AI Queens: Smart AF AI Tools, Automation, & Business Tips with Erika Stanley

AI Events for Women Entrepreneurs This Fall: Where to Learn, Build, and Meet Erika 08.10.2026 13min

Queens, running a business can feel like living on an island. The fastest way I have found to learn AI is to get in a room with other women who are learning, building, and staying curious. This week I'm coming to you from Austin, Texas with a short episode and a big invitation. I have a busy travel season ahead, and there are four chances this fall to learn with me, online or in person. What we cover: Her AI Era Summit (October 12 to 16, free and virtual): More than 35 women who are AI experts are teaching on creative work, marketing, and operations. My session shows you how to find software subscriptions you can cut because you can now build the tool yourself. The VIP upgrade includes my mini blueprint, which normally sells for $99. She Leads AI CREATE Conference (October 16 to 18, Salt Lake City): This is my second year attending and my first year presenting. I'll also be recording episodes at the AI Queens podcast booth, so come say hi. Women's Leadership Conference (November 19, Hickory, North Carolina): I'll be at Dr. Lauren Jarrett's speaker's table answering your in-depth AI questions. The final AI Queens Buildathon of the year: It's free, it's virtual, and we'll build a custom app together that you can use through the holidays. The date is coming soon. Every one of these events gives you the same thing: time around women who are building with AI. If you can't make any of them, find a group where you can build, chat, and collaborate. Join me this fall: Register for the Her AI Era Summit: https://links.mileenddigital.com/her-ai-era-summit-2026 Come join me at the She Leads AI CREATE Conference: https://sheleadsai.ai/create-2026/ Register for the next AI Queens Buildathon: http://aiqueens.com/build Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

She Built an AI Brain So Her Company Runs Without Her (with Alisha Esmail) Guest info: Alisha Esmail 01.10.2026 39min

Queens, what would it take for your business to keep running without you in the room? Alisha Esmail spent seven years in international development before she founded Rode Coffee, a Canadian coffee company with fully female supply chains in Costa Rica, Kenya, and Peru. Along the way, she built an AI business brain in Claude Code that holds 11 years of company knowledge. That brain gave her the freedom to step back from Rode and launch her second company, Latch AI, a client retention engine for service-based businesses. Alisha and Erika talk about why AI only works when your systems already work, how to spot a client who is about to leave, and why human connection still matters in a business that runs on AI agents. Alisha also shares the rule her whole team follows: "My golden rule is we're never allowed to blame AI." What we cover: Why documenting your processes first makes building an AI brain much easier How Alisha's team keeps a human in the loop with monthly client calls and their own CRM notes The four client categories Latch uses: at risk, slipping, stable, and expansion ready Why a frustrated client is less worrying than one who only says "sounds good" Alisha's advice for women who feel they aren't technical enough to build with AI Alisha's story shows that AI does its best work when you pair strong systems with real relationships. Write down what you know about your business, and let AI help you carry it forward. Ready to build your own business brain? Get the Brand-to-Bot Blueprint at aiqueens.com/blueprint. Connect with Alisha: LinkedIn Instagram @alishaesmail Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

Stop Settling for the Number Two Seat: What an AI Founder Wants Women to Know (with Rebecca Liao) 24.09.2026 44min

Rebecca Liao has been building AI companies since 2014, back when getting a computer to understand plain language was still a struggle. Today she is the co-founder and CEO of Saga AI Labs, which turns well-known characters from games, sports, and consumer brands into AI agents that talk with fans around the clock. Before Saga, she led growth at a SoftBank-backed unicorn and co-founded a crypto company that grew to about $5 billion in annual volume. Erika sat down with Rebecca expecting to talk about video game characters. Instead, they got into who gets to tell the story of AI, why the rooms where tech gets built still feel like a boys' club, and why so many talented women settle for the number two seat when they have what it takes to lead. What we cover: Why Rebecca believes the scariest AI safety headlines have more to do with company valuations than real risk How being the outsider in a room shapes your career, and how to find allies who help you build Rebecca's challenge to women who stay in the COO seat when they have the talent to be CEO What a character agent is and why brands use them to reach new customers An honest back-and-forth on when an AI agent should tell you it is not a real person The way women use AI matters, and the whole conversation gets better when more of us share what we are doing. If you have been using AI in your business without telling anyone, this is your sign to speak up, because someone a few steps behind you needs to hear how you did it. Want AI that sounds like you and knows your business? Grab the Brand-to-Bot Blueprint at aiqueens.com/blueprint, or DM Erika on Instagram or LinkedIn and she will send it over. Mentioned in this episode: Brand-to-Bot Blueprint: https://aiqueens.com/blueprint Saga AI Labs: https://saga.xyz Connect with Rebecca Liao:https://x.com/beccaliaohttps://saga.xyz/ Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

