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<rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title>Useful in Practice</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/</link><description>Independent AI and SaaS product analysis, software comparisons, and practical workflow resources by Stephen Stilwell.</description><language>en</language><atom:link href="https://stephenstilwell.com/feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><item><title>A higher score is not the whole decision.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/workflows/time-comparison-demo/</link><description>Explore a fictional CRM shortlist and see how incomplete evidence, failed must-haves, and first-year costs affect a software buying decision.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/workflows/time-comparison-demo/</guid></item><item><title>AI &amp; Automation Tools for Small Businesses: A Practical Shortlist | Useful in Practice</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/resources/ai-tools-small-business/</link><description>Compare Granola, n8n, StashBase and Tally by business task, setup, limits and trial criteria. A practical small-business software shortlist with source links.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/resources/ai-tools-small-business/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>AI Marketing Tools for Startups: Compare Four Different Jobs | Useful in Practice</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/resources/ai-marketing-tools/</link><description>Compare Clay, Profound, Ploy and Gamma for startup marketing. Choose by research, AI visibility, website growth or presentations, then plan a fair trial.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/resources/ai-marketing-tools/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>AI Customer Support Tools Compared: Channels, Handoffs &amp; Tests | Useful in Practice</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/resources/ai-customer-support-tools/</link><description>Compare Zendesk AI, Decagon, Sierra and Retell AI by support workflow. Check channels, integrations, human handoffs, voice corrections and total pilot cost.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/resources/ai-customer-support-tools/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>How to A/B test Deepgram voices.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/deepgram-corrections-in-speech/</link><description>Compare Deepgram voice variations with fixed scripts, blind listening and separate latency checks. Build a free test plan and inspect correction accuracy.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/deepgram-corrections-in-speech/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Give your next draft a better memory.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/stashbase/</link><description>Explore StashBase with real product screenshots, an interactive writing workflow lab, pricing and privacy tradeoffs, and an independent GTM strategy.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/stashbase/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>The best customer experience? A confident yes.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/alloy-identity-fraud-review/</link><description>Explore Alloy with real product visuals, customer case studies, brand strategy, GTM experiments, and independent partnership and affiliate analysis.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/alloy-identity-fraud-review/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Big worlds. Familiar faces. New ways in.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/disney-dude-perfect-creator-distribution/</link><description>Inside the Disney and Dude Perfect partnership: explore the value exchange, compare creator business models, and build an illustrative campaign brief.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/disney-dude-perfect-creator-distribution/</guid><pubDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Your work has a memory. Now you can search it.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/driffle-ai-work-memory/</link><description>Explore Driffle’s real product visuals, an interactive Work Memory Lab, pricing, privacy tradeoffs, and an independent GTM analysis.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/driffle-ai-work-memory/</guid><pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Your product deserves a better story.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/yarn-ai-video/</link><description>An independent look at Yarn, the NYC AI video startup: real product footage, current pricing, practical tradeoffs, and an interactive GTM video brief builder.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/yarn-ai-video/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Cardboard AI video editorYour footage. Your direction. An AI first cut.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/cardboard-agentic-video-editor/</link><description>Explore Cardboard’s AI video editor, first cuts, timeline revisions and plan questions. Build a campaign storyboard and compare workflows before a trial.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/cardboard-agentic-video-editor/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Your expertise. A working AI product.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/agent37-ai-agent-monetization/</link><description>Explore Agent 37’s agent hosting and creator product, see official media, and build an AI skill concept with the interactive Skill-to-Product Lab.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/agent37-ai-agent-monetization/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Vyra AI video editorStop editing. Start directing.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/vyra-ai-video-editor/</link><description>Explore Vyra’s chat-directed video editing, real-footage workflow and trial questions. Try an illustrative editing studio and compare related AI video tools.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/vyra-ai-video-editor/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Your website is working the night shift.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ploy-ai-marketing-agents/</link><description>Explore Ploy AI marketing agents with an interactive growth simulator, playbook builder, pricing analysis, and an independent review of Web, Grow, Ads and PloyDB.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ploy-ai-marketing-agents/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>One idea. Every format.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/palette-ai-media-studio/</link><description>Explore Palette AI through a campaign planning studio, brand consistency lab, model routing guide, and independent analysis of its multimodal creative workflow.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/palette-ai-media-studio/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>LinkedIn is building something bigger.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/linkedin-ai-ads-creator-economy/</link><description>Explore LinkedIn’s AI advertising and creator ecosystem with an Advertising Lab, Partnership Studio, sourced Innovation Radar and original video campaign concepts.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/linkedin-ai-ads-creator-economy/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>One brief. An entire marketing campaign.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/characterquilt-ai-marketing-agents/</link><description>Explore CharacterQuilt with a campaign deployment simulator, brand intelligence lab, reliability scenarios, and an independent review of enterprise marketing agents.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/characterquilt-ai-marketing-agents/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>What happens when AI learns your creative tools?</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/voyager-ai-creative-workspace/</link><description>An independent Voyager AI review with an interactive production timeline, creative brief builder, pricing, workflow tradeoffs, and practical use cases.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/voyager-ai-creative-workspace/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>What happens when your AI agent becomes your SEO team?</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/openseo-ai-seo-agents/</link><description>An independent OpenSEO review with verified pricing, Semrush and Ahrefs comparisons, a real Search Console case study, and an interactive SEO Growth Lab.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/openseo-ai-seo-agents/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Profound: Your brand has a new search problem. AI is deciding who gets recommended.