Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
*Get our AI Adoption playbook to redesign your business with AI:* clickhubspot.com/dgl
GPT 5.4 just came out. It's great. It beats benchmarks. And honestly? It doesn't matter.
In this episode, we break down why better AI models aren't the bottleneck anymore — and what actually is. Anthropic just released a chart showing the massive gap between what AI can theoretically do (blue) and what companies are actually using it for (red). Everyone's panicking about the blue. We think the real opportunity is closing that gap.
The problem isn't model capability. It's that 84% of people have never used AI. Only 8.6% of companies have deployed an AI agent in production. And most businesses are doing what factories did in 1900 — swapping steam for electricity but keeping the same old processes.
We share the electricity analogy that explains exactly what's happening, introduce the RAPID 5 framework for AI transformation, and demo a skill (built in Perplexity Computer) designed to help any team go from where they are now to AI-native.
📌 WHAT WE COVER:
→ GPT 5.4: great model, doesn't change anything for most people
→ The Anthropic chart everyone's misinterpreting (theoretical vs observed AI coverage)
→ The electricity analogy: why factories took 20 years to adopt electricity properly
→ 84% of people have never used AI (and what that means for your business)
→ Only 8.6% of companies have deployed an AI agent in production
→ The top 5% intensity gap: power users vs everyone else
→ Forward-deployed AI engineering (and why AI companies are hiring for it)
→ The RAPID 5 Framework: Reveal, Architect, Proof, Ignite, Dynamize
→ Demo: Building an AI transformation skill in Perplexity Computer
→ Why the real money is in closing the red-to-blue gap
→ Practical next steps: Loom your workflows, feed them to AI
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 — GPT 5.4 Is Out. It Doesn't Matter.
01:00 — The Anthropic Chart Everyone's Misreading
03:00 — The Gap Between Theoretical and Actual AI Adoption
04:00 — The Electricity Analogy: Why Factories Took 20 Years
06:00 — "You Cannot Walk Into the Future Looking Back at the Past"
07:00 — The Human Bottleneck: How Long Will It Take?
08:00 — 84% Have Never Used AI / Only 8.6% Have Deployed Agents
09:00 — The Real Opportunity: Closing the Red-to-Blue Gap
10:00 — Building a Skill for AI Transformation (Perplexity Computer Demo)
11:00 — The RAPID 5 Framework Explained
13:00 — How to Actually Run This for Your Team
14:00 — Part 2 Preview: We'll Give Away the Skill When It's Ready
Host Links:
📲Kipp Bodnar, twitter.com/kippbodnar
📲Kieran Flanagan, twitter.com/searchbrat
‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Produced by Darren Clarke.
About the Show
Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot’s CMO and Kieran Flanagan Hubspot's SVP of Marketing, lead you down the rabbit hole of marketing trends, growth tactics and innovation. On the way you’ll pick up undiscovered strategies to give you that slight edge for success. These are not your typical twitter thread regurgitated marketing tactics that everyone is doing. These are new methods, with unfiltered examination of successful fresh ideas.
*Get our AI Adoption playbook to redesign your business with AI:* clickhubspot.com/dgl
GPT 5.4 just came out. It's great. It beats benchmarks. And honestly? It doesn't matter.
In this episode, we break down why better AI models aren't the bottleneck anymore — and what actually is. Anthropic just released a chart showing the massive gap between what AI can theoretically do (blue) and what companies are actually using it for (red). Everyone's panicking about the blue. We think the real opportunity is closing that gap.
The problem isn't model capability. It's that 84% of people have never used AI. Only 8.6% of companies have deployed an AI agent in production. And most businesses are doing what factories did in 1900 — swapping steam for electricity but keeping the same old processes.
We share the electricity analogy that explains exactly what's happening, introduce the RAPID 5 framework for AI transformation, and demo a skill (built in Perplexity Computer) designed to help any team go from where they are now to AI-native.
📌 WHAT WE COVER:
→ GPT 5.4: great model, doesn't change anything for most people
→ The Anthropic chart everyone's misinterpreting (theoretical vs observed AI coverage)
→ The electricity analogy: why factories took 20 years to adopt electricity properly
→ 84% of people have never used AI (and what that means for your business)
→ Only 8.6% of companies have deployed an AI agent in production
→ The top 5% intensity gap: power users vs everyone else
→ Forward-deployed AI engineering (and why AI companies are hiring for it)
→ The RAPID 5 Framework: Reveal, Architect, Proof, Ignite, Dynamize
→ Demo: Building an AI transformation skill in Perplexity Computer
→ Why the real money is in closing the red-to-blue gap
→ Practical next steps: Loom your workflows, feed them to AI
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 — GPT 5.4 Is Out. It Doesn't Matter.
01:00 — The Anthropic Chart Everyone's Misreading
03:00 — The Gap Between Theoretical and Actual AI Adoption
04:00 — The Electricity Analogy: Why Factories Took 20 Years
06:00 — "You Cannot Walk Into the Future Looking Back at the Past"
07:00 — The Human Bottleneck: How Long Will It Take?
08:00 — 84% Have Never Used AI / Only 8.6% Have Deployed Agents
09:00 — The Real Opportunity: Closing the Red-to-Blue Gap
10:00 — Building a Skill for AI Transformation (Perplexity Computer Demo)
11:00 — The RAPID 5 Framework Explained
13:00 — How to Actually Run This for Your Team
14:00 — Part 2 Preview: We'll Give Away the Skill When It's Ready
Host Links:
📲Kipp Bodnar, twitter.com/kippbodnar
📲Kieran Flanagan, twitter.com/searchbrat
‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Produced by Darren Clarke.
About the Show
Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot’s CMO and Kieran Flanagan Hubspot's SVP of Marketing, lead you down the rabbit hole of marketing trends, growth tactics and innovation. On the way you’ll pick up undiscovered strategies to give you that slight edge for success. These are not your typical twitter thread regurgitated marketing tactics that everyone is doing. These are new methods, with unfiltered examination of successful fresh ideas.