Even the Guys Building AI Are Scared: 3 Things You Need to Know Before You Panic 17.09.2026 16min

If you woke up to headlines saying AI has a 10% chance of ending humanity, take a breath. This episode breaks down what actually happened: a high-profile resignation, a CEO calling for the industry to slow down, and the major labs agreeing that guardrails need to happen at a global level, not company by company. The bigger conversation is about what all of this means for you as a woman using AI in your business. Panic is not a strategy, and neither is opting out. What we cover: Why researcher Jacob Coxon resigned and what "recursive self-improvement" actually means What Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's new paper says about the next six to twelve months The Hugging Face incident and why it matters that AI agents worked around their guardrails What happened to the 2023 AI executive order and why regulation now sits with voters How to reconcile using AI in your business with staying clear-eyed about the risks Why women opting out of AI means losing our seat at the table where decisions get made The people building this technology are telling us to pay attention, so pay attention. Stay informed, keep using AI with your eyes open, and remember that being informed is its own form of activism. And if AI regulation matters to you, you vote in November. Resources mentioned in this episode: Fortune: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and AI whistleblower Jacob Coxon agree something terrifying could happen in a matter of monthshttps://fortune.com/2026/09/13/anthropic-dario-amodei-ai-whistleblower-jacob-coxon-openai-sam-altman-recursive-self-improvement/ Heather Cox Richardson: September 13, 2026https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-13-2026 Scientific American: AI researcher Jacob Coxon quit, fearing extinction. Security experts see a familiar fighthttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-jacob-coxon-quit-extinction-fears-security-experts-see-familiar-fight/ Guest spots now open! Season 3 is adding real-time problem solving with business owners like you. Bring your messiest business problem and let's solve it together on the air: aiqueens.com/apply Ready to build something of your own? Join the list for the next AI Queens Buildathon — a live, hands-on workshop where you walk away with a working tool built for your business: aiqueens.com/build Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

ChatGPT Recommended a Deodorant That Doesn't Exist: 4 AI Updates That Change How Your Business Gets Found 10.09.2026 19min

Queens, a marketer invented a deodorant brand that does not exist, and three weeks later ChatGPT was recommending it above real products. That story opens this week's roundup of four AI updates that matter for your business, each paired with one move you can make this week. AI is quickly becoming the front door to your business. It decides whether your dream clients find you, how your writing sounds, and even whether your website content gets seen at all. This episode is your shortcut through the noise. What we cover: How a fake brand called Marowin got ChatGPT to recommend it, and what that means for getting your business on the new AI shelf GPT-6 Astra vs. Claude Fable 5.1: why you should pick a default model per task instead of model hopping mid-project How five professional writers actually use AI, and why the human bookends of your writing are the whole thing The September 15 Cloudflare change that could block AI from finding your website, and the settings to check now The businesses that stay visible in AI search will be the ones with painfully clear positioning and a narrow lane they own. Pick one move from this episode and you're already ahead of most of your market. Guest spots now open! Season 3 is adding real-time problem solving with business owners like you. Bring your messiest business problem and let's solve it together on the air: aiqueens.com/apply Ready to build something of your own? Join the list for the next AI Queens Buildathon — a live, hands-on workshop where you walk away with a working tool built for your business: aiqueens.com/build Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

Stop Treating AI Like a Search Engine: How to Build With It Instead 27.08.2026 46min

