This interview is with Tim Cakir, Chief AI Officer & Founder at AI Operator.

Tim Cakir, Chief AI Officer & Founder, AI Operator

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at AI Operator? What sparked your interest in AI and led you to specialize in this field?

I'm Tim Cakir, CEO of AI Operator. I started this company because the moment ChatGPT was released in 2022, I became obsessed with AI. As someone who's struggled with ADHD, I always had lots of ideas and shiny-new-toy syndrome, but struggled with the execution and consistent effort that it takes to actually bring projects to completion. Suddenly, I had a co-pilot that could help me finish what I start, simplifying all the admin and documentation. It also became a springboard to enhance my creativity and turn my ideas into realistic plans. From then on, I threw myself into learning everything there is to know about AI tools, and I began to teach everyone about these amazing tools. Later, I founded AI Operator and began offering corporate training, as well as custom automation and consulting. My mission is to help leaders and teams overcome the fear of being replaced and overwhelm about AI, and instead learn how to adopt this tech. Initially, it's about boosting productivity and growth, but ultimately I want to teach people that by working in harmony with AI, they can fall back in love with their work and find fulfillment by automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks.

What was your career journey like before founding AI Operator? How did your previous experiences shape your approach to AI integration in businesses?

My first job was selling Turkish carpets in Los Angeles. I developed a thick skin and a lot of confidence striking up conversations with people from all walks of life. Later, I went into digital marketing, which evolved into growth marketing, and I've also dabbled in operations with a couple of COO roles in startups, and even taught business courses at university. I've always been interested in tech, and I worked for an AI computer vision company long before AI was trendy. Everything I've done leading up to founding AI Operator has prepared me for the position I'm in today. I've always been passionate about learning, growth, and development. I love to be around people and teach everything I know. And I take a strict "love not fear" approach; I prefer to always look on the positive side and believe that instead of fearing the inevitable when it comes to AI, we should learn everything we can about it and harness it for the benefit of humanity.

You've mentioned helping companies integrate AI into their workflows. Can you share a specific example of a challenging AI implementation you've overseen and how you overcame the obstacles?

Well, when a company books my AI-first mindset training program, the first session or two can be quite challenging. Team members come with skepticism and a lot of fear. They worry that, because the company is implementing AI, their jobs are at risk. So my first challenge is getting them on board and convincing them that AI won't replace