
The exact AI playbook (MCPs, GPTs, Granola) that saved ElevenLabs $100k+ & helps them ship daily
Luke Harries, Head of Growth at ElevenLabs, the leading AI voice technology company, shares how he’s automating marketing workflows with AI—from case studies to translations to WhatsApp integrations—saving his company over $140,000 while making everything a launch. *What you’ll learn:* 1. How to create polished case studies in minutes using AI transcription and a custom GPT 2. How ElevenLabs built a custom AI translation system that saved them $140,000 annually and eliminated agency headaches 3. How to use Model Context Protocols (MCPs) to connect AI assistants to your WhatsApp messages 4. The “everything is a launch” philosophy that helps ElevenLabs maintain consistent marketing momentum 5. Why marketers should learn to code with AI tools like Cursor 6. How to create effective custom GPTs by focusing on prompt engineering rather than output editing *Brought to you by:* Orkes—The enterprise platform for reliable applications and agentic workflows: https://www.orkes.io/ Retool—AI that’s designed for developers, and built for the enterprise: https://retool.com/howiai *Where to find Luke Harries:* Website: https://harries.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-harries/ GitHub: https://github.com/lharries X: https://x.com/lukeharries *Where to find Claire Vo:* ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/ Website: https://clairevo.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/ X: https://x.com/clairevo *In this episode, we cover:* (00:00) Intro (02:41) The future of AI in marketing (04:22) Using Granola and custom GPTs to write case studies (12:10) Generating tweet threads using ChatGPT (13:58) Building case studies into a systematic workflow (15:14) Best practices for prompt engineering (19:39) Building a custom translation system that saved $140k (25:10) Open sourcing the translation solution (29:47) Building a WhatsApp MCP (38:07) Creating specialized AI agents on demand (41:08) Lightning round and final thoughts *Tools referenced:* • Granola: https://www.granola.ai/ • ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/ • Cursor: https://www.cursor.com/ • Claude: https://claude.ai/ • ElevenLabs: https://elevenlabs.io/ • WhatsApp: https://www.whatsapp.com/ • GitHub: https://github.com/ • Zapier: https://zapier.com/ • Calendly: https://calendly.com/ • Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/ *Other references:* • MCP (Model Context Protocol): https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-context-protocol • WhatsApp MCP repo: https://github.com/lharries/whatsapp-mcp • Whatsmeow library: https://github.com/tulir/whatsmeow • LaunchDarkly: https://launchdarkly.com/ • Introducing ElevenLabs MCP: https://elevenlabs.io/blog/introducing-elevenlabs-mcp • Ordering a pizza using the ElevenLabs MCP server: https://x.com/elevenlabsio/status/1909300782673101265 • Chess.com: https://www.chess.com/ • Lovable: https://lovable.ai/ • v0: https://v0.dev/ • Figma: https://www.figma.com/ • Launch and launch again — how to launch your products: https://harries.co/launch-your-product • Your first growth hire: https://harries.co/first-growth-hire _Production and marketing by https://penname.co/._ _For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co._
The exact AI playbook (MCPs, GPTs, Granola) that saved ElevenLabs $100k+ & helps them ship daily
How to Automate Marketing with AI
Editing and Structuring Content
- Emphasizes the importance of editing the underlying content rather than just the output, suggesting a focus on clarity and purpose in communication.
- Highlights significant cost savings of $40,000 annually by canceling a tool, alongside over $100,000 in agency costs, showcasing efficiency in resource management.
Introduction to AI Marketing
- Introduces Luke Har's from 11 Labs, discussing how automation through AI can transform marketing strategies and processes.
- Mentions Orcus as a key player in modern enterprise app orchestration, emphasizing its role in integrating various workflows and systems for enhanced productivity.
The Future of AI-Centric Marketing
- Discusses the evolving role of an AI CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), focusing on the necessity of effective product launches amidst rapid software production growth.
- Describes a structured launch process at 11 Labs that includes identifying value propositions and core messaging for new features or products.
Leveraging Customer Stories
- Stresses the effectiveness of sharing customer stories as a marketing strategy; emphasizes creating compelling case studies to illustrate product impact.
- Outlines a live demonstration using Granola and ChatGPT to create a case study efficiently, highlighting practical applications of AI tools in content creation.
Case Study Creation Process
- Engages Claire Vo in writing a case study about her experience with 11 Labs' products, illustrating collaborative use of technology for storytelling.
Keynote Preparation and AI Integration
The Importance of Rehearsals
- Keynotes involve multiple stakeholders, including engineers and customers, necessitating extensive rehearsals that are time-consuming.
- Each rehearsal requires careful timing to fit within a 30-minute window, making it challenging for participants to assess the keynote from an outsider's perspective.
