3 easy side hustles OpenAI’s Operator just made possible – plus how you can get started

OpenAI recently announced Operator, an AI agent designed to perform tasks on the web.

After testing it (yes, I paid the $200 bucks, but, more importantly, I kept the subscription🤯), this is a game-changer, but not for the reason you think.

This article will probably get me in trouble with my business partner.

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I’m about to snitch on myself for your benefit. 😩

I’m going to tell you the secret sauce behind how our ecom business generates millions in revenue and how Operator can help.

In this article, I’ll break down:

• What Operator is and why it matters
• The good, the bad, and the ugly of using it
• Three ways you can turn Operator into a side hustle

Grab a pen and paper if you’re into this kind of stuff. You’ll want to take notes. 🧐

Quick intro

To understand why this is a game changer, first, you must understand who I am and what I do for a living.

If you are new to my work, my name is Lester, but feel free to call me Les.

I’m a founder with a successful exit under my belt. These days, I’m the exec chair for a group of ecom brands, but at my core, I’m an award-winning performance marketer. 🤓☝️

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Needless to say, data and insights are my jam. We operate more like a data company than an ecom brand. Our secret sauce? Pairing data and insights with ideas that generate revenue.

If you are into leveraging AI or emerging tech to help your workflow or generate revenue, check out my free newsletter, No Fluff Just Facts. I break down what is working in the world of AI along with actionable insights to implement… no fluff, just facts (see what I did there).

But enough about me. I have to tell you why Operator is a game changer! 🤫

What is Operator and why it’s a game changer

Operator helps US-based PRO users perform browser activities like filling out forms and ordering groceries; apparently, it can even help you create memes. 💃

It interacts with web pages by clicking, typing, and scrolling like a human.

A new AI model powers Operator called Computer Using Agent (CUA), combined with GPT-4’s vision and capabilities for advanced reasoning. This is what allows it to understand what is happening on a website.

Now that you’re all caught up, let me share the opportunities. 🤗

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Price is the biggest complaint among users. At $200 per month, it’s a significant jump from the $20 plan, and many don’t see enough value to make the upgrade worthwhile, which is a valid point.

But instead of comparing it to the cheaper plan, I look at it in terms of the time and resources it can save.

A big part of my day job is validating ideas, visiting different websites, looking at trends, and documenting them. While this is not the best use of time, it is still necessary and has a cost, whether I do it myself or hire an assistant to do it for me.

$200 is a lot of bread, especially in this economy, but the alternative could cost thousands of dollars per month and tens of thousands per year. 🤧

Operator allows small business owners and professionals to automate without hiring or paying a developer to create an internal tool.

Sure, there are online tools that can perform similar functions, but that is yet another tool to learn. OpenAI is already part of my workflow, so having everything in one place is beneficial.

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Operator is a great tool to handle the mundane, time-consuming tasks I don’t want to do.

And for $200 bucks? 🤔

Pffft. Have at it, Operator.

Let me know when you’re done or if you need me.

The biggest limitation may not be Operator itself, but our imagination when using it.

How I use Operator

Ah yes, the reason why my biz partner may beat my you-know-what.

First, I need to explain the core of any business. ☝️

Most businesses operate on some form of arbitrage, whether it’s sourcing a product at a lower cost and selling it at a higher price, or offering a service where the cost to deliver is lower than the price charged.

Whether you are selling a product or service, the core of what is happening is the same.

The key is creating value while managing cost differences between markets.

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Now that we understand that, let’s dig into how we build businesses. 🧐

Everyone sees Amazon as a place to buy, but we consider it a place to validate product ideas.

Let’s say we have an idea for a funny candle. We go to Amazon first to see if the concept already exists. If it does, we document things like:

• Product name
• Price
• Sales rank

This information is critical. The arbitrage is then sourcing that product and introducing it to our audience.

Bonus tip: We do not just copy. We look at how a product can be improved and offer our audience the new and improved version on our website.

Make sense?

Now that we have that out of the way, let me explain how we used Operator. 😎

As I mentioned, part of the job is endless scrolling — looking and looking. I instructed Operator to do my product research for me.

Here is the exact prompt I used:

“I need you to go to www.amazon.com and search ‘funny candles.’ I then need you to tell me the price and name of each listing. Then, I need you to tell me the sales rank for the first 48 product listings.”

