In this episode, entrepreneur Laurent Cohen, founder of GetOblic, shares his journey from the early days of e-commerce and SEO to building an AI company focused on voice AI solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. He explains why trust, not technology, is the biggest challenge when selling AI to SMBs and how GetOblic uses a unique business directory model to demonstrate value before asking customers to pay. The conversation explores the rapid evolution of generative AI, the rise of AI agents as digital coworkers, the limits of current AI systems, and the importance of human judgment in achieving exceptional results. Laurent also discusses transparency in AI, the risks of voice cloning, the future of voice interfaces, and why he believes we are living through one of the most exciting periods in human history.

Takeaways

• GetOblic focuses on voice AI for SMBs and prioritizes building trust before selling subscriptions.
• The company provides free AI-powered business profiles that allow business owners to experience the technology before purchasing.
• Laurent believes the SMB market is one of the largest long-term opportunities for voice AI adoption.
• AI agents should be treated like team members, with clear expectations, processes, and oversight.
• Human judgment remains essential because AI often produces average results without guidance and refinement.
• AI allows entrepreneurs to quickly develop expertise across multiple disciplines and tackle challenges that once required specialized knowledge.
• The biggest limitation for many AI users is not technology, but the quality of their direction and involvement.
• Voice AI is already capable of replacing many traditional call center functions through multilingual support, availability, and scalability.
• Transparency is critical when deploying AI, especially with technologies such as voice cloning, which can undermine customer trust.
• Laurent views AI as a new form of currency that can be exchanged for knowledge, resources, and influence, while amplifying the intentions of the person using it.

Today's guest, Laurent Cohen, can be found at:

Website: https://getoblic.com/?v3=true

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurent-cohen-usa/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetOblic/

Your host, Hunter Jensen, can be found online at:

Website: https://www.barefootsolutions.com/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunterjensen/

Keywords

Voice AI, Generative AI, AI Agents, Artificial Intelligence, SMB Technology, Small Business Automation, Business Directory, Customer Trust, AI Adoption, Conversational AI, Entrepreneurship, Digital Marketing, E-commerce, SEO, AI Workflows, Human Judgment, Voice Assistants, AI Ethics, Voice Cloning, Transparency, Business Automation, AI Productivity, Agent Management, Social Media Content, AI Strategy, Customer Experience, Call Center Automation, Technology Innovation, Future of Work, AI Integration, Startup Growth, Business Scaling, AI Tools, Machine Learning, Automation Technology, Digital Transformation