"Tasks we'd never attempted before — like analyzing 800 different websites — are manageable now. The effort-to-impact ratio has changed significantly."
— Wes Gay, Certified StoryBrand Copywriter & Entrepreneur
The Challenge
Wes Gay, a Certified StoryBrand Copywriter and entrepreneur, had built a highly effective working relationship with his BELAY Executive Assistant Jodi Reiter — and that very success made both of them skeptical of disrupting it with AI. Wes, a self-described technology enthusiast, was particularly cautious about chasing hype over substance.
"The challenge has become figuring out what is actually useful versus what is a shiny object. AI is just a tool, and the best tools are ones that solve a real problem. Otherwise, they're just toys that become giant distractions."
Jodi shared her own reservations. The idea of handing meaningful work over to an automated system felt like a step backward, not forward.
"I didn't want to give over my work to a bot. It's a little bit like when a boss hesitates to delegate to an employee — thinking, 'I can just handle it myself.' But once we dug deeper, we started to see how useful they could be for saving time and fitting into our daily workflow."
Together, Wes and Jodi recognized that the right framework wasn't "what can this new tool do?" — it was "what existing problem can it solve?" That shift in mindset became the foundation for everything that followed.
The Solution
With BELAY's philosophy of thoughtful, AI-enabled delegation as their guide, Wes and Jodi began selectively integrating a set of tools — each matched to a specific pain point in their workflow.
Jodi used ChatGPT to tackle data-heavy tasks that once consumed her day.
"Something like formatting a spreadsheet would have taken up half of my day, but it only takes 10 minutes with ChatGPT."She also ran their client database through the tool to surface patterns — identifying that 80% of their healthcare clients fell into just two verticals, an insight that directly shaped their next marketing campaign.
For content creation, Wes relied on Jasper to rapidly generate and refine copy — from webinar descriptions to marketing offers — shaving hours off the drafting process. Zapier handled automation on two fronts: sending articles from Wes's browser to ChatGPT for instant summaries, and transcribing his voice memos into organized action items for Jodi. For long-form analysis, they turned to Claude, which can process up to 75,000 words at a time, enabling tasks like extracting key insights from entire books.
Throughout, their approach stayed grounded in the same principle BELAY champions:
"It really comes down to what BELAY is all about, which is delegation. You have to be really clear and specific."
"At first, it was hard to let go. But I've realized that what comes back isn't perfect — it needs my touch. That balance gives me control and ensures it's done right."
— Wes Gay, Certified StoryBrand Copywriter & EntrepreneurThe Impact
Integrating AI tools didn't just make Wes and Jodi faster — it expanded the boundaries of what they could accomplish altogether. Projects that once seemed out of reach became routine.
"Tasks we'd never attempted before — like analyzing 800 different websites — are manageable now. The effort-to-impact ratio has changed significantly."
Work that previously took hours now takes minutes, freeing Wes and Jodi to focus on the strategic, high-value initiatives that actually move the business forward. And critically, the efficiency gains have not come at the expense of quality. Jodi's professional judgment and trained editorial eye ensure that every AI-assisted output still meets the standard their clients expect.
"At first, it was hard to let go. But I've realized that what comes back isn't perfect — it needs my touch. That balance gives me control and ensures it's done right."
For Wes, the experience reinforced a simple but powerful lesson about sustainable AI adoption:
"My advice is to be a crockpot — not a microwave. Find the problems in your organization and choose the AI tools that can help. Take your time."