After a CAPTCHA and a little finessing with the prompt, I got the exact output I needed.

Operator was able to handle the most critical role in our business, which is product research.

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It freed up my time and allowed me to focus on things like talking to customers. 👨‍💻

Nobody likes doing these types of tasks as they are monotonous and tedious. It’s all the “ous-es” you can think of.

But it is vital for staying ahead.

Operator did it autonomously for the most part.

Like I said, it’s a game changer.

The good, the bad, and the kind of ugly

The good 👍

• I like the fact that I can operate independently without having to wait for a coworker or a developer to help. If you are anything like me, you know exactly what I mean by that. I would rather wash my eyes with bleach than wait for someone.
• I also love that I can speak, and it appears. I do not have to write a fancy brief or send ten gazillion emails to get what I want.
• I love the fact that it is centralized. I don’t need ten apps and integrations to do one thing. I allow it to log into things like Google Sheets and copy the info.

The bad 👎

• It’s not all the way there. It is AI. It does weird AI stuff, like hallucinating and providing incorrect and nonsensical information. I stay patient and keep it pushing.
• It’s slow, but still faster than me at getting the job done. Honestly, I can’t even call that a real complaint.
• It was asking me for confirmation way too much. This meant Operator would stop and sit there waiting for my input while I was off living my best life. Time wasted. To combat this, I turned on notifications to see if that improves the time between confirmations. I will let you know how it goes.

The kinda ugly 🥴

Sure, there are flaws and things that could be better, but at this moment, the real issue is me. I wish I could think of even more creative ways to use it.

To be clear, I’m not talking about everyday stuff like grocery shopping. That’s table stakes.

I mean, how do I get this thing to 10x my business while I am on vacation? 🙃

How to make money with OpenAI Operator

With any emerging technology, there will always be a group of people who:

• Need help implementing
• Do not have the time to do it themselves

There’s potential to build a business around either of these scenarios. 🤑

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In my humble opinion, this is a great place to start, especially if you are an early mover, as it could position you as the go-to resource.

That said, here are a few more ideas on how you can use Operator to generate income.

1. AI automation as a service

Offer automation services to businesses that want to streamline repetitive tasks like data entry, email responses, or customer support.

2. AI-powered lead generation and sales automation

Use Operator to send personalized messages to potential leads on LinkedIn about your product or service.

3. AI-powered e-commerce

Use Operator to automatically list, update, and optimize product listings on eBay, Amazon, or Shopify.

These are just a few ideas, but the biggest opportunity is using Operator to enhance what we are already doing.

Rather than looking for some magical new opportunity, the best move is to integrate it into your current workflow.

Operator is a tool that makes us more efficient and provides an opportunity to win back some of our time.

The real opportunity is looking within and asking yourself, what can AI help me do? 🤔

As I mentioned earlier, it really comes down to your imagination and how you use it in your existing workflow or even how you create a new one.

The critics aren’t wrong about its limitations, but the tool is still incredibly powerful. Unlocking its full potential just requires a bit of creativity and a willingness to work around its constraints.

Writing the technology off entirely because it is not there yet is unwise. 😞

My two cents 

So, is Operator worth it?

Like most things in life, it depends. 🫤

The price of $200 is relative and depends on how you use it.

If you are using it to book your Airbnb or something like that, I am hard-pressed to find any reason to justify paying $200 for the luxury of not doing it yourself (unless this is your job).

I can see a future where Operator, when used effectively, becomes one of the best business assets in your toolkit by automating repetitive tasks.

However, it’s not a magic fix. You still need to build a strong business by solving real problems and maintaining solid unit economics.

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We are not at a place where AI can do everything for us. A do-it-with-me approach would be the better way to look at it.

All that said, I am bullish on Operator as a business tool and look forward to seeing where it goes.

😇 Hope this helps; I am rooting for you.

By the way, if you want to learn more about leveraging AI or emerging tech to optimize your workflow or generate revenue, check out my free newsletter, No Fluff Just Facts. I break down what is working in the world of AI, along with actionable insights you can implement and the occasional pep talk. If this sounds like your jam and you wanna be besties forever, click here to sign up. It’s totally free. 🤗