E08: Transforming Workflows with Bardeen’s AI Automation Power

In this episode, we delve into the world of AI and automation with Pascal from Bardeen. We discuss how Bardeen aims to simplify workflows by automating repetitive tasks across various platforms. Pascal shares insights on popular use cases, from sales outreach to molecular biology research, and explains how Bardeen integrates the best of API and context automation. We explore the user experience, emphasizing Bardeen’s intuitive, language-based interface designed for non-technical users. Pascal also shares his vision for the future, where automation becomes even more accessible and proactive.

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Takeaways

• Wide Range of Integrations: Bardeen supports over 80 integrations, enabling automation across various platforms like LinkedIn and Google Sheets.
• Popular Use Cases: Includes sales outreach, recruiting, research, and surprising applications like molecular biology research and citation management.
• User Base: Bardeen has grown to over 150,000 users, highlighting its broad appeal and effectiveness.
• Complex Workflow Automation: Combines API and context automation to handle complex workflows that other platforms can’t.
• Future Vision: Focuses on making automation intuitive and accessible, aiming to proactively suggest automations based on user behavior.

Episode Transcript

Introduction and Company Overview

Chris: Welcome to the Chris Rod Max show, where we discuss the latest trends in AI and engage with AI founders about their ambitions, products, and impact on the industry and humanity. Today, we're thrilled to have Pascal from Bardeen.ai in our studio. Pascal, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

Pascal: Absolutely, thanks for having me. At Bardeen, we're building a next-generation automation software. We're addressing a common problem: having multiple tabs open in your browser and constantly switching between different services. This leads to wasted time, loss of focus, and potential mistakes.

Our goal is to create a tool for everyone - the people actually doing the work every day. With Bardeen, users can create workflows and automations that simplify their lives and boost productivity. We're aiming to be the solution that bridges the gap between various services and makes work more efficient.

Popular Use Cases and Workflow Examples

Chris: That sounds intriguing. AI seems to have its biggest impact in automation and workflow optimization right now. Could you elaborate on some popular use cases? How do people typically use Bardeen?

Pascal: Certainly. As a horizontal platform with about 80 integrations, the possibilities are vast. However, we see significant traction in certain areas:

1. Outreach workflows for sales, recruiting, and prospecting
2. Research-related tasks, such as data aggregation from multiple sources
3. Project management, like bug report handling and ticket creation

These workflows are repetitive and time-consuming, making them perfect for automation. But really, human imagination is the limit. We have users ranging from teachers to VCs and podcasters, each finding unique ways to leverage our platform.

Recently, we launched a sales automation hub targeting sales and SDR personas, as we've identified substantial value creation potential in these workflows.

Bardeen's Unique Approach to Automation

Rod: How does Bardeen's approach differ from traditional workflow automation tools like Zapier or Make.com?

Pascal: Great question. The automation industry typically has two main clusters:

1. Intelligent Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solutions like Zapier, which connect backend APIs
2. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tools like UiPath, which focus on context automation

Bardeen aims to combine the best of both worlds. We leverage APIs where possible but also have agent capabilities to interact with services lacking APIs. As a browser extension, we have contextual information about your tabs and screen, allowing us to automate more complex workflows that are typically impossible with traditional iPaaS platforms.

User Experience and Vision

Chris: From a user experience perspective, how does Bardeen differentiate itself? What's your vision for the future?

Pascal: Our vision is to empower everyone to be an automator. We're targeting the 98% of people who aren't in Fortune 1000 companies with big automation budgets or aren't technically skilled enough to use complex tools.

Our interface is purely language-based. Users can describe their desired automation in natural language, and our system will interpret it and create the workflow. We're leveraging advances in language models to make this possible.

Our ultimate goal is proactive automation suggestion. Imagine Bardeen understanding your intent based on your actions and proactively offering to automate repetitive tasks. That's the Holy Grail we're working towards.

Building an AI-First Organization

Chris: How do you envision an AI-first organization with automated workflows?

Pascal: At Bardeen, we practice what we preach. Our philosophy is to automate everything possible. For example, we have thousands of landing pages for our automations, but it's managed by just one person using our own tools and language models.

We believe in forcing ourselves to automate rather than taking the easy way out by hiring someone to do repetitive tasks. This approach can be applied across various departments: research, customer outreach, sales, project management, engineering, and content creation.

Business Model and Target Audience

Chris: Could you share more about your business model? Who is your target audience?

Pascal: Our pricing model is freemium subscription-based, with details available on our website. We offer a free tier and premium integrations for high-value workflows, starting at $10 per month and scaling with usage.

We target "people who are actually doing the work" - SDRs, recruiters, project managers, etc. We're not primarily focusing on C-level executives or enterprise-wide rollouts. Our go-to-market strategy includes a team space feature, allowing users to share and standardize workflows within their teams.

The Future of Automation

Rod: Any predictions for the automation market in the coming years?

Pascal: My vision is to automate automation itself. The goal is to increase efficiency and remove friction from people's workflows in an intuitive way. Studies suggest that 20-60% of knowledge workers' time can be automated. Imagine doubling workforce productivity and the amazing things people could achieve with that extra time.

Ultimately, we aim to unlock human productivity by making automation super simple and accessible to everyone. While it's hard to predict exactly how it will play out, that's the future we're working towards at Bardeen.

Conclusion

Chris: This has been a fascinating conversation. If people want to get in touch with you or try Bardeen, what's the best way to do so?

Pascal: The best way to experience Bardeen is to visit bardeen.ai and try our Chrome extension. We're always eager for feedback and to learn about new automation needs. To reach me personally, you can find me on LinkedIn or Twitter. The links can be added to the show notes for easy access.

Chris: Excellent. Thank you so much, Pascal, for sharing insights about Bardeen and the future of automation.

Pascal: Thank you both. It's been a great conversation.

Rod: Great to have you.