How HubSpot’s Hustle Team Uses AI

In case you aren‘t aware of The Hustle, it is a media entity recognized for its offbeat and irrelevant spin on the information (living proof: The Company Marriage of Pop Tarts and Crocs).

Followers of The Hustle have struck content material gold. They will subscribe to their every day publication, now 2+ million subscribers robust. They will take heed to their podcast, or watch their YouTube movies. And in the event that they nonetheless want an additional repair, they will hit “observe” on one (or all) of their social media accounts.

It is no secret that The Hustle is a content material engine – however with the emergence of AI, their workflow is beginning to change.

Right here, I spoke to the group at The Hustle to find out how they’re utilizing AI to supercharge their content material.

How The Hustle Crew Makes use of AI

Repurposing content material throughout social media.

The Hustle is in all places on social media, enabling them to achieve an viewers that spans each nook of the web.

As Taryn Varricchio, Editorial Supervisor of The Hustle’s YouTube channel, places it, “Not each YouTube viewer is a devoted TikToker, and vice versa. By sharing completely different types of our content material, we will attain these audiences and provides prolonged life to our long-form tales,” she advised me.

Nevertheless, adapting their content material to completely different platforms could be a time-consuming course of. That is the place AI may help.

Varricchio makes use of AI to transform long-form content material into bite-sized YouTube Shorts. Utilizing the software vidyo.ai, she enters the URL from the long-form video, and the software returns with a number of snippets of the video.

For instance, the YouTube Brief beneath is a snippet of an extended, seven-minute video on their YouTube channel. With the assistance of AI, Varricchio was capable of maximize the mileage of the longer video and meet her audiences in a couple of place.

Making room for extra inventive work.

“Thankfully, we really feel like AI cannot out-creative us simply but,” Ben Berkley, Managing Editor of The Hustle, advised me.

In any case, it is onerous to think about an AI chatbot cooking up such titles as Methods to Barbecue In Outer House or Seaweed-Sinking Robots Are Tackling the Local weather Disaster. Though this may change sooner or later, for now, Berkeley and his group are dabbling with AI to make room for extra inventive work.

He advised me, “We’re taking it upon ourselves to experiment with each software obtainable to us — whether or not it is serving to us distill difficult ideas extra effectively, creating new sorts of graphics that might accompany our tales, or simply merely serving to us with administrative work.”

Over on The Hustle’s YouTube channel, Varricchio and her group use AI to streamline the analysis stage of content material creation.

“As journalists, content material creators, and video scriptwriters, our groups consistently have to analysis, learn articles and studies, and sift by way of the litter on-line to seek out respected sources. AI may help us summarize analysis and spotlight key factors from articles and studies that might in any other case take hours to learn by way of,” she advised me.

Nevertheless, Varricchio factors out that AI does not take away the necessity to fact-check or affirm their sources. Whereas it streamlines the analysis stage, she nonetheless has human guardrails in place to test for high quality.

Experimenting with AI as a substitute for inventory imagery.

Whereas most inventive groups depend on inventory pictures, Ben Harmanus, Principal Editorial Lead at HubSpot, is experimenting with AI-generated photos for movies.

One of many largest drawbacks of inventory imagery is the difficult licensing charges and agreements. For instance, if you want to exchange a copyrighted picture in a YouTube video, you must take it down, edit it, after which re-upload it. Within the course of, you lose all of the views, feedback, and likes from the unique video.

“Whereas we will simply swap a picture on an internet site, that is unattainable for movies. AI is usually a safer means to make use of photos,” Harmanus advised me.

Not solely are AI-generated copyright-free, however they’re additionally completely customizable. Oscar Estrada, Movement Designer at HubSpot, has additionally been experimenting with AI-generated photos for that reason.

“Typically it is onerous to discover a inventory picture that matches the temper or the colour palette that I want,” he advised me. “It is useful to have instruments like Midjourney or Runway to visualise concepts and even to interchange inventory imagery.”

In Estrada‘s expertise, AI does not simply push his inventive potential; it additionally has clear time-saving advantages.

“It helps me work on a number of initiatives concurrently with out having to waste time on the handbook, repetitive components of the method. In that means, I really feel prefer it’s tremendous beneficial.”

Finally, instruments like Runway AI could possibly be a life-saver for groups who want content material in a pinch, or a solution to take a look at out new concepts or ideas with minimal time dedication.

Getting inspiration for YouTube titles.

“I wish to ask HubGPT to assist our group craft participating YouTube video titles,” Varricchio advised me. She does this by pasting video scripts into HubGPT and prompting it for options.

It‘s value noting that Varricchio does not merely copy and paste its responses. As a substitute, she makes use of it as a inventive springboard.

“Whereas I do not use any title phrase for phrase, it helps encourage phrases or language for a video title I in any other case hadn’t thought-about,” she advised me. “It will possibly set off a brand new framing for a video or contemplate what different data is likely to be extra helpful to prioritize within the naming of a narrative.”

On this means, AI turns into a brainstorming associate, providing various angles and new views. The sort of collaboration is invaluable for content material groups like The Hustle, and can be utilized in a wide range of methods — from developing with YouTube titles and weblog concepts, to social media copy and extra.

Above all, The Hustle group remains to be figuring issues out.

After I requested Ben Berkley how his group makes use of AI, his reply was refreshingly candid.

“It is vital that we’re trustworthy with ourselves and our readers that we’re nonetheless determining AI like everybody else. We aren’t positive the way it’ll match into our jobs in the long term but, however it will not be for an absence of attempting,” he advised me.

I am prepared to guess this sentiment is felt by many groups attempting to navigate this new AI world. Whereas AI is thrilling, many groups really feel strain to construct their total operation round it.

Nevertheless, Berkeley is embracing AI the place it is sensible, and with a wholesome dose of curiosity.

“We would like The Hustle to be the easiest and that is solely potential with extra time to lean into our personal creativity. We hope AI will supply us a means to try this.”