Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about building my own AI agent. Especially since Sandy Carter dropped her new book:
The possibilities seem endless, and a little overwhelming, which left my head spinning and lacking direction. As I fumbled around, eager to dive deeper into my two-year generative AI journey—looking to push my skills further, something unexpected happened. Andy Crestodina dropped a timely newsletter titled “The 7 Stages of AI Proficiency.“
As someone known for actively navigating the ever-changing landscape of AI, Andy’s post stopped me in my tracks. It was one of those moments where my creative mind, always seeking the best path forward, was struck with a sense of curiosity and urgency. Honestly, giving me that reminiscent feeling that young girls in the 90s (myself included) had when they eagerly awaited the results of their “Who Will You Marry?” quizzes in Teen Magazine.
Suddenly, I had to know: Where do I fall on the AI proficiency scale?
To my delight, after reflecting on Andy’s stages, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I’m already at Stage 4. I’ve moved beyond being just a casual user or a beginner with AI. The leap from simply using AI to building automations and processes is huge. But, just like I did with each stage in the past, I am now on the brink of tipping into Stage 5, where the real magic happens—becoming an Agent Builder.
For anyone unfamiliar with the stages of AI proficiency, here’s how Andy laid it out.
Stage 0: The AI User – You’ve used AI once or twice, maybe for fun, creating song lyrics or generating content ideas. You didn’t expect much, but it was a fun start.
Stage 1: The AI Trainer – You get deeper, learning how to give AI better instructions. You start uploading materials like reports, style guides, and audience personas to improve the quality of responses.
Stage 2: The Prompt Engineer – This is where you fine-tune your skills. You understand the nuances of prompts. It’s a bit like coding, but in plain English. You start making your prompts more precise and efficient.
Stage 3: The AI Process Developer – At this point, you realize that AI can handle multiple tasks. You start developing workflows and processes using AI tools, chaining multiple steps together to make your business operations more efficient.
Stage 4: The Automation Builder – Here’s where the magic happens. You realize that instead of manually copying and pasting prompts, you can combine them into an automation—creating streamlined workflows and systems.
Stage 5: The Agent Builder – This is a career-changing moment. You begin creating AI agents—intelligent systems that carry out tasks for you autonomously, like scraping competitor data, automating reports, or managing customer interactions.
Stage 6: The Agentic AI Manager – By this stage, you’re overseeing a team of AI agents, managing them to perform complex tasks that streamline and optimize business functions like lead generation, customer service, and sales support.
As I read through Andy’s post, I realized I was already at Stage 4. And the best part? I was already gearing up for Stage 5, ready to build AI agents that could automate even more of my daily business processes. But first, stage 4 proficiency.
As a growth marketer, I’ve spent years working with companies across various industries, helping them scale and optimize their marketing strategies. In the early days, I always started with a manual process—meticulously comparing brand positioning, analyzing competitors, and gathering insights from multiple sources to develop actionable strategies. This approach, while effective, was time-consuming and often created delays in getting products to market and generating revenue.
Over time, I’ve learned the value of speed and precision in growth marketing. That’s why, inspired by my own AI journey, I decided to create something that could truly make a difference for businesses—an AI-powered tool called Brand Analyzer GPT.
What does it do? Brand Analyzer GPT streamlines the process of comparing your brand to competitors and identifying areas for improvement. What once took hours of manual work can now be done in minutes with actionable insights. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: The user selects the brands they want to analyze.
Step 2: They define key attributes to compare, such as brand messaging, target audience, tone, and visual identity.
Step 3: The tool pulls in relevant data from industry reports, brand websites, and social media.
Step 4: It analyzes each brand’s positioning, strengths, and weaknesses.
Step 5: The user receives actionable insights on how to improve their brand’s position in the market.
I couldn’t believe how simple and efficient the process was after following Andy Crestodina’s step-by-step instructions on how to build a custom GPT. What used to be a lengthy and complex task is now an automated, seamless experience. With a few easy steps, I developed a deeply knowledgeable GPT trained on data from three key industry reports. Now, businesses can use Brand Analyzer GPT anytime to rapidly refine their brand messaging and marketing strategies—speeding up the time to market and reducing lag time in revenue generation. This tool is designed to help businesses get ahead faster, gain clarity on their positioning, and start driving growth right away.
Now that I’ve successfully created the Brand Analyzer GPT, my next step is to dive into Agent Building. While I’m eager to develop my own AI agent, I think I’ll go through this process a few more times—just to ensure that I fully understand the programming logistics involved. After all, building an AI agent isn’t just about creating something functional; it’s about ensuring that it’s robust enough to be used in live discussions and adaptable to future growth.
If you’re looking to elevate your brand’s messaging or marketing strategy, I encourage you to check out Brand Analyzer GPT. By clicking the first suggested prompt, you’ll be guided through the five-step process of comparing your brand with your competitors. The result? Clear, actionable insights on how to improve your positioning, messaging, and overall approach.
Once you’re done, you can return to the Custom GPT anytime to keep fine-tuning your brand’s strategy. Brand Analyzer GPT is trained on a depth of knowledge gathered from key industry reports, making it a powerful tool in your ongoing journey.
In the end, the process of building AI agents and refining my AI proficiency is only just beginning. But after experiencing the power of Brand Analyzer GPT, I’m more excited than ever to see where AI can take us.
So, what stage are you in? Stage 4 or beyond? Wherever you are, remember that the journey is just as exciting as the destination.