Mike Allton on How to Make AI Actually Work for Your Business

Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands and Links with Linkifi!
Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand—where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs.

In this episode, we sit down with Mike Allton, Chief Storyteller at Agorapulse and host of the AI Hat Podcast. Mike has interviewed over 100 AI experts and built a thriving side business around podcasting and strategic content—powered by Gemini and other LLMs. We explore how he uses Google’s Gemini to run 4 podcasts, streamline strategic decisions, and create a “Work Buddy” AI that knows his brand, goals, and challenges better than most team members would.

Mike brings clarity to the AI conversation, sharing practical tips on deep research, agentic workflows, and how to extract real ROI from tools you’re probably already paying for.

🔑 Key Talking Points:

✅ Building an AI Work Buddy – How Mike trained Gemini to act as a Chief of Staff for business planning and content strategy
✅ The Power of Deep Research – Why Gemini’s Deep Research beats typical Google searches for content planning, sales strategy, and market insights
✅ Gemini vs ChatGPT vs Claude – When Mike uses each model and how to compare them with tools like Magi
✅ Multi-Podcast Management – How he uses AI to generate show notes, interview prep, and even ghostwrite podcast recaps
✅ Strategic Prompting – Why telling AI to challenge your assumptions unlocks deeper, more valuable responses
✅ Centralizing Business Knowledge – How NotebookLM helps manage transcripts and reference materials across 100+ interviews
✅ Using Gemini Inside Workspace – Email, Docs, Sheets: real examples of where Gemini saves time and boosts output
✅ Why Businesses Are Overpaying – Most companies using ChatGPT ignore that they already have access to powerful tools in Google Workspace

💬 Quotes from Mike Allton:

📢 “If you don’t know what to do with AI—just ask it. That’s the unlock most people miss.”
📢 “Your business probably already has access to Gemini. You’re just not using it right.”
📢 “I talk to my AI Work Buddy daily. It challenges me, plans strategy, and keeps me moving.”
📢 “Deep Research with Gemini saves me 5 hours a week, minimum.”

🎯 Actionable Insights for Listeners:

🚀 Create Your AI Work Buddy – Feed Gemini your business info and let it become a strategic co-pilot
📈 Use Deep Research Weekly – Replace manual research with fast, AI-powered strategic insights
🔁 Compare LLMs with Magi – See how different models handle the same prompt to improve reliability
📄 Centralize Your IP – Use NotebookLM to reference transcripts, documents, and ideas in one searchable place
💬 Challenge Your Thinking – Tell your AI to poke holes in your ideas for sharper, more robust strategies

👤 About Mike Allton:
Mike is the Chief Storyteller at Agorapulse, host of the AI Hat Podcast, and a respected voice in the human-first AI movement. With decades of experience in social media, content strategy, and SaaS growth, Mike now focuses on helping businesses integrate AI into their day-to-day decision-making without the hype.

📣 Explore Mike’s AI Work Buddy Framework: theaihat.com/aiworkbuddy
📬 Subscribe to The AI Hat Podcast & Newsletter: theaihat.com
🔗 Connect with Mike on LinkedIn

🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links
At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today:

🔗 https://calendly.com/linkifi/pr

👋 Connect with your hosts:
👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn
👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes:
🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com