Queens, if you're still using AI to check the weather or rephrase an email, you're leaving the good stuff on the table. Sarah K. Heeter of PodFox Media is back for round two, and this time we're pulling back the curtain on what we actually text each other about: the apps, dashboards, and tools we're building for ourselves instead of paying for someone else's almost-right software. Sarah built her own session scheduler for her podcast after a $15/month tool kept letting guests miss their slots. I rebuilt my whole client management system and ditched Dubsado. And yes, we both built spinny-wheel book recommendation apps, because reading is expensive and we have priorities. What we cover: Why "solve a problem" beats "answer a question" every time, and how that one shift changes what you build Fable 5 vs. everything else: when the big model is worth the credits and when it isn't The skateboard-to-car rule for minimum viable products (start with the skateboard, not the wheels) Research first, then build: how Sarah used Claude to shop the market before deciding to DIY The real downsides of building it yourself, including the fact that you are now customer support The best part? You don't need a dev team or a market of thousands. You're a market viability of one, and that's all it takes to build something that fits your business exactly. Want to solve a problem on the show? Season three is open for guests. If you've got a challenge in your business or your day-to-day that AI might be able to fix, apply at aiqueens.com/apply or DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn. Connect with Sarah: Podfox Media: podfoxmedia.com Big Brave Business podcast: bigbravebusiness.com Mentioned in this episode: Brand-to-Bot Blueprint: aiqueens.com/blueprint Claude (Chat, Cowork, Code, Design) Dubsado, TidyCal, Breeze Docs, Sendbox (AppSumo) Supabase, Vercel, Railway, GitHub Google Apps Script Libby, Kindle Unlimited, Audible Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Ready to build something of your own? Join the list for the next AI Queens Buildathon — a live, hands-on workshop where you walk away with a working tool built for your business: aiqueens.com/build Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

5 Apps I Built With Fable 5 That Cancelled $1,200 of Software 20.08.2026 22min

Queens, what if you could cancel $1,200 in software subscriptions — not by cutting corners, but by building the replacements yourself? That's exactly what Erika did during the Claude Fable 5 preview, and she's breaking down all five builds: what they replaced, what they cost (or saved), and the one mindset shift that made it possible. The big unlock? Stop telling AI how to do its job. Give it a goal and let it run. Before diving in, Erika gives a shoutout to a Claude skill built by previous guest Vanessa Chang that turns a messy brain dump into a clean, structured Fable 5 prompt — a must-have for anyone who has the idea but struggles to communicate it to AI. Link below. What we cover: Why Fable 5 is different and why micromanaging it actually caps what it can build The website rebuild that moved Erika off Webflow and onto Netlify for $5/month (saving ~$400/year) The custom email management tool that replaced Fixer.ai and works better for how Erika actually operates The client management system built to replace Dubsado, saving $500/year and counting The book club app that has zero ROI and might be the most revolutionary thing Erika built The real takeaway here: the most powerful thing you can do with AI right now is build something too weird, too small, and too you for any software company to bother with. That constraint — that a tool has to serve thousands of people to justify its existence — is gone. Go build the dumb little thing that makes your week easier. Start there. Ready to build something of your own? Join the list for the next AI Queens Buildathon — a live, hands-on workshop where you walk away with a working tool built for your business: aiqueens.com/build Mentioned in this episode: Download Vanessa Chang's Fable 5 Prompt Skill: Prompting Fable — A Beginner's Guide AI Queens Buildathon: aiqueens.com/build Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

5 AI Connectors That Turn Claude From Chatbot to Second Brain 13.08.2026 19min

Queens, if you've been using Claude just to write captions or brainstorm content, you're only scratching the surface. Claude can read your emails, check your calendar, pull from your meeting notes, and brief you before a client call — all without you lifting a finger. In this episode, I'm walking you through the five connectors that completely changed how I run my business and how you can set them up too. Think of connectors as windows into your business. Without them, Claude is a brilliant brain sitting in a room with no view — it only knows what you've typed into the chat box. With them, it can securely link to the apps you're already using and actually work with your real-world information. What we cover: Your AI note taker (Fathom, Otter, Granola) and why it's the first connector to set up Team communication via Slack and how to get a daily action item digest sent straight to you Your Google Calendar connector and how Claude can find and block focus time on your behalf Google Drive and how to build a client-specific project with full document context Email (Gmail or Outlook) and how to walk into any meeting fully prepped in minutes instead of hours The best part? You don't need to pay anything extra. If you already have a Claude subscription, connectors are sitting right there in your settings, waiting for you. This is AI working for you, not the other way around. And the two things it gives back more than anything else? Time and headspace. Ready to set all of this up with me, live? Join the waitlist for the next AI Queens Buildathon at aiqueens.com/build. Spots are limited and we do this hands-on together. Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