Utilizing AI for Prototyping
- The speaker uses 11 Labs to create audio prototypes of keynotes by inputting scripts into a tool called Studio Flow.
- Different accents are assigned to various speakers in the prototype, enhancing engagement and clarity for virtual events.
Enhancing Quality Through Feedback
- Prototypes serve two main purposes: checking content adequacy regarding timing and ensuring narrative flow is natural and comprehensible.
- High-quality presentations lead to better customer awareness of products, ultimately driving sales.
Time Savings and ROI Metrics
- Significant internal time savings are reported; examples include saving up to 10 hours on meeting preparation through effective use of AI tools.
- Granola records discussions and generates auto-summaries that enrich context for case studies or meeting notes.
Customizing AI Tools for Company Needs
- A custom GPT model is developed as a writing assistant tailored to the company's communication style, enforcing specific language guidelines.
- The GPT incorporates previous successful content examples (e.g., blog posts, tweets), allowing it to generate relevant case studies efficiently.
Streamlining Content Creation Process
- Summaries from Granola are used as inputs for creating detailed case studies about product usage.
- The process includes iterating on drafts based on feedback while ensuring SEO optimization through strategic hyperlinking.
Launching Case Studies Effectively
- Treating each case study like a launch emphasizes not just creation but also distribution strategies, including crafting engaging social media posts.
Image Generation Models and Workflow Integration
Leveraging AI for Content Creation
- The discussion highlights the potential of new GPT models in generating comprehensive content, including tweets with media placeholders, enhancing the effectiveness of social media posts.
- A streamlined process is described where a simple use case can evolve into multiple polished outputs, such as tweets and LinkedIn posts, showcasing efficiency in content generation.
- Emphasis is placed on integrating these tools into workflows to maintain productivity; setting up automated systems (like Zapier) can facilitate consistent follow-ups with clients.
- The speaker suggests using AI to prepare discussion points for client meetings, allowing for efficient communication and ensuring that valuable insights are captured regularly.
- The importance of maintaining a steady flow of marketing assets is discussed; automation helps prevent delays caused by human oversight or scheduling conflicts.
Editing and Prompting Techniques
- A key strategy mentioned is editing the underlying prompt rather than the output itself to improve results consistently; this approach ensures better alignment with desired outcomes.
- Specificity in prompting is highlighted as crucial; providing clear instructions about tone and style leads to more effective content generation aligned with brand identity.
- The speaker notes that examples—both good and bad—are essential for guiding AI outputs effectively. Bad examples can illustrate what to avoid in content creation.
- Contextual information enhances AI performance; detailed messaging about products allows for tailored responses during interviews or content generation tasks.
Balancing AI Outputs
- Concerns regarding "AI on top of AI" leading to lossiness are addressed. Using both summaries and raw transcripts provides a balanced approach that retains important details while summarizing effectively.
- The conversation emphasizes the value of context when utilizing AI tools, suggesting that comprehensive background information improves output quality significantly.
Philosophy of Continuous Improvement
- The philosophy presented encourages viewing every task as a launch opportunity, promoting an iterative mindset towards refining processes and outputs continuously.
Sponsored Segment: Retool Introduction
Retool's Impact on Localization and Cost Efficiency
The Role of AI in Business Efficiency
- Retool has enabled over 10,000 companies to enhance their efficiency by 20% while saving significant costs, exemplified by RAMP's $8 million savings.
- A case study from 11 Labs highlights the importance of localizing content across multiple languages, including Hindi, Spanish, German, Polish, and Japanese.
Challenges with Traditional Localization Tools
- The initial approach involved a costly localization tool priced at $40,000 annually that required additional human resources costing around $100,000 for translation services.
- Despite extensive engineering efforts to integrate this tool with their CMS and codebase, the quality of AI translations was found lacking.
Transitioning to an In-House Solution
- Frustration with both AI and agency translations led to the decision to utilize ChatGPT for translations instead of relying on external tools.
- A new server was developed that streamlined the translation process by sending prompts per language directly into GitHub or Payload. This change eliminated the need for expensive tools and agencies.
Results Achieved Through Custom Development
- The transition resulted in immediate cost savings of $40,000 annually from the canceled tool and over $100,000 saved from agency fees.
- Translations that previously took days are now instant; sensitive content is reviewed quickly by team members rather than relying on external agencies.
Reflections on SaaS Industry Dynamics
- There is a growing concern about the sustainability of traditional SaaS models as building costs decrease; however, there remains value in high-quality custom solutions.
- The speaker emphasizes avoiding reliance on low-skilled labor within SaaS workflows due to risks associated with quality control.
Key Takeaways for Businesses
- Companies should reconsider build vs. buy strategies when existing solutions do not meet quality standards; investing in custom solutions can be worthwhile.
