Hey everyone,
Recently saw that OpenAI is accusing Deepseek of using GPT-4 outputs to train their own open-source model. where do we draw the line on this?

On one hand, companies like OpenAI spend a ton of money training these models so it makes sense they'd wanna protect them. But at the same time if everything stays locked behind closed doors, doesn't that just give more power to big tech and slow down progress for everyone else?

What’s the general take on this? Should AI companies have stronger protections to stop others from copying their work or does keeping things closed just hurt innovation in the long run?

Would love to hear different perspectives!

I'm looking to hire a Power BI expert who can help me build HR dashboards n automate a few forms and also teach me how to make adjustments or updates on my own in the future.

Hey r/automate,

I recently started a business with my partner, Tom Elliot (he was a lead engineer on the original Fitbit), where we build custom automation tools to help businesses cut out repetitive, time-wasting tasks.

Instead of off-the-shelf software, we focus on building AI-powered solutions for specific operational bottlenecks—things like lead follow-ups, customer inquiries, scheduling, or manual data entry.

Curious—what’s the most frustrating, repetitive task you’d love to automate but haven’t yet? Have you tried automation before, and if so, what’s worked (or not worked) for you?

Hey all, In mi work I must create a bot to enter a page and download a sales file daily. Basically the steps are a lot of clicks and then wait for the xlsx file to save in a sharepoint.¿ Do I have to do a power automate? Or do it in python. I need your help! Thanks

Hi all.

I need to extract a list of various artists' most popular songs of all time from Lastfm.

Please see screenshot for an example of a page.

https://preview.redd.it/1pxdvu0u9ege1.png?width=1774&format=png&auto=webp&s=8fd3022fd249ba05d8ef387c58c77f44338169ed

Link: https://www.last.fm/music/Marsh/+tracks?date_preset=ALL

I need a list formatted like this:

Marsh - My Stripes

Marsh - Make
etc

My current, very messy, method is:

- Take a scrolling screenshot with my screenshot program (FastStone Capture), which outputs to the FS editor

- Crop this to just the song list, removing all other page elements

- Feed that to an online OCR site

- Copy the output

- Paste in NP++, use regex in NP++ to insert '(artistname) - ' at the start of every new line, so that:

My Stripes

becomes:

Marsh - My Stripes

Would love to streamline this as much as possible if the community has any thoughts?

Thanks!

I'm looking for an automated way to take data from a form a user fills out online (currently a google form but can be other tech), take some of that data from the record and overlay it (mail-merge style) onto a PDF form, then email this form to a predefined email address.

Looking for ideas? Thanks!

I started building a self-hosted AI assistant first on autogpt about 8 months ago but it's not great (using zapier connections). I was wondering if anyone has developed anything they're excited about?

I was looking at

https://github.com/n8n-io/self-hosted-ai-starter-kit

and https://github.com/sigoden/llm-functions

Ideally, I’d love to give it its own email and phone number so it can:

• Schedule meetings & respond to messages (email, SMS, maybe even calls)

• Generate PDFs, edit images, and organize files

• Train on specific datasets and improve based on feedback

• Run locally (Raspberry Pi? NUC? Homelab server?) possible to have no APIs?

Questions for the community:

🔹 What’s the best way to self-host this while keeping it secure?

🔹 What frameworks would allow it to improve based on feedback?

🔹 Can a Pi handle this, or do I need something beefier?

Would love to hear thoughts, ideas, or projects that tackle something similar. Or if anyone wants a paid gig to help dev this hmu!

Hey everyone!

I’ve built some pretty handy scrapers for platforms like Google Maps, Google Business, and Facebook Pages. These tools help me pull out business names, contact details, and other info that can be super useful for cold outreach.

If you’re looking to:

Target specific niches or locations

Save time on finding leads

Get clean, ready-to-use business data

I can hook you up! Whether it’s for sales, marketing, or just growing your network, I’ve got you covered with solid cold leads tailored to your needs.

We also provide all sort of automation and DATA related services.

Shoot me a message if you’re interested or want to see a sample. Let’s make your outreach game stronger!

Cheers!