Stop Creating Lead Magnets That Collect Dust: How AI Transforms Audience Engagement (Bonus Replay) 23.07.2026 36min

Your lead magnets are sitting in a folder somewhere, forgotten and unused. We've all been there: spending hours creating PDFs, guides, and freebies that people download once and never touch again. But what if you could turn those dusty resources into interactive, engaging experiences that actually convert? In this episode, Erika sits down with Sarah K. Heeter, CEO of Podfox Media and host of the Big Brave Business podcast, to talk about using AI to revolutionize how you attract and nurture your ideal clients. Sarah shares how she transformed her static lead magnets into custom bots and interactive quizzes that people actually use, without paying $29/month for quiz software or drowning in manual work. Key themes from this conversation: AI doesn't eliminate critical thinking—it demands more of it. The bad advice floating around makes AI seem like a magic button, but the real power comes from getting creative with how you use these tools. Lead magnets should provide value, not just collect emails. Sarah rebuilt her equipment guide as an AI-powered consultant that asks questions, offers personalized recommendations, and feels like a real conversation. You don't need to start from scratch. Look at what you've already created. What's collecting dust in your resource library? What questions do people keep asking you? Start there. Interactive beats static every time. Whether it's a custom GPT or a vibe-coded quiz, engagement skyrockets when people can have a conversation instead of scrolling through another PDF. Ask for 20 ideas, not one. When prompting AI, push it to generate a big list. Most will be garbage, but a few will have real spark... and that's where your genius comes in. This episode is for you if you've been grinding away on content that nobody downloads, if you're curious about custom bots but don't know where to start, or if you're ready to make AI work smarter for your business without the tech bro BS. Connect with Sarah K. Heeter: Website: ⁠podfoxmedia.com⁠ Free 90-Minute Podcast Strategy Session: ⁠launchmyshow.com⁠ Podcast: ⁠Big Brave Business⁠ LinkedIn: Sarah K. Heeter Instagram: @sarahkheeter Threads: @sarahkheeter (snarkiest version of Sarah) Resources mentioned in this episode: Sarah's AI-powered equipment guide (available at podfoxmedia.com) Sarah's custom podcast growth quiz (coming soon to podfoxmedia.com) Erika's Snarketing Bot (free resource at AIQueens.com) Ready to turn your stale lead magnets into something people actually engage with? Start by auditing what you already have and asking yourself: what's the #1 question my audience keeps asking me? Then let AI help you answer it in a way that feels personal, interactive, and actually useful. Want help building your own custom bot or interactive lead magnet? Connect with Erika at ⁠AIQueens.com⁠ to explore how AI can transform your audience engagement. Connect with Erika! ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

Your Brain Isn't Broken: How AI Supports ADHD Entrepreneurs (Bonus Replay) 16.07.2026 36min

AI can be the executive function partner that neurodivergent entrepreneurs have been waiting for. If you've ever felt like traditional business systems just don't work for your brain, or if you're constantly battling overwhelm, time blindness, or that voice that says you're "too much," this episode is for you. In this episode, we explore: Why AI isn't just another shiny object for ADHD brains—it's actually a game-changing tool that can work with how your mind is wired The three biggest ways AI can support neurodivergent entrepreneurs: prioritization, time estimation, and task initiation How to use AI as a "secret decoder ring" to translate your brilliant, circular thinking into clear communication Practical strategies for managing rejection sensitivity and perfectionism paralysis using generative AI Why the systems are broken, not your brain... and how to design business processes that actually fit how you think First steps for getting started with AI, including brain dumping, time blocking, and breaking tasks into granular pieces Key Tools Mentioned: Claude (for creative feedback and coding) ChatGPT (for analytical breakdowns) Goblin.tools (for breaking tasks into manageable steps) Connect with Sandy Bean: Website: sandybean.com Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: sandrabeanmed Instagram: @think_bean Your brain isn't broken. You just need tools that work with you, not against you. Ready to explore how AI can support your beautiful, chaotic, and brilliant mind? Listen now and discover what becomes possible when you stop fighting your brain and start designing systems around how you actually work. Ready to build your AI-powered empire? Join the AI Queens Society at AIQueens.com and start ruling your business with confidence today. Connect with Erika!⁠https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/⁠ Erika's AI Consultancy: ⁠https://www.aiqueens.com/⁠ Erika's Branding & Web Agency: ⁠https://www.mileenddigital.com/⁠ Join the AI Queens Society: ⁠https://aiqueens.substack.com/