- Marketers may take initiative in developing tools themselves which could lead to increased workload for engineers if not managed properly.
- Personal anecdotes highlight how unexpected circumstances (like illness during vacation time) can spur productivity and innovation within teams.
Future Considerations
SAS Tool Limitations and Workarounds
Challenges with SAS Tool
- The primary issue with the SAS tool was its restriction on editing AI prompts, which hindered effective translation quality.
- A workaround involved creating a GitHub action that automatically sends updates to an LLM (Large Language Model) whenever changes are made in the translation dictionary.
Integration with CMS
- A "translate" button was integrated into the CMS, allowing for streamlined translations while maintaining a single source of truth for content.
- A custom cursor rule was developed to simplify string extraction into a JSON file, facilitating server-side and client-side rendering.
Human Involvement in Translation Quality
Enhancing Translation Processes
- There is potential for humans to elevate their craft beyond basic translation tasks by focusing on localized style and customer engagement.
- This higher-level involvement allows translators to ensure that content aligns with brand voice and regional appropriateness.
Brand Representation Consistency
- Each language has a dedicated prompt file that incorporates brand guidelines, ensuring consistent representation across all future content.
- The improved process now enables the translation of every blog page, enhancing user experience significantly.
WhatsApp MCP: Model Context Protocol Explained
Understanding MCP
- An MCP (Model Context Protocol) allows tools to be exposed to AI agents; it facilitates better management of personal communications like WhatsApp messages.
Development of WhatsApp MCP
- The WhatsApp MCP was created to help manage numerous group messages efficiently by connecting WhatsApp with AI systems using NTP (Network Time Protocol).
Functionality Overview
- The system mimics WhatsApp Web functionality, enabling message downloads onto local computers while minimizing risks associated with account bans.
WhatsApp MCP Server and AI Integration
Overview of WhatsApp MCP Server
- The WhatsApp MCP server allows AI to interact with a SQL-like database, enabling functionalities such as querying data and sending messages or voice notes.
- Users can run the Claude AI from claude.ai, which facilitates interaction with the WhatsApp MTP (Message Transfer Protocol).
Features of Claude AI
- Claude AI can summarize recent messages received on WhatsApp, providing insights into discussions within various groups.
- It helps users keep up with trends by summarizing conversations about tools like 11 Labs, which is beneficial for social media engagement.
Practical Applications
- Users can generate content such as tweet threads based on summarized information from WhatsApp discussions, enhancing their online presence.
- The MCP is open-sourced and user-friendly; it requires a one-time data pull and updates automatically while running.
Functionality and Connectivity
- When initiated, the MCP pulls all recent messages since its last run and continues to receive new ones in real-time.
- Users can connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously for diverse functionalities, including generating voice summaries.
Efficiency through Centralization
- The integration of various tools into a single chat interface reduces context-switching and enhances productivity by streamlining workflows.
- This centralized approach allows users to creatively combine different tools without needing extensive technical knowledge about APIs.
Advanced Workflow Automation
- The system uses natural language processing to select appropriate tools from authenticated APIs, making it accessible even for non-engineers.
- Unlike rigid automation systems like Zapier, this chat-based tool adapts dynamically to changing tasks or requirements in workflows.
Future Possibilities with AI Agents
- As models improve, they will handle more complex tasks autonomously. For instance, an AI could conduct case study interviews on behalf of users.
Creating Specialized AI Agents
The Concept of On-the-Spot AI Creation
- Discussion on the ability to create specialized AI agents tailored for specific use cases, enhancing efficiency in tasks like case studies.
- Example provided where an AI agent is used to order pizza, showcasing practical applications of this technology in everyday scenarios.
Early Development and Future Potential
- Acknowledgment that while current tools are still in early stages and may seem rudimentary, there is significant potential for advancement.
- Personal anecdote about concerns regarding the ease of creating a pizza ordering agent at home, highlighting the implications of such technology on daily life.
Insights from Case Studies and Applications
Learning from Practical Implementations
- Reflection on a case study using Granola AI which resulted in substantial cost savings ($40,000), emphasizing the effectiveness of coding solutions.
- Introduction of voice as both input and output modalities in product development, suggesting a shift towards more interactive user experiences.
Unlocking New Experiences with Voice Technology
- Two main benefits identified:
- New customer experiences that were previously impossible (e.g., interactive educational tools).
- Enhanced internal operations through multilingual support for customer service roles.
The Future Landscape for Product Managers
Expanding Capabilities with Voice Modalities
- Emphasis on how voice technology can streamline back-office functions and enable international expansion by overcoming language barriers.
Resources and Further Engagement
- Invitation to explore additional resources available on Luke's website including guides on product launches and hiring growth marketers.