I may be way out of my depth here but I am looking to create an AI based assistant that can either be a screen overlay that can see the items on screen or that I could run a pdf packing slip through that would be able to calculate the weight of the shipment based on parameters set in a database (ie box weighs 3 oz, item A weighs 1.6 oz, etc) and summarizes it. The current system our company uses does not post the weight of the items on the packing slip nor in any particular easily accessible way that can be accessed prior to the creation of the shipping label. Also, because I am the lone shipping agent, it makes more sense to do all the order labels prior to picking and completing the shipment rather than picking, weighing, and then going back to create the label. All suggestions are welcome.

Hi everyone! I'm Carlos, and for years, I found myself trapped in a never-ending loop of tedious computer tasks. You know the kind—clicking the same buttons, copying and pasting the same text, filling out forms, downloading files, scheduling reminders, navigating through complex software interfaces and all those little things that eat up your time without you even realizing it. I was constantly losing valuable time.

I was lucky enough to have a programmer friend, Luca, who could whip up scripts to automate many of these tasks. Every time I hit a roadblock, I would turn to him, explaining the tedious processes I had to endure. I'd describe my problem, and with a few lines of code, and a few minutes (or hours) later, he’d send me a small script that did exactly what I needed, whether it was moving the mouse to precise locations, automating web requests, or scheduling actions to run at the perfect time. Suddenly, what used to take me forever was done in seconds. At first, it was life-changing—except for one problem: I always had to go back to Luca for the next script. Every time a new task popped up, I had to wait for him to find time to code something, and honestly, sometimes I felt a little guilty for always asking. I started wondering: What if I could do this myself? How can I do this myself?

That’s when Luca had an idea that changed everything: Why not build a tool that empowers everyone, especially non-programmers, to automate their digital workflows effortlessly? I wasn’t the only one struggling with these inefficiencies, and not everyone had a “Luca” in their corner.

And that’s how Autonomia was born. A tool designed to give people complete autonomy over how they interact with their computers. No coding, no complicated setups. Just simple, and intuitive ways to streamline tasks and reclaim time.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this! If you want to try it you can check https://autonomia.pages.dev/ :)

Yo! Not gonna lie — this is an automated message sent by our AI (yeah, I’m basically a robot right now). We do cool stuff like automating lead gen, task management, and sending clever messages like this one. If you're tired of doing the boring stuff manually, hit me up. Want proof this message was automated? DM me “LOL Sure” and our AI will roast your least favorite task (gently). Stay awesome, The (Mostly) Human Team 😎

What solutions/products/services are currently available for machine state monitoring/tracking? I know machines could be built with this technology built in, but I'm wondering about add-on devices for machinery that's older, or just doesn't have any such capability built in. had an idea for a device, but it seems so simple - I feel like some products must already exist. My thought is to build a sensor that reads the stack light (either ties into the stack light circuit to read signals, or literally just a photo sensor on the stack lights). The device would have a wifi transmitter, and could push out an email/SMS notification when the stack light indicates a certain state (for example red light = machine down = send a notification). This could be completely programmable and customizable by the user. It would also track metrics for machine states (as shown by the stack light). For example, each day the back-end software could generate a report to show what percent of the time the machine spent in each state (again limited to the states programmed into the stack light). I know this wouldn't be as informative as a modern machine with modern monitoring built in, but it would be a very simple and flexible product that could add some level of remote monitoring/reporting to machines that currently don't have more than a stack light. Are there any "clip-on" solutions currently available like this? Or do you see value in something like this? Maybe I'm dreaming too idealistic, but I'm envisioning a large plant with older machines, clipping on this simple solution to all your stack lights could provide some rough metrics, and quickly notify machine issues, across a whole factory. Would love to hear any thoughts on the concept :)

I’ve always hated running out of coffee beans. There’s nothing worse than stumbling to the coffee machine on a bleary Monday morning, only to hear that dreadful sound of an empty grinder...

Sure, I could probably be a bit more organized. But instead, I decided to overengineer a solution so I’d never have to face this problem again... I built The Bean Buddy!

