Is it possible to transform a 20-year-old bootstrapped company into an AI powerhouse? Aytekin Tank, founder of Jotform, reveals the “cheat codes” he used to scale to 30 million users and revolutionize his own business with AI agents. Discover how Jotform went from building simple forms to developing sophisticated AI that resolves 75% of customer support inquiries automatically. This episode is a masterclass in product evolution, leveraging user feedback, and the future of AI-driven customer interaction for any business owner looking to innovate and automate.
Find our guest here:
Website: Jotform.com
Book: Automate Your Busywork
LinkedIn: Aytekin Tank on LinkedIn
What You'll Learn in the Episode:
The Genesis of Jotform: How Aytekin’s experience as a developer led to the creation of a 30-million-user company.
The "Cheat Code" Philosophy: How using your own product and leveraging a massive user base provides an unparalleled advantage in development.
From Forms to AI Agents: The surprising user behavior that pivoted Jotform from an AI form-filler to a full-fledged AI agent platform.
Dogfooding to Perfection: How Jotform became its own biggest customer to increase its AI's support resolution rate from 25% to 75% in just three months.
The RAG Revolution: The critical role of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and the specific tech that unlocked a 10% jump in resolution rates.
Automating Laziness: Why understanding user laziness is the key to designing powerful and effective website chatbots and AI tools.
The Future of Websites: Aytekin's vision for "v3" of the web, where AI agents become the primary interface for every business.
Email Automation Mastery: The 3-label system Aytekin uses to cut down his email processing time to just 1 hour daily.
Key Takeaways:
Being your own biggest user is a "cheat code." It allows you to identify and fix problems faster than any feedback loop, directly benefiting your entire user base.
Pay close attention to unexpected user behavior. 90% of Jotform's early AI users ignored the main feature and used the chatbot, revealing a massive market opportunity.
True customer preference isn't for human support; it's for quick support. A well-trained AI can provide the instant gratification that builds customer loyalty.
Automate laziness. People don't want to search your website; they want to ask a question. An AI chatbot turns this "laziness" into a powerful tool for user research and engagement.
The biggest gains in AI performance often come from foundational technology choices, like the right RAG and vector database solution.
Implement a strict email prioritization system. By categorizing emails into priority levels, you can focus your attention on what truly matters and reclaim hours of your day.
Every business, regardless of size, can have its own "ChatGPT" to serve its customers 24/7, handling everything from sales to complex support inquiries.
Chapters:
00:00 The Two "Cheat Codes" for a Successful Product
02:12 The Origin: Solving a Developer's Repetitive Task
04:02 How Internal Hack Weeks Led to AI Agents
05:45 Users Wanted a Chatbot, Not an AI Form-Filler
08:24 Dogfooding: How Jotform Became Its Own Biggest AI Customer
10:11 The 3-Month Journey from 25% to 75% AI Resolution Rate
12:28 How They Pinpointed and Solved AI Failures
13:48 The Power of RAG: How New Tech Caused a 10% Jump in Success
15:20 Building API Tools for the AI to Use
17:55 Leveraging 30 Million Existing Users
19:22 The #1 Use Case: Automating "User Laziness" on Websites
22:42 The Future of Websites is AI-Powered
25:05 Why Every Business Needs Its Own "ChatGPT" for Customers
27:51 Beyond Support: Using AI for Sales and Lead Generation
30:47 Getting Internal Buy-In for a Massive AI Transformation
34:54 How to Save 5 Hours a Day on Email with a 3-Label System
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