How I AI

Alexander Embiricos, the product lead for Codex at OpenAI, shares practical workflows for getting the most out of this AI coding agent. In this episode, he demonstrates how both non-technical users and experienced engineers can leverage Codex to accelerate development, from making simple code changes to building production-ready applications. Alex walks through real examples of using Codex in VS Code and terminal environments, implementing parallel workflows with Git worktrees, and creating detailed implementation plans for complex projects. He also reveals how OpenAI uses Codex internally, including how they built the Sora Android app in just 28 days, and offers insights on automated code review and the future of AI-assisted development.What you’ll learn:How to set up and use Codex in VS Code and terminal environments for both simple and complex coding tasksA practical workflow for running multiple Codex instances in parallel using Git worktrees to avoid conflictsHow to create detailed implementation plans using the Plans.md technique for complex engineering projectsWhy context is critical when prompting Codex—and how to provide the right information for better resultsHow OpenAI uses automated code review to accelerate development while maintaining high quality standardsThe key differences between vibe coding for prototypes versus building production-ready applications with AIHow the new GPT-5.2 model improves Codex’s capabilities with faster reasoning and better problem-solving—Brought to you by:Brex—The intelligent finance platform built for foundersGraphite—Your AI code review platform—Detailed workflow walkthrough from this episode:https://chatprd.ai/how-i-ai/advanced-codex-workflows-with-openai-alex-embiricos—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Alex and Codex(02:06) Getting started with Codex(04:54) Using Codex for parallel tasks(07:34) Understanding Git worktrees(09:51) Terminal shortcuts and command-line efficiency(12:16) How OpenAI built the Sora Android app with Codex(15:37) Using PLANS.md for problem solving(17:57) The importance of high agency(22:22) Deciding between what needs a plan and what doesn’t(26:42) How to multiply the impact of Codex(28:08) Implementing automated code review with GitHub(31:58) Delivering the benefits of AGI to all humanity(34:35) Accelerating developer productivity(36:38) Recap and final thoughts—Tools referenced:• Codex: https://openai.com/blog/openai-codex• VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/• Cursor: https://cursor.com/• Git: https://git-scm.com/• GitHub: https://github.com/• Atlas: https://openai.com/atlas• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/• Slack: https://slack.com/• Linear: https://linear.app/—Other references:• Sora Android app: https://openai.com/blog/sora• GPT-5.2 model: https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-2/• SWE-bench: https://openai.com/index/introducing-swe-bench-verified/—Where to find Alexander Embiricos:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/embiricoX: https://x.com/embirico—Where to find Claire Vo:ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/Website: https://clairevo.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/X: https://x.com/clairevo—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Wade Foster is the co-founder and CEO of Zapier. In this episode, Wade shows how he uses meeting transcripts, Zapier agents, and even Grok to analyze company culture, evaluate interview candidates, and source talent from unexpected places. He explains why CEOs need to lead by example when it comes to AI adoption and shares practical workflows that any executive can implement to make hiring more effective and efficient.What you’ll learn:How to use meeting transcripts to extract your company’s “unspoken culture” and compare it against your stated valuesA workflow for creating AI interview evaluators that assess candidates against your job descriptions and company valuesHow to use Zapier agents to provide objective feedback on candidate interviews while checking your own biasesWhy CEOs should participate in AI “hackathons” and “show and tells” rather than just delegating AI adoptionA surprising technique for using Grok to find “diamonds in the rough” talent outside traditional recruiting channelsHow AI enables companies to complete tasks that were previously not economically viable—This entire episode is brought to you by:Brex—The intelligent finance platform built for founders—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Wade Foster(02:32) Zapier’s AI adoption(06:50) Creating AI fluency rubrics(08:37) Using Granola to extract company culture from meeting transcripts(10:49) Practical use cases for company culture rubrics(13:38) Building an AI interview evaluation agent in Zapier(16:50) Using Copilot to improve agent prompts(18:49) Ideas for enhancing the interview agent(22:31) Mistakes people make when using agents(25:11) Using Grok to find talent on social media platforms(33:39) Recap of AI workflows for recruiting and hiring(34:40) Lightning round and final thoughts—Tools referenced:• Zapier: https://zapier.com/• Zapier Agents: https://zapier.com/agents• Granola: https://granola.ai/• Grok: https://grok.x.ai/• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/• Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/—Other references:• Zapier values: https://zapier.com/about• How Zapier’s EA built an army of AI interns to automate meeting prep, strengthen team culture, and scale internal alignment | Cortney Hickey: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-zapiers-ea-built-an-army-of-ai• How this CEO turned 25,000 hours of sales calls into a self-learning go-to-market engine | Matt Britton (Suzy): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-this-ceo-turned-25000-hours-of—Where to find Wade Foster:Zapier: https://zapier.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadefoster/X: https://twitter.com/wadefoster—Where to find Claire Vo:ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/Website: https://clairevo.