157: "You've Probably Just Scratched the Surface of AI" ft. Justin Coats

This conversation shifts from theory to reality.

Erik and Justin move beyond what AI could do and into how it actually works today—and more importantly, how most people are using it wrong without realizing it.

From hidden settings that quietly degrade performance to the emergence of AI agents that can act on your behalf, this episode exposes a new layer of the AI conversation: your results are only as good as your setup.

The big unlock? AI isn’t just a tool anymore—it’s becoming a customizable digital counterpart. But if you haven’t built it that way, you’re leaving massive value on the table.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

• The hidden “fast answers” setting that breaks personalization
• Why most users don’t realize their AI performance has degraded
• The importance of custom instructions + memory in AI workflows
• Why AI should be treated as a partner, not a tool
• The rise of AI agents and what makes them different from automation
• “Agency” vs. “deterministic workflows” explained simply
• Real-world examples of agents replacing repetitive business tasks
• Why benchmarks don’t actually tell you if a model is better
• The growing gap between AI capability and human adoption
• How to stay updated in a world where AI changes weekly

💡 Key Takeaways

• Your AI is only as good as how you’ve set it up
• Default settings can quietly ruin your results
• Customization is the difference between mediocre and powerful AI
• Agents introduce a new level: AI that acts, not just responds
• Humans—not technology—are still the bottleneck

❓ Questions That Mattered

• Do you actually know how your AI is configured?
• Are you using AI as a shortcut—or as a thinking partner?
• What would change if your AI truly understood you?
• Are you relying on outputs you don’t fully trust?
• What tasks could you hand off if AI had real “agency”?
• Are you keeping up with AI—or falling behind quietly?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

• “Your results are only as good as your setup.”
• “Most people don’t even know these settings exist.”
• “We teach people to treat AI like a digital counterpart.”
• “Agents can go from zero to 100% on a task.”
• “The bottleneck isn’t the tech—it’s how we use it.”

🔗 Links & Resources

• Check out LearnAir™, Justin's Company: www.learnair.com
• Follow Justin on LinkedIn