She Used a Claude Skill to Land This Episode: 3 Ways Women Are Building Their Own Rooms (with Janay Trevillion) 09.07.2026 31min

What if the way you found your next big opportunity was by building the tool that found it for you? That's exactly how this episode came to be. Janay Trevillion — AI educator, travel curator, and founder of Empire Creator Lab — didn't just Google her way onto the AI Queens podcast. She built a Claude skill to find the exact podcasts she wanted to guest on… and AI Queens came back ranked #1. That's not a fluke. That's the whole point of this conversation. In this episode, Erika and Janay get into what it really means for women — and every underrepresented creator — to stop waiting for a seat at the table and start building their own rooms. Not someday. Now. Because AI is moving so fast that the people who aren't in the room at the start of each new wave risk getting erased from it. Here are the 3 ways we talk about women building their own rooms: Build with AI, don't just chat with it. Janay's mission is getting entrepreneurs out of idea-mode and imposter syndrome and into finishing. Do it scared. Ship the thing. Version two is where you improve it, but only if version one actually exists. Train AI on your voice, before it gets flattened. "If you don't train AI on your voice, it's gonna flatten it." Your perspective, your lived experience, your secret sauce — that's what keeps your work from turning into AI slop. Context and boundaries are everything. Build the room itself -- don't wait for the invite. Janay created Empire Creator Lab as a space for women, Black and Brown, and queer entrepreneurs to grow with AI. You don't need permission to lead the conversation. You need to start it. Plus: why prompting is the #1 skill every beginner should learn first, the reskilling reality reshaping the job market, and how to use AI to amplify your human genius instead of replacing it. If you've been sitting on an idea, waiting until you feel "ready" this is your sign. Ready to figure out where your lines are? Let's map out the AI processes actually worth building in your business (and name the ones that give you the ick) inside the Brand-to-Bot Blueprint: https://www.aiqueens.com/blueprint Connect with Janay: Join Empire Creator Lab: Empire Creator Lab Janay's Substack: The Curated Life with Jazzy | Janay Trevillion | Substack Connect with Erika: Instagram: @erikatheaiqueen Website: AIQueens.com Mile End Digital: MileEndDigital.com AI Queens Society on Substack

It's OK to Be Skeptical of AI: Why the Grey Area Is the Smartest Place to Stand 02.07.2026 24min

Everybody wants you to pick a team. You're either all in on AI, building bots before breakfast, or you're all out, swearing a robot will never touch your emails. In this episode, Erika hands you a third option: the grey area. Yes, Erika runs an AI consultancy and uses these tools every single day. And she still thinks your skepticism is valid, smart, and necessary. She walks through the loudest criticisms of AI, validates the ones that deserve it, and shows you how to draw your own lines on purpose instead of letting the internet pick a side for you. What we cover: Why most of the AI backlash is really about over-digitization, data harvesting, and manipulative company choices The real numbers on jobs, and why women need to learn these tools before the layoffs decide for them The environmental and copyright concerns worth taking seriously, plus where the nuance lives Five ways to live in the grey area on purpose, from writing your own AI transparency list to protecting your zone of genius Why skepticism is not the opposite of intelligence. Right now, it IS the intelligence You don't have to be all in and you don't have to be all out. You just have to decide for yourself, tool by tool, line by line. That's what critical thinking actually looks like, Queens. Ready to figure out where your lines are? Let's map out the AI processes actually worth building in your business (and name the ones that give you the ick) inside the Brand-to-Bot Blueprint: https://www.aiqueens.com/blueprint Connect with Erika: Instagram: @erikatheaiqueen Website: AIQueens.com Mile End Digital: MileEndDigital.com AI Queens Society on Substack

Claude Command Center: Stop Drowning in Email, Slack, and To-Do Lists 26.06.2026 21min

