Last week, while unwinding in our Sydney apartment, my roommate and I dove into the usual post-work chat about our internship experiences in Australia. He shared how his company had tasked him with the crucial role of lead generation – a project that initially sparked his interest with its potential for strategic research and relationship building. However, the excitement quickly faded when he realised most of his days were being consumed by the mind-numbing task of copying and pasting information from LinkedIn profiles into spreadsheets. The tedious rhythm of highlight, copy, click, paste had become the soundtrack to his workday, turning what should have been an engaging business development role into a monotonous data entry position. I couldn’t help but empathise with his situation, as we’ve all found ourselves trapped in that same cycle of repetitive tasks that make watching paint dry seem exciting in comparison.
Written by Drew Schmitz with help from Claude Sonnet 3.5
After listening to his struggles, my gears started turning as I realised this was a perfect opportunity to put my AI Solutions Engineering experience to good use. I was excited by the prospect of helping someone with little AI experience discover how accessible these tools have become, especially when it comes to automating the soul-crushing parts of our daily work. Together, we set out to create a web scraping tool that would automatically gather the LinkedIn information he needed, freeing up his time for more meaningful analysis and outreach. But beyond just solving his immediate problem, I had a bigger goal in mind – I wanted to show him that building AI tools isn’t the intimidating mountain it appears to be, but rather a learnable skill that could transform how he approaches workplace challenges. Most importantly, I wanted him to walk away from this experience with not just a solution, but with the confidence to tackle similar problems in the future, knowing that AI tools are within his reach.
With this mission in mind, I introduced him to Bardeen AI, a platform that seemed tailor-made for his situation – designed specifically to tackle tedious tasks like data entry and web scraping without requiring any coding knowledge. What really sealed the deal was Bardeen’s extensive integration capabilities with common workplace tools and its free version, making it feel less like adopting new technology and more like upgrading his existing workflow. In just half an hour, we crafted a web scraper that could automatically collect names, current positions, company information (even pulling in company summaries using ChatGPT), phone numbers, and email addresses – all neatly organised into a Google Sheet with just a right-click through Bardeen’s Chrome extension. Looking at the finished product, we both agreed that Bardeen was the perfect solution, striking that sweet spot between powerful functionality and user-friendly design that made it ideal for someone taking their first steps into automation while watching his perception of AI tools shift from intimidating to empowering.
The results were immediate and transformative. Thanks to the Bardeen automation we built together, my friend’s workday transformed from a copy-paste marathon into something far more productive and engaging. Instead of drowning in manual data entry, he could now focus on the strategic aspects of lead generation that initially drew him to the role. But beyond just improving his workflow, this experience gave him something even more valuable – the confidence to approach AI tools not as mysterious black boxes, but as accessible solutions he could harness to solve real workplace challenges.
For those inspired by this transformation, if you’re looking to dip your toes into the world of no-code AI tools, Bardeen is an excellent starting point. Its user-friendly interface works by simply typing in what you want to accomplish, and the platform translates your plain English descriptions into functional automation workflows. While ChatGPT serves as a helpful companion, ready to answer questions and guide you through the process, it’s worth noting that articulating exactly what you want to achieve through text can sometimes be a bit tricky – but don’t let that discourage you from giving it a try. After seeing its impact firsthand, I’d give Bardeen a strong 9/10 rating due to the listed reasons.
If you’re ready to revolutionise your small business with no-code AI tools or want to explore other AI solutions, get in touch with Intelligence Assist. We’ll help you find and implement the right tools to transform your business operations.
