This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
I started reading a great blog called Business Pundit in 2004. We used to chat a fair amount via our respective blogs about management and entrepreneurship. Even then, Rob was an optimizer, trying to map the best routes around Austin. It was written by a guy about my age down in Louisville, Kentucky.
This blog post originally appeared in serialized form here on TechCrunch. If you came here via a direct link you might want to check out the more detailed full version on my blog, which is here. There were chat rooms, discussion groups, dating, classified ads – all the same stuff. But the masses didn’t want to blog.
Today, AI agents for small businesses are transforming operations, improving efficiency, and enhancing customer experiences like never before. These agents can work independently or collaboratively with human users, performing customer service, marketing, finance, and operations management functions.
Use automation to support brainstorming, delegation, and communication Learn how I do most of my mind mapping digitally—and even when I don't, I often recreate a paper mind map online so that I can have it safely stored and easily searched. What makes the best mind map software? I didn't, but I'd definitely buy one.
This blog post originally appeared in serialized form here on TechCrunch. There were chat rooms, discussion groups, dating, classified ads – you name it. They had a proprietary browser, their own search engine, their own content, chat rooms, email system, etc. AOL was closed, the Internet was open.
From CRMs to helpdesks, project management platforms, and beyond, it's down to IT to manage those apps, assign seats, and monitor their infrastructure. But when those apps don't work well together or connect through an integration, IT teams end up with fragmented systems and siloed apps.
The words “sleep” and “entrepreneur” may seem like strange bedfellows unless you are running a start-up in areas such as making mattresses or developing a new Sleep app. Weighing options, plus avoiding tunnel vision and bias, are vital to making the best decisions possible. “Bookend” your night.
A customer relationship management tool (or CRM) is a critical hub for sales and marketing teams—but it's not just a place to store contact details. When used effectively, your CRM becomes a central command center for tracking relationships, managing pipelines, and coordinating touchpoints across your entire customer journey.
Make your own custom AI chatbot Try Zapier Interfaces I've spent countless hours using both apps in my personal and professional life. There have been major upgrades to both apps since I first started using them, so I dug into each one again to see how their features stack up.
See how the different models supported in our ChatGPT integration stack up below: Note: Scroll all the way to the right to see details on all available models in the table below. Check out OpenAI's pricing structure and other supported GPT-4 models. You can see the full list of models here. Want to know more?
Based on all my testing, here are the vibe coding apps that'll make you feel superpowered—understanding of niche memes not included. Before this category came into shape, we had a loosely formed category named AI app builders. The editor windows were pretty basic, and you could only design simple apps with minimal functionality.
I spent time talking to some of the best AI chatbots to see how they measure up. ChatGPT is an app created by OpenAI that lets users interact with its AI models: GPT-3 (on the free version) and GPT-4 (in early access for paid users). The app takes the prompts you write and passes them to the AI model. Chat experience.
Learn how These database tools store data: both associated app data (e.g., Firebase is best for vibe coders building flexible, real-time apps who want to work within Google's ecosystem. Do more with your data. Automate your database. inventory) and user data (e.g., favorited items).
Investing in a unified platform—where all your apps are connected via a shared system—can simplify data management, prevent silos, streamline communication, and reduce operating costs. Zoho has approximately one zillion apps that cover you across your organization, and here, I'll walk you through everything on offer.
I dug deeper into both apps for this article, exploring how each one works in detail to help you choose between them. Whether you're looking for a Mailchimp alternative or are fresh into email marketing, these details will help you decide which app is right for you.
In 2025, AI has become a game-changer for small businesses looking to streamline operations, boost productivity, improve customer experiences, and gain a competitive edge. Zapier AI Workflow Automation Best For: Automating repetitive tasks across apps Zapier, already a go-to for no-code automation, launched AI-enhanced Zaps in 2025.
As anyone who's ever seen a cartoon plumber knows, the best pipeline management tool is a monkey wrench. But if you want to know the best sales pipeline management tool, unfortunately, you should probably read the next several thousand words of in-depth software analysis.
While email services haven't changed a lot over the past two decades, email apps keep getting better. There are some great native Mac email apps that make the whole experience better and more Mac-like. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog.
I used to work at a children's shoe store, and we kept all our customer information on index cards (.yeah). So when a customer came into the store asking about their previous shoe size, naturally, we had lost their information and couldn't help them. But which one should you go with? user/month* Premium: $57.50/user/month*
This can take numerous forms, such as engaging with potential customers via surveys or focus groups, building a pre-launch website (think Wix or SquareSpace) or creating a newsletter (Substack). But this still needs to be grounded and supported by data. Traction Think about what you can do to test the underlying business proposition?
But producing content, handling the posting schedule, and finding what your audience wants to read can be hard—even with a standard social media management app. It'll support your social media strategy with content generation, sentiment analysis, and big data insights. Ease of use and support. But AI is changing the game.