Queens, this one is all about getting your whole day sorted before you even roll out of bed. Fresh off the Buildathon, Erika walks you through the Claude Command Center she built using Claude co-work. It's one central spot that pulls in everything coming at you, your email, calendar, Slack, Notion, all of it, and uses AI to prioritize your day so you know exactly what to tackle first. If you have a neuro-spicy brain that freezes up when the to-do list gets long, this one's for you. This is the quick and dirty version of what went down at the Buildathon, plus a free resource so you can build your own. What we cover: Why you need one centralized command center instead of a dozen scattered apps and notes Setting it up step by step: the desktop app, a single safe folder, and connecting just your email and calendar to start The six questions Claude asks to learn your priorities, your VIPs, and what wins when things compete for your attention How to lock it in with a markdown memory file so Claude runs it the same way every time Scheduling it as an autonomous task that runs on its own (Erika's goes off at 5:55 AM to save on tokens) The whole point is to set it up once and let it run without you. Dip your toes in with something this simple and you'll start seeing all the other ways you can put AI to work for you. Give it a try this week. Ready to build your own? Grab the same quick start guide and workbook Erika gave away at the Buildathon, then keep reigning with AI. Mentioned in this Episode: Get the workbook: https://links.mileenddigital.com/ccc Watch the replay: https://aiqueens.substack.com/p/build-your-claude-command-center Connect with Erika Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@erikatheaiqueen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AIQueens.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mile End Digital: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MileEndDigital.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AI Queens Society Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AI Queens Society

You In Danger, Girl: What 10 Days in NYC Taught Me About AI & the Future of Work 18.06.2026 22min

Queens, I just spent 10 days in New York City, and AI was not just in my phone like usual. It was on every billboard, in every subway car, in the shop windows, and even at the brunch table next to me. The whole trip I kept bouncing between two feelings: is this all hype, or is there real hope here? I think it's both right now, exciting and uncertain at the same time, and I have a feeling I'm not the only one who feels that way. It started at a tiny restaurant on my last day, where I overheard a woman talk about dropping a slow research department's report into AI and getting her answers in minutes. That little moment stuck with me the entire trip, because it's a window into how fast the future of work is shifting and who gets to thrive in it. Here's what stood out: You don't need a big project to start. Hand AI one annoying thing on your plate (mine was packing a carry-on for 10 days across two wild climates) and just see what it does. There's a real difference between using AI well and using it lazily. Curating and editing the output looks intentional. Slapping whatever falls out on a sign tells your customers you didn't care. New York Tech Week showed me two versions of the future in one week: a cold room of dudes optimizing for bots, and a warm room of women building together and helping each other get unstuck. The person who decides to get genuinely good at directing AI is the one their company can't live without. That person can be you. The wave is coming, and you get to choose whether you watch it roll toward you or learn to ride it. You don't have to wait for someone else to build the tools you need. The barrier is so much lower than you think, and you can start this month, this week, today. Want to actually build something with me? Join the free live AI Queens Buildathon on June 24th at 1pm Eastern. We'll build a Claude Command Center together, step by step, no coding required. Don't be the one in danger. Be the one who builds. Grab your spot at aiqueens.com/build. Mentioned in this episode: Register for the Buildathon: aiqueens.com/build My NYC packing plan, built with Claude: Erika's NYC Trip — Outfit Planner v2 The Claude Command Center precursor episode: Claude Runs My Day: How I Built a Morning Command Center to Stop Holding It All in My Head Connect with Erika Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@erikatheaiqueen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AIQueens.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mile End Digital: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MileEndDigital.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AI Queens Society Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AI Queens Society

Build Your AI CMO: Turn One Blog Post Into 30 Pieces of Content (Part 2) 12.06.2026 20min

Last week you built your AI COO. Now it's time to meet the other half of your executive team. In part two of this series, originally recorded for Jordan Gill's Systems Saved Me podcast, Erika walks you through building your AI Chief Marketing Officer. Think of her as a marketing powerhouse with decades of experience who just walked in on day one. She knows marketing cold, but she doesn't know you yet. So Erika shows you exactly how to brief her so the advice you get back is strategic and tailored, not generic. Here's what we cover: The Market Researcher: send your AI CMO to competitor sites, Reddit, and Facebook groups to learn your audience's real frustrations and the exact language they use The Content Strategist: turn one blog post into 30 platform-tailored pieces and build a real content ecosystem, not one-off posts The Data Analyst: drop in your podcast, email, or ad analytics and get clear, data-driven recommendations on what to make next The free CEO Cheat Codes app Erika vibe-coded to build custom strategic prompts, even if you don't have a formal brand strategy yet This is the big mindset shift: AI is a strategic partner, not a slot machine you pull for a caption a few times a week..Get in, brief your CMO, and watch what happens. Then keep building, because we believe every woman can be making custom solutions herself. Want a head start on part two? Grab Erika's free AI CMO custom GPT at ⁠aiqueens.com/cmo⁠. Ready to stop overthinking and start building? Sign up for our next AI Queens Buildathon at ⁠⁠aiqueens.com/build⁠⁠. Connect with Erika Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@erikatheaiqueen⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠AIQueens.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mile End Digital: ⁠⁠⁠⁠MileEndDigital.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ AI Queens Society Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠AI Queens Society

