabilities

This real-time capability makes Grok 3 particularly valuable for businesses. You can simply ask direct questions in conversational language and receive thorough responses based on the most current information available.

Strategic AI Agents for Social Media

The most common application of AI in social media—automated content creation—barely scratches the surface of what's possible. The real power is in deploying AI agents that create a comprehensive social intelligence system.

AI agents can transform your social media strategy through:

• Predictive optimization: Analyzing performance data to suggest optimal posting times and predict high-engagement content.

• Competitive intelligence: Continuously monitoring competitors' strategies, performance, and messaging evolution.

• ROI tracking: Connecting social engagement data with website analytics to provide clear attribution models.

• Sentiment analysis: Processing thousands of comments to gauge public opinion and identify emerging trends.

• Content curation: Finding relevant articles and media that align with your brand and audience interests.

Perhaps most valuably, you can deploy AI agents to follow your competitors and analyze their social performance alongside your own. This creates a competitive analysis that identifies what's working in your market, what isn't, and where the opportunities lie.

The premium version of Bionic Business, called Cortex, went live a few days ago.

So far, a ton of people seem excited and are signing up.

It’s great to have you!

I’m very excited about upcoming issues.

The first one (going out next week) will be on how to leverage Reasoning models inside your business.

I have a long list of useful topics lined up over the next few months, on things like better use of Agents, how to setup simple feedback (neural) loops inside your business, the starting point for autonomous businesses, and so much more.

If you want these special issues, sign up for Cortex.

I’m closing it at the end of the day, February 28th. I’ll probably open it again soon but I’m not sure when. I want to make sure this first cohort goes well and that there are no problems.

I don’t do any hard selling on these things. You either want it or not. If you don’t, no worries!

UPDATE: Cortex reopens again at the end of the month.

Talk soon,
Sam Woods
The Editor