Steven Bartlett Boosts FlightStory with AI, Pulls Back on LinkedIn

Steven Bartlett, a Leading Figure in AI at FlightStory

Steven Bartlett, known for his podcast "The Diary of a CEO," has taken a bold turn towards artificial intelligence (AI) within his company, FlightStory. He is preparing a show entirely produced by AI, marking a significant milestone in the integration of this technology into media.

Bartlett challenged his team to explore the possibilities of AI. This challenge led to the incorporation of AI into various aspects of the business, including the creation of an animated children's show. The leaders of FlightStory shared their experiences, highlighting both the successes and the limitations encountered in using AI.

A Financial and Technological Commitment

Steven Bartlett is not just discussing AI on his podcast; he is applying it concretely in his productions. He uses AI to automate tasks such as podcast production and the creation of business presentations. Recently, Bartlett raised eight-figure funding to support the development of FlightStory, which employs around 100 people and generated approximately $47 million in revenue last year.

The AI initiative at FlightStory gained momentum last year when Bartlett initiated a two-month competition to encourage the use of AI agents in daily work. This competition was a way to test the effectiveness of AI and identify the most promising applications. Isaac Martin, the director of innovation, explained that the pre-production team won the competition, taking home a $20,000 prize for developing tools that improved or replaced most existing processes, saving the company $1.18 million.

Project Gutenberg: A Revolution in Content

FlightStory has since integrated AI across all its operations, notably through an ambitious project called "Project Gutenberg." Inspired by the inventor of the printing press, this project aims to leverage AI to generate content innovatively. The leaders of FlightStory shared with Business Insider the various ways their company, a unit of the holding company Steven.com, uses AI. They also explained why the use of AI is limited in the case of LinkedIn.

Various Applications of AI at FlightStory

• Children's Shows: FlightStory has developed a video series entirely animated by AI for children aged five to eight, titled "Steven's World." This show follows a young Steven Bartlett on his adventures and incorporates insights from famous guests like Neil deGrasse Tyson. FlightStory is in discussions with major broadcasters to ensure the distribution of this series. This project stems from a previous experience with an AI-animated podcast, "100 CEOs," which used a voice clone of Bartlett.

• Translations: AI is also used to translate "The Diary of a CEO" into 14 languages. The Spanish version has been particularly successful, generating an additional 20.5 million views or listens and bringing in $200,000 in gross advertising revenue on Spotify, according to Christiana Brenton, the revenue director and co-founder of FlightStory.

• Advertising Revenue Optimization: On the commercial side, FlightStory uses a custom AI tool to develop proposals based on briefs, creators, and past campaigns. This has reduced the proposal development time from three days to just a few hours, increasing the average revenue contribution per employee by 60% over two years.

• Speaker Management: FlightStory has rethought its FlightSpeakers division by using an AI conversational tool to speed up the process of recommending and verifying speaker availability. Talya Levine, the project lead, emphasized the importance of preserving the relational aspect while integrating technology to innovate.

• Social Media: FlightStory launched FlightSocials to help creators like Colin and Samir distribute clips on social media. AI has accelerated the production and evaluation process of these clips, allowing for the publication of up to 15 clips per day per creator. This eliminates human uncertainty in choosing which segments to broadcast.

FlightStory has also developed an API called Creator Radar, which connects to YouTube and other platforms to identify promising creators. This API validated FlightStory's commitment to "Hot Smart Rich" host Maggie Sellers Reum by demonstrating the strength of her community.

The Limits of AI

Surveys show that independent creators are often more inclined to experiment with AI than traditional Hollywood studios. For creators like Bartlett, looking to expand their influence beyond themselves, AI offers an opportunity to reach a broader audience without being limited by personal time and energy. Christiana Brenton noted that while many companies use AI to improve efficiency, FlightStory uses it to accomplish projects that were previously impossible.