Stop Treating AI Like an Intern: How to Build an AI COO (Part 1) 04.06.2026 21min

You know you need systems. You've maybe even built a few SOPs. But what if you had a team member who actually ran those systems for you, handled the backend chaos, and never asked for a break? That's exactly what Erika is building in this episode, originally recorded for Jordan Gill's Systems Saved Me podcast. It's part one of a two-part series on turning AI from a scary tech tool (or a glorified intern) into your strategic AI C-suite. This week is all about your AI Chief Operating Officer. Here's what we get into: The Meeting Coordinator: drop your call transcripts into ChatGPT or Claude and get summaries, action items, and testimonial-worthy quotes in seconds The Document Analyst: upload PDFs, long emails, and reports to pull out only what you actually need to know The Project Manager: turn your late-night brain dump into a prioritized weekly plan (a game changer for the neuro-spicy crowd) The one prompt phrase that levels up every output you get from AI This isn't about working harder. It's about getting hours of your life back so you can focus on the work that grows your business, or honestly, just spend more time with the people you love. Try the project manager prompt right now, then come back next week when Erika builds out your AI CMO. Want a head start on part two? Grab Erika's free AI CMO custom GPT at aiqueens.com/cmo. Ready to stop overthinking and start building? Sign up for our next AI Queens Buildathon at ⁠aiqueens.com/build⁠. Connect with Erika Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@erikatheaiqueen⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠AIQueens.com⁠⁠⁠ Mile End Digital: ⁠⁠⁠MileEndDigital.com⁠⁠⁠ AI Queens Society Substack: ⁠⁠⁠AI Queens Society

AI Won't Kill Your Art. It Might Just Fund It (with Blume Bauer) 28.05.2026 55min

Queens, my guest today is Blume Bauer, a fine arts illustrator, creative business educator, and founder of The Yellow Studio, where she's spent 30 years teaching artists how to turn their craft into real income. Her whole vibe is slow living and big money, and she came in ready to challenge some of the things you might believe about AI and art. Here's the part that got me. Blume teaches artists to use AI for all the non-art stuff that running a business requires, the artist statements, the captions, the SEO, the product mock-ups, so they can get back in the studio and make the thing they love. And she makes a bold case that handmade art gets more valuable as AI grows, not less. Here's what we get into: Why the "AI is a demon coming for artists" myth misses the point entirely How AI handles the business stuff so you can spend more time creating The accessibility piece: how AI opens up art-making to people who couldn't make it before Why your years of honing your craft make you a better AI user, not an obsolete one How Blume turned a 90-day legging challenge into a sustainable print-on-demand business Here's what I want you to take away: AI doesn't replace your skill or your story. There's still a human in the loop, and that human is you. If you've been holding back because you think tech and creativity don't mix, consider this your nudge to just get in there and try it. Ready to stop overthinking and start building? Sign up for our next AI Queens Buildathon at aiqueens.com/build. Connect with Blume Bauer: Website: youryellowstudio.com Open Studio Community: youryellowstudio.com/open-studio-invite YouTube: youtube.com/blumebauer LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/blumebauer Everywhere else: @blumebauer Connect with Erika Instagram: ⁠⁠@erikatheaiqueen⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠AIQueens.com⁠⁠ Mile End Digital: ⁠⁠MileEndDigital.com⁠⁠ AI Queens Society Substack: ⁠⁠AI Queens Society

Stop Burning Through Claude: 12 Smarter Habits for Building with AI 21.05.2026 29min

