johnmaconline

Back to this one.

So are we there with AI Agents? If I build the right agent (still a software development task, not a basic user UI task), could I actually make autobizinabox.ai a reality?

TL;DR — Not yet, but AI Agents get us much closer.

What It Probably Can Do Now

• Launch the shell company: register a business name, get EIN, set up banking, basic bookkeeping & tax setup (via APIs).
• Buy a domain, spin up a simple website, and generate starter content.
• Create social media handles, draft posts, and schedule campaigns.
• Propose ad strategies, set up initial ad campaigns using targeting heuristics.
• Draft product variants and positioning.
• Generate basic CAD mockups or technical sketches.
• Automate order routing, shipping estimate logic, and integration with third‑party logistics systems.

All of that could be possible, but it’s an ambitious software development task (which does make it a good project idea). Plus, I’m very skeptical of the quality of its generative abilities at this time. In fact, there is no way generative AI is up to the task yet. 

What It Can’t Do (Yet)

• Business, specifically the types of business interfaces required for freakthefishout.com (ie, supply chain, etc), is still about relationships. Humans interacting. Especially B2B interfaces. 
• Testing the products. OK, maybe an Optimus grabs a sample, walks down to the local pond…Forget it. Not yet. 
• Manufacturing quality control. Not on something like this. Maybe on something less physical.   
• Replace genuine human trust, relationships, or brand reputation built over time with customers.
• Create marketing that deeply resonates without human iteration, feedback, cultural nuance, or adaptation. 
• Manage the inevitable breakages in the supply chain. Supply chain providers still have desk phones. Who’s gonna call? Who do they call?  
• Manage regulatory complexity, compliance subtleties, contracts, disputes, or legal risk across borders. Governments are still humans. 
• What happens when the BassBlaster+ breaks in the field? 

To be honest, there are a host of others as well. Some of these will likely move to the “it’s possible” category over time, but it will require not just better AI (specifically generative AI), but also a cultural transition on the business side. Humans still run business. Especially B2B business. 

autoboxinabiz.ai is still in my “business ideas” list, but we’re not yet ready to shop it on Sand Hill Rd. 

Until agents, AI interaction was single-task oriented. 

You told it who it was (”You’re an expert tech marketing copy writer”) and gave it something to do (”take the provided background material about our company and product and develop a landing page in html for our product. We’re B2B, and the audience for the landing page is leadership.”)

Within that single task, the AI engine may do a few things (read the material, summarize it, find the parts for our audience, do its marketing thingy, and then generate html), but they were all directly related to a single request, and it has been provided with all of the information or told how to get all of the information.

An AI Agent can string a bunch of those requests together, including making decisions and finding the information it needs, like a person. 

Here’s a great example:

Prompt: “Look at my Google Calendar and find a time for a 30-minute meeting with Sarah in the next 2 weeks.”

Before agent functionality, you would have to do the following to make it work:

1. Open your Google Calendar (and Sarah’s if she shared it).
2. Check your availability (or screenshot your calendar and give it to the AI).
3. Ask the AI to draft a message for the invitation
4. You create and send that invitation (email, calendar invite, etc)

Now, the agent can do all of the following:

1. Access your Google Calendar itself.
2. Find availability.
3. Consider constraints such as travel time.
4. Ask you about preferences, such as when you typically like to meet.
5. Propose some times.
6. Actually book the meeting.

It’s now a handoff. Delegation in addition to automation. 

This is how we move toward organizational automation. 

Remember, the goal is to have AI work for you, or you’ll be working for AI. 

A while back, I wrote a little story about you, Mr. Fancy Pants, and how AI can take your innovative fishing rig idea and turn it into a full-blown business.

AI can’t yet do everything in that story, but now the framework is in place. That framework is called an “AI Agent.”

The best way to think of an AI Agent is that it’s the person who orchestrates all of the steps. It’s the conductor of the symphony. In an assembly line manufacturing system, it’s the conveyor belt. In an office, it’s the office manager who runs the ship. 

The AI Agent is the glue that pulls it all together — the connector. It can allocate tasks, serialize tasks, make decisions, and solve problems. 

By the way, AutoBizInABox.ai is available. I’m thinking about sucking it up. 

Maybe you should beat me to it.