AI Automation Made Easy: How to Get Your Hours Back

Want to automate repetitive tasks with AI? Looking for the best AI tools and tech stack to streamline your workflow? 

Discover how AI automation platforms like MindPal and TaskMagic can save you time, boost efficiency, and simplify your marketing processes—all without advanced coding.

Why Marketers Need AI Automation

Marketers have long faced time-consuming processes for creating content. Extensive research, writing, spell-checking, and formatting of a single blog post could consume hours of a marketer's time, and Reed Floren was no different.

Floren realized how much content production he could automate when he learned he could connect tools like Zapier and Make with OpenAI's ChatGPT through API keys. The integration eliminated the need to manually move between different tools, copy-paste content, or perform repetitive editing tasks.

The time-saving and productivity gains can be remarkable. Using a tool called Mindpal, Reed saved an estimated 3,683 hours in just one week, effectively doing the work of dozens of staff members and drastically reducing costs while increasing output.

For marketers who need to consistently produce content across multiple channels, manage campaigns, analyze data, and stay responsive to market changes, AI automation isn't just helpful—it's becoming essential to remain competitive in today's fast-paced digital landscape.

What Stops Marketers from Embracing AI Automation?

Adopting AI automation often requires overcoming certain mental barriers. One of the most common is the belief that you can do everything better than anyone (or anything) else.

But here's the thing: if an AI tool can complete a task at 70-90% of your quality level with minimal tweaking required afterward, it can save you significant time and effort.

Perhaps most importantly, Reed notes that failing to adopt these technologies puts businesses at a competitive disadvantage. If you aren't leveraging AI and automation and your competition is, you're eventually gonna be put out of business.

#1: What Should I Automate With AI?

For those new to AI automation, Reed recommends starting with a simple question: “Is there something that you do on a repetitive basis?” Look for daily tasks performed by you or your team members.

Start with one specific aspect of your workflow that's particularly burdensome. For example, podcast production involves researching guests, preparing questions, transcribing interviews, creating show notes, and publishing content on various platforms. Each of these steps could be partially or fully automated.

Don't get too hung up on the time savings at this point because even small time savings can have a significant impact. If you save five minutes a day with one automation and 10 minutes a day with another automation, that 15 minutes can be used to do something more strategically significant.

When you're more comfortable building single automations, you can automate full-blown workflows from end to end.

Real-World AI Automation Examples

Scaled Content Creation

Reed created an automation in Mindpal that generates comprehensive marketing content in minutes. 

The user inputs a URL (a website, blog post, affiliate link, etc. ). The automation reads the content of that web page and creates an outline. Then, it creates a blog post, a video script, social media posts, and email sequences–all of which align with the blog post.

Many people, especially in the affiliate marketing space, copy and paste the standard swipe copy provided by vendors and then wonder why no one reads or responds to their emails. This automation helps affiliate marketers stand out from the competition by creating multiple pieces of unique promotional content.

Scaled Lead Magnet Generation

Reed developed an automation for Perry Belcher's “Lead Laundering” course where users could input their niche market or topic, and the tool would automatically create approximately 40 different types of lead magnets. Users could then select the most appropriate ones, make minor adjustments, and start building their email list immediately.

#2: What AI Tool Can I Use to Document Processes for Automation?

Before automating a process, it's helpful to document the steps involved. Reed recommends a tool called Komodo Decks, which combines features of Scribe and Loom to create detailed procedure documentation.

Komodo Decks records a video of your screen activity and automatically creates a step-by-step guide with screenshots and text descriptions. For example, if you open a web browser, go to Google, type in a search term, and click search, Komodo Decks will capture each step with corresponding screenshots.

The resulting step-by-step documentation can be fed into automation tools like Cheat Layer or Task Magic to create automated workflows.

#3: The Tech-Stack: AI Automation Tools

Mindpal

Mindpal allows users to create automations for personal use or to share with others. These automations can be embedded on websites, shared as links, offered as opt-in incentives, or sold as products.

One of Mindpal's most powerful features is its ability to generate an automation based on a simple description. This means users don't need to understand all the steps involved in a process; they can describe the desired outcome, and Mindpal will attempt to create an appropriate workflow that can then be refined as needed.

The tool connects to various AI providers, including OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Perplexity. For each step in an automation workflow, users can select which AI model to use based on the specific requirements of that step. So you can use Claude to write in one step and switch to ChatGPT in the next step to do some math.

Plus, Mindpal recently introduced features similar to those in Zapier and Make, allowing users to create APIs that can connect to different resources. It even allows users to paste API documentation into the system, automatically creating the necessary automation.

Task Magic

Task Magic is designed to automate repetitive computer-based tasks. Users can record themselves performing a task, and Task Magic will create an automation based on that recording.

Unlike Mindpal, which primarily operates in the cloud, Task Magic works directly on your computer, controlling your browser and other applications. It's particularly useful for tasks like moving data between applications, accepting Facebook friend requests, or performing repetitive browser-based activities.

Zapier and Make

Reed has used both Zapier and Make for several years. Between the two, he finds Zapier easier to use, though this comes down to personal preference. Both tools have extensive integration libraries (Zapier connects with 7,000-8,000 different tools), giving them an advantage over newer platforms like Mindpal.

These tools can also be integrated with Mindpal using webhooks and APIs, allowing users to combine the strengths of each platform.

Other AI-Powered Tools Worth Exploring

Reed mentioned a number of other tools he's experimenting with:

Browser-Use: An open-source alternative to OpenAI's Operator that can perform tasks on your computer. While currently “nerdy” and requiring technical knowledge, Reed predicts these tools will become more accessible soon.

Bolt.new: A tool allowing users to create custom applications by describing what they want to build. Though it doesn't necessarily require programming knowledge, some basic understanding can be helpful.

Hero: A smartphone app that combines calendar, reminders, weather, and other functions in one interface to help users stay organized.

Whisper: OpenAI's free transcription tool can be accessed through interfaces like Mac Whisper (for Mac users) or Subtitle Edit (for PC users).

Other Notes From This Episode

• Connect with Michael Stelzner @Stelzner on Facebook and @Mike_Stelzner on X.
• Watch this interview and other exclusive content from Social Media Examiner on YouTube.

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