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/profound-ai-search/</link><description>Use Profound Answer Engine Insights to investigate brand mentions, citations and content gaps. Explore a practical workflow and an illustrative visibility lab.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/profound-ai-search/</guid><pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Microsoft wants to turn Windows into an operating system for AI agents.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/microsoft-agentic-windows/</link><description>Explore Microsoft agentic Windows, hybrid intelligence, Copilot Actions and MXC security through a practical analysis and two interactive editorial demos.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/microsoft-agentic-windows/</guid><pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Google just gave Gemini a job.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/google-gemini-agent/</link><description>Google gave Gemini a job. Explore its Workspace agent, coworker identities, early-access limits and practical workflows in an independent interactive Field Note.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/google-gemini-agent/</guid><pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Claude can chart it. Can you trust it?</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/claude-dashboards-motion/</link><description>An independent look at Claude Dashboards, Claude Motion and Claude data visualization: pricing, limitations, practical workflows and interactive editorial demos.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/claude-dashboards-motion/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Zendesk AI review: Specialized Agents, Copilot and the work behind a resolution</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/zendesk-ai-review/</link><description>Compare Zendesk Copilot, Specialized Agents, Custom Agents, Agent Builder and Action Builder, with implementation checks and pricing questions.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/zendesk-ai-review/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>The customer changed channels. The problem stayed the same.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/sierra-cross-channel-context/</link><description>Explore how to assess identity and issue continuity when a customer changes channels. Proposed Sierra evaluation scenarios, not verified integration results.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/sierra-cross-channel-context/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>How to test AI voice agents: Retell appointment corrections</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/retell-appointment-corrections/</link><description>A voice AI agent testing plan for appointment corrections, interruptions and booking accuracy. Define expected outcomes and inspect final records.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/retell-appointment-corrections/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 vs Gen 2: what changed, and who should upgrade?</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ray-ban-meta-gen-3-vs-gen-2/</link><description>Compare Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 vs Gen 2 on price, battery, camera, calls and fit. A documentation-led upgrade guide, with hands-on questions still open.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ray-ban-meta-gen-3-vs-gen-2/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Ray-Ban Meta Audio: price, release date and the camera-free tradeoff</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ray-ban-meta-audio/</link><description>For people who want calls, listening and voice assistance in their glasses. Start by deciding whether a camera is useful to you.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ray-ban-meta-audio/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Your finance team has plans.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ramp-gtm-playground/</link><description>Explore Ramp’s public marketing signals and an independent GTM playbook concept: buyer messaging, market fit, sales handoffs and campaign evaluation.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/ramp-gtm-playground/</guid></item><item><title>Nectar Social: can an AI agent run the social stack?</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/nectar-social/</link><description>An independent analysis of Nectar Social, Nectar Agent and MCP: community workflows, commerce attribution, pricing questions and what to check before buying.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/nectar-social/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Meta VR Glasses: price, release date, specs and practical tradeoffs</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/meta-vr-glasses/</link><description>Meta VR Glasses price, planned release date and announced specs, plus the puck, battery and workspace tradeoffs to check before buying.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/meta-vr-glasses/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Meta Muse explained: connectors, privacy, permissions and limitations</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/meta-muse-explained/</link><description>What is Meta Muse? Understand its AI agent, connectors, privacy controls, announced features and the limits to check before delegating work.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/meta-muse-explained/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Meta Connect 2026: announcements, availability and practical decisions</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/meta-connect-2026/</link><description>Meta Connect 2026 announcements in one guide: VR Glasses, Ray-Ban Gen 3, Muse and Horizon. Compare announced prices, availability and practical use cases.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/meta-connect-2026/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Horizon Create vs Horizon Studio: AI game creation explained</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/horizon-create-studio/</link><description>Compare Horizon Create and Horizon Studio: phone versus browser game creation, editing, early access, publishing and unanswered pricing questions.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/horizon-create-studio/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>A newsletter needs an audio edit before it needs a voice.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/elevenlabs-newsletter-audio/</link><description>Plan an audio edition that explains tables, links, names, and caveats before narration. An ElevenLabs product analysis with a proposed text-to-speech test.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/elevenlabs-newsletter-audio/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>A good handoff should save the customer from starting again.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/decagon-human-handoff/</link><description>Examine what context an AI support agent should pass to a person. A Decagon product analysis with proposed handoff checks and no completed support test.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/decagon-human-handoff/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>A prospect list needs a reason for every name.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/clay-partnership-fit/</link><description>Plan company research around audience relevance, product access, source evidence, and a useful demonstration. A Clay analysis, not completed enrichment or outreach.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/clay-partnership-fit/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Canva Code 2.0: features, editing and publishing explained</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/canva-code-2-explained/</link><description>Learn how to edit Canva Code, what needs an AI prompt, how copying code differs from editing it, and what to check before publishing.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/canva-code-2-explained/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>FACTORY FLOOR.</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/factory-floor/</link><description>Explore Factory Droids and Automations through an interactive software factory, with independent campaign concepts and enterprise GTM thinking by Stephen Stilwell.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/factory-floor/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item><item><title>Can Canva AI create a usable partnership proposal? A five-slide test</title><link>https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/canva-ai-partnership-proposal/</link><description>A ready-to-run prompt, acceptance criteria and cleanup scorecard for a real professional task. Results pending.</description><guid isPermaLink="true">https://stephenstilwell.com/field-notes/canva-ai-partnership-proposal/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate></item></channel></rss>