Riffing Off VC Charles Hudson’s Blog Post, Here’s What I’m Trying to Answer a group of different robots running a race, digital art [DALL-E] If startup founders sometimes ‘Build in Public,’ is the analogou sventure capitalist motto to ‘Think in Public?’ Will Zendesk be replaced by an AI CustomerSupport startup or does Zendesk integrate AI.
The small tweaks bring about the biggest change Image: Author One thing is sure in business: Doing all the little things right is how you get ahead — more customers, revenue, and profit result from consistently delivering on the tiny details. They’re not just fancy software for fun chats. I’ve seen this first-hand. If so, consolidate.
With that identity in place, you start training your own AI model simply by chatting with it. As you do so, the app will start stacking memories that it will use to suggest responses when you're messaging someone else—or writing a tweet or blog post. integrates with plenty of apps to bring all your data into the platform.
Whether you're on the "assisting" or "being assisted" end of customer service, you know how painful a three-and-a-half-hour live chat about a software glitch that takes an entire SWAT team of reps to figure out can be. Nobody has time for that.
But it's hard to land on the best idea out of the dozens flying around inside your head. ChatGPT is great for this because (a) it's free, and (b) it acts as a brute-force creativity tool: it can generate lots of possibilities, and it's up to you to choose which ones are the best.
Or you can scroll to the end for a quick summary of which email marketing service will be best for you. Both platforms provide plenty of customization options Flodesk lets you start from scratch or use one of its many email marketing templates. Here's my verdict. I was impressed!
After researching many online groups (and joining many of them), I’ve concluded that niche online communities can be a startup founder’s best friend. Idea Generation If you’ll entertain a huge generalization, a business’s primary objective is to solve customer problems. Don’t know who your target audience is? This happens in 2 flavors.
Some of the key takeways from Mittal’s chat with Behrens Wu include: Silicon Valley is a surprisingly clubby ecosystem. Everybody likes a business that also achieves social good, but the best way to do that is to find a model that makes a ton of cash and also happens to achieve some good.
GitHub Copilot vs. Cursor at a glance Here's the gist: GitHub Copilot is a versatile AI coding assistant that integrates into your existing IDE (integrated development environment) with powerful autocomplete, chat, and autonomous agent capabilities. Even Sublime Text supports GitHub Copilot via a community-built connection.
After going through a special kind of misery sorting out a medical claim discrepancy—complete with tinny elevator hold music and templated email responses with placeholders mistakenly left in—I've had plenty of time to consider all the ways support teams can use their support software's built-in tools to improve their workflows.
Customers have become increasingly comfortable buying things online, but many small businesses still have yet to cater their business to this option. And the best part is, you don’t require to have coding knowledge. . As a result, you can optimize the pages of your eStore following the best SEO practices in the industry. .
Gone are the days of manually updated spreadsheets or handwritten schedules pinned to bulletin boards: employee scheduling apps help you schedule workers quickly and more efficiently. I spent several weeks testing dozens of employee scheduling apps against rigorous criteria. Ease of use for employees. Integrations and exporting.
" With Zapier, you can connect your sales tools with thousands of other apps to orchestrate a similar sales op workflow—from automatically capturing lead info and logging sales calls to your CRM , tracking sales chat attribution , and sending the perfect follow-up email. Get started with one of these Zapier templates.
Today you can make calls using FaceTime, Messenger, WhatsApp, or dozens of other call apps, and virtual phone systems do the same for your office number. Download an app to start making calls from a desktop, laptop, and mobile phone in a matter of minutes. Getting started with VoIP is super simple. Select your phone number(s).
Customersupport is a tough job—and making sure your customers are taken care of without burning out your support team is even tougher. Luckily, many of these tasks can be automated to help you stay on top of tickets, get your customers the help they need, and keep your team healthy and growing.
It's arguably the best AI voice generation platform available, especially if you consider all the features it offers to take things up a notch. To show you the full gamut of features, I'll walk you through each of the experiments I ran, so you can see just how much you can do all on the one app. Audio Native.
We use the Internet for our email, to download movies and send chat messages. has been the social media and app-based world we’re in today. We’re in a world where apps and fast broadband, enable multi-layer communications like never before. It’s computer to computer with a screen or headphones layered on top.
Most notably, fine-tuning enables OpenAI customers to shorten text prompts to speed up API calls and cut costs. We’re very excited for the impact they’ll have here at OpenAI,” OpenAI wrote in a brief post published to its official blog. The app is now live in a handful of countries.
Powerful for customersupport, sales, and competitive analysis, CustomGPT is especially useful for teams that want to reduce repetitive work and let AI handle the common questions. Let's dive into some of the best ways to automate CustomGPT with Zapier. Sign up for free to use this app, and thousands more, with Zapier.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 24,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content