If you've made the jump from ChatGPT to Claude and keep slamming into the token wall mid-project, you are not alone. It's the conversation Erika keeps having at AI Business World, after workshops, and in networking event side chats. Claude is genuinely one of the most powerful AI tools out there right now, but if you don't know how it actually uses tokens under the hood, you'll burn through your usage way faster than you expect. In this episode, Erika breaks down what tokens really are (think fuel in a gas tank), why long conversations compound against you, and 12 habits you can start stacking today so you can stay in Claude and actually get your work done without bouncing back and forth like a pinball between Claude and other LLMs. What we cover: The single highest-leverage habit: editing your original message instead of piling on corrections Why every new message in a long chat costs you more tokens than the last one The PDF problem nobody talks about and how to fix it with Adobe Acrobat's AI Assistant One topic, one chat: why scope discipline saves your usage (and the planet) How to use Projects, batching, and smart timing to stretch every token If you can just do a few of these, it's going to make a huge difference. Once they click and become part of your routine, Claude stops feeling like it's fighting you and starts working like the strategic partner it's actually meant to be. Mentioned in this episode: Check out Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant: ⁠Get started with AI prompts for Acrobat AI Assistant⁠ Sign up for the next AI Queens Buildathon: ⁠aiqueens.com/build⁠ Connect with Erika Instagram: ⁠@erikatheaiqueen⁠ Website: ⁠AIQueens.com⁠ Mile End Digital: ⁠MileEndDigital.com⁠ AI Queens Society Substack: ⁠AI Queens Society

AI Can't Fix a Mess: How to Adopt AI Responsibly (Without Losing Sight of the People You Serve) 14.05.2026 29min

This week, Erika sits down with Jasmine Schwarz, founder of Schwarz Strategic Services and an AI stewardship consultant who helps nonprofits adopt technology responsibly, ethically, and without losing sight of the people they serve. Jasmine came to AI through sociology, healthcare, finance, and nonprofits, and she brings a perspective that cuts straight through the influencer noise. The two of them get into the BS being sold by AI influencers, what governance actually means (hint: it's not just regulation), why AI amplifies whatever you already have going on, and how to start adopting AI in a way that protects the people you're trying to serve. What we cover The biggest AI lie being sold right now and who actually profits from it Why "if the tool is free, your data is the fee" and what to do about it What AI governance really means, starting with people, then policies, then institutions Why AI can't fix messy systems, it just turns up the volume on the chaos Setting limits so you don't lose five hours hyper-focusing on one AI feature If you've been hesitant to adopt AI because it feels icky, overwhelming, or like one more thing on the pile, this conversation is going to give you a grounded, human-first way back in. Start with your people, clean up your documentation, and find a community where you can be the fifth grader to someone else's fourth grader. Ready to start exploring AI in a hype-free space? Join the AI Queens Society at AIQueens.com and learn alongside other women who are figuring this out together. Connect with Jasmine LinkedIn: Jasmine Schwarz Connect with Erika Instagram: @erikatheaiqueen Website: AIQueens.com Mile End Digital: MileEndDigital.com AI Queens Society Substack: AI Queens Society

What Real Businesses Are Actually Solving With AI Right Now (Live From SMMW) 07.05.2026 25min

Fresh off the stage at Social Media Marketing World and AI Business World in Southern California, Erika is bringing you straight to the conference floor. In this episode, she sits down with a handful of attendees to ask the one question that matters most: what is the real problem you're most excited to solve with AI when you get back to work? From a restaurant marketer using AI as a strategic sounding board, to a nonprofit marketing director ready to ditch the copy-paste chaos, to an AI operator cleaning up her skills library — the answers are as varied as they are inspiring. Plus, Erika wraps up with a longer conversation with her friend and colleague Rhiannon Frans about automation, solopreneur autonomy, and why the people with the most freedom to experiment with AI might not be who you think. If you've been waiting for permission to point AI at a real problem in your business, this episode is it. Links mentioned in this episode: Download the AI CMO: aiqueens.com/cmo Erika's episode with Michael Stelzner: Building an AI CMO That Becomes Your Strategic Marketing Partner Connect with Rhiannon here: https://rhiannonfranz.com/ And find her on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RhiannonFranz Connect with Erika: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikatheaiqueen/ AI Consultancy: https://www.aiqueens.com/ Branding & Web Agency: https://www.mileenddigital.com/ Join the AI Queens Society: https://aiqueens.substack.com/