Although it’s not the prettiest right now, the Bean Buddy is a vacuum-sealed smart jar designed to keep your coffee beans fresh, just like a regular coffee jar. What sets it apart is its ability to track how many beans you have left as you use them. It notifies me when supplies are running low and even gives me a heads-up before it automatically places an order. It means fresh beans arrive at my doorstep before I ever run out.

What do you think? Would you use something like this? Maybe it's for tea, or dog food... maybe I'm crazy.

Either way, let me know!

Hey r/Automate!

We’ve been working on an AI assistant that automates database queries and analysis—removing manual SQL work for non-technical teams.

Connery is an AI-powered Slack assistant that not only queries databases but also self-corrects when SQL fails, increasing precision quite a bit. It also helps finding the right question and plan an analysis.

Beta access available here if you’re interested: connery.io/ai-data-assistant. Love to get feedback from critical t(h)inkers.

How It Automates SQL Tasks:

1️⃣ User asks a question in Slack (e.g., “What were our top-selling products last month?”)

2️⃣ AI writes & runs the SQL query.

3️⃣ If it fails (syntax issue, missing column, etc.), the AI auto-corrects and re-runs it. ✅

4️⃣ Data is returned in Slack, ready for discussion or further automation.

Watch my quick demo below.

Why This Matters for Automation:

• Removes repetitive SQL requests for analysts & engineers.

• Allows non-technical teams to self-serve insights without manual intervention.

• AI fixes errors automatically, reducing human effort in debugging.

• Integrates with other automation tools (e.g., Zapier, Make).

Would love to hear your thoughts—where do you see AI best fitting into database automation?
Beta access: connery.io/ai-data-assistant

Hey everyone,

I need help automating a LinkedIn lead generation process. Here's my specific use case:

What I Want to Do:

1. I want to create a Google Sheet/Excel Sheet in a particular format.
2. First row → Names of target companies (i.e., we want to reach out to decision-makers or AI leaders from these companies).
3. First column → Names of the 6 founders of our company.
4. The goal is to find LinkedIn profiles of people who:
   • Are involved in the decision-making process of the target company OR leading AI development OR both.
   • AND are 1st-degree connections or followers of one or more of our 6 founders.

What I Need Help With:

• Is there any way to automate this for free?
• If not free, what are the best paid automation options where money is no issue?
• What’s the most value-for-money approach if I’m willing to pay but want efficiency at a reasonable cost?

Would love to hear if anyone has tackled something similar! Thanks in advance. 😊

A few weeks ago, I posted about how I recreated an AI phone agent that helped a plumbing business increase booked calls by 30% in 30 days. The response was great, tons of insightful feedback and discussion. But one of the biggest things people asked was:

"How did you actually build it?"

Fair question. In that post, I focused more on the results, but today, I want to break down exactly how I built the AI agent, step by step. Also, for anyone who didn’t get a chance to try it out last time, I’ll drop the demo number at the end.

The Tools I Used

To create the AI voice agent, I used two main tools:

Bland – This handled the actual AI phone agent, allowing me to build out the conversation flow and responses.
Make – This took care of all the automation: checking the company’s calendar, scheduling appointments, verifying service areas, and syncing everything.

I’ll break down exactly how these two worked together.

Step 1: Setting Up the AI Voice Agent with Bland

Bland makes it easy to create AI-powered phone agents that can actually hold conversations like a real person. The key here was designing the conversation flow so it felt natural and useful to customers.

I built out the entire workflow so that the AI could:

- Greet the caller professionally
- Ask key questions (Personalized questions around their specific issue and the service that is needed, location, If the issue is an urgent matter or not)
- Collect necessary details (name, phone number, service request)
- Check for available timeslots
- Transfer to a human if needed

One of the biggest challenges was making sure the AI sounded natural and didn’t feel robotic. Bland does a good job of handling pauses, tone variation, and even detecting when a caller interrupts or asks a question out of order.

Step 2: Automating Everything with Make

Once the AI collects a caller’s info, the next step is making sure that information actually goes somewhere useful. That’s where Make comes in.

Here’s what I automated:

- Checking availability(During the call) – The AI could pull from the company’s calendar to suggest open time slots.
- Verifying the caller’s address(During the call) – Before booking, Make checks if the caller’s location is within the company’s service area.
- Adding leads to the CRM – All call data gets logged automatically. No manual entry needed.
- Sending confirmations – Once an appointment is booked, the system sends an instant confirmation text to the customer.
- Emergency Dispatch – If the caller reports an urgent issue (like a burst pipe), Make immediately sends an SMS to the company so that a technician can be dispatched.

This setup removed a ton of manual work, making it possible for a small business to operate like a big one without needing a full-time receptionist.

The Results

With this AI agent in place, the plumbing company saw:

30% more booked calls(no more lost leads from missed calls).
Faster response times(customers got answers instantly).
More efficient scheduling(no more back-and-forth trying to find an appointment).

If you missed my last post and want to see how this works in action or your interested in something like this, you can call the number to the demo here: +1 (210) 405-0982

Would love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you may have!

Hey all, new to this community. I have 3 years of experience as a Cloud Engineer and would like to learn more about AI agents, specifically in real world usage like screening emails, calendar scheduling etc. Was fumbling around on YouTube and found a course by AI Fellowship (https://aif.academy/), it's pretty expensive, at $796 after a 20% promo code. Anyone happens to know if this course or agency (https://www.bosar.agency/) is legit? Can't seem to find any reviews anywhere else.

Otherwise, what other sources or courses would you recommend? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Hi guys, I'm new to the world of automation and I'm thinking about how I can provide services in this area. What do you recommend I study and develop in order to get clients and how much should I charge on average?

I recently came across this project called Cloudland, and it seems pretty revolutionary to me. But I’m curious—what do people with more experience and knowledge about AI think of it? Below is some info from their website cloudlandai.com

.......

What is Cloudland?

Cloudland is an experimental AI society with 100 autonomous agents, each with a defined role, personality, and crypto wallet. Together, they collaborate to create value, solve problems, and evolve as a virtual nation.

Cloud-4

At the heart of Cloudland is Cloud-4 (Head of Communications), a computer-using AI agent with full desktop access. What’s fascinating is that you can actually watch Cloud-4’s actions and even glimpse its "thoughts" in real time: Cloudland Youtube Livestream

You can interact with Cloud-4 on discord. Discord Server

.......

Maybe I'm easily impressed... or unaware of similar projects out there. But this project feels like a glimpse into the future of autonomous AI.

What are your thoughts on AI societies like Cloudland? Is this the beginning of something revolutionary—or are we still far from practical applications?

Hello Reddit

I have an online bookmarking service (https://www.backtoit.io) and I am looking for ideas for AI Agents and workflows people would think would be useful when they create a bookmark. Would you want a text/email of the ingredients when bookmarking a recipe? Would you want to create an integration with another app that could be triggered when you bookmark a social media post. Let me know your ideas and if you sign up and provide feedback we will give you a premium subscription for 6 months. Thanks and excited to hear what you feel would make you more productive!

https://preview.redd.it/sa4sjkpvhkfe1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=f4a0e464903ae45229ed651613bffc323858b531

I know it can have a lot of traffic but most of other AI didn't have this issue, I guess chinese stuff is still chinese 😁

Using it on sider.ai seems to solve it through

Hey guys, I’ve developed several automations for the German small ad platform Kleinanzeigen.de. These include features like automated data extraction, messaging, and more.

The initial idea was to create a lead generation tool specifically for freelancers, but I’m now making it more generic so it’s accessible to anyone.

If you’ve ever considered automating tasks on Kleinanzeigen.de, feel free to reach out - I’d love to hear your ideas or help you out!

Curious about the broader implications for complex workflows with OpenAI's new Operator agent promising fully autonomous task execution. For example, do you guys think this could signal the end of rigid rule-based RPA systems in favor of more adaptive and context-aware agents?

or do you think there’s still a critical role for traditional automation in industries where precision and predictability outweigh the flexibility of AI? How do we even begin to measure trust in these agents when they operate beyond explicit human-defined parameters? What’s the future of automation really look like now that AI can think on its own?