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/X: https://x.com/clairevo—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Rachel Wolan, the chief product officer at Webflow, has embraced AI not just as a product leader but as a hands-on builder. A coder since age 16, Rachel has returned to her technical roots by creating a custom AI chief-of-staff application that helps manage her executive workload. In this episode, she demonstrates how she uses personal AI software to prep for meetings, triage her calendar, manage emails, and even get brutally honest feedback about how she’s spending her time.What you’ll learn:How Rachel built a custom AI chief-of-staff application that integrates with her calendar, email, and moreWhy building personal software can be a gateway to understanding AI’s capabilities for executivesHow her AI agents help her prep for podcasts, dinners, and meetings with just-in-time informationThe technical approach to building personal AI software using markdown files, API tokens, and multiple LLM interfacesHow Rachel organized company-wide “builder days” that dramatically increased AI tool adoption across her organizationWhy she believes executives must lead by example in AI adoption to authentically drive organizational change—Brought to you by:Graphite—Your AI code review platformAtlassian for Startups —From MVP to IPO—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Rachel Wolan(02:26) Why Rachel started leaning into AI(06:26) Building an AI chief of staff(08:17) Prepping for the podcast(10:00) Rachel’s morning flow with her AI chief of staff(14:14) Designing a personalized interface with custom note cards(16:34) Getting “brutal truth” feedback from your AI assistant(19:34) Email triage and management workflows(23:31) Prepping for networking dinners and events(28:18) The result of building an AI chief of staff(30:09) Organizing “builder days” to drive AI adoption(35:38) Measuring the impact of AI adoption initiatives(38:00) Lightning round and final thoughts—Tools referenced:• Claude: https://claude.ai/• Claude Code: https://claude.ai/code• Cursor: https://cursor.com/• Google Calendar API: https://developers.google.com/calendar• Gmail API: https://developers.google.com/gmail• Webflow: https://webflow.com/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Make: https://www.make.com/• Hex: https://hex.tech/—Where to find Rachel Wolan:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelwolan/X: https://x.com/rachelwolanWebflow: https://webflow.com—Where to find Claire Vo:ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/Website: https://clairevo.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/X: https://x.com/clairevo—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Brian Greenbaum is a Senior Staff Product Designer at Pendo who led a company-wide AI transformation after a personal epiphany while on paternity leave. After experiencing the power of AI coding tools firsthand, he created a structured approach to help his entire product organization adopt AI. In this episode, Brian shares his complete playbook for driving AI adoption across teams, measuring success, and navigating the organizational challenges that come with new technology adoption.What you’ll learn:The exact Slack message Brian sent while on paternity leave that kickstarted his company’s AI transformationHow to structure both synchronous and asynchronous AI learning opportunities for maximum adoptionThe two-pronged approach that dramatically increased AI tool usage across teamsWhy becoming your company’s AI champion is one of the best career moves you can make right nowHow to measure AI adoption success with sentiment surveys and clear metricsThe critical role of creating a “golden path” for AI tool usage with legal, security, and finance teams—Brought to you by:Google Gemini—Your everyday AI assistantLovable—Build apps by simply chatting with AI—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Brian Greenbaum(01:38) Brian’s paternity leave epiphany that sparked an AI initiative(05:00) Sending the message that launched a transformation(12:25) The two-pronged approach: synchronous and asynchronous learning(17:29) Encouraging experimentation and creative exploration(18:41) How AI enables designers to move beyond MVP thinking(22:00) Quick summary of the two-pronged approach(24:43) Measuring AI adoption(33:48) Creating a centralized AI knowledge center(35:58) Building an MCP server to demonstrate AI’s potential(44:08) Why technical understanding is crucial for non-technical roles(46:01) Final thoughts—Tools referenced:• Cursor: https://cursor.com/• Bolt.new: https://bolt.new/• Claude: https://claude.ai/• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/• Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/—Other references:• Pendo: https://www.pendo.io/• Confluence: https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence• Slack: https://slack.com/—Where to find Brian Greenbaum:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briangreenbaum/—Where to find Claire Vo:ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/Website: https://clairevo.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/X: https://x.com/clairevo—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Cortney Hickey is the executive assistant to the CEO at Zapier, where she’s leveraging AI to transform traditional EA responsibilities into scalable, organization-wide systems. In this episode, she demonstrates how she’s built AI workflows that automate meeting preparation, reinforce company culture through automated feedback, and democratize strategic knowledge across the organization. Her approach shows how EAs can use AI not to replace their roles but to elevate them—working on higher-impact initiatives while creating systems that benefit the entire company.What you’ll learn:How to build an automated meeting prep system that researches participants, checks CRM data, and delivers actionable insights before important meetingsA framework for creating AI-powered culture reinforcement through automated meeting feedback aligned with company values and operating principlesHow to develop an AI-powered document review system that helps teams align with executive expectations before formal reviewsA strategy for creating a centralized knowledge base that makes company strategy accessible and interactive for all employeesWhy “progress over perfection” is the key mindset for building effective AI workflows that evolve over timeHow EAs can use AI automation to work themselves out of repetitive tasks and into higher-impact strategic roles—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready todayBrex—The intelligent finance platform built for founders—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Cortney(02:48) Overview of meeting prep automation with Zapier Agents(04:43) How the meeting prep agent works(10:21) An example of the meeting prep agent in practice(12:16) Creating a culture reinforcement system through meeting feedback(15:45) EAs’ unique position to leverage these tools(18:12) Building an automated meeting coach(24:03) Developing an executive document review system(33:15) Creating a centralized strategy companion in NotebookLM(36:18) How AI is transforming the EA role, not replacing it(40:00) Lightning round and final thoughts—Tools referenced:• Zapier: https://zapier.com/• Zapier Agents: https://zapier.com/agents• Todoist: https://todoist.com/• Slack: https://slack.com/• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/• Google NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google/—Where to find Cortney Hickey:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cortneyhickey/—Where to find Claire Vo:ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/Website: https://clairevo.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/X: https://x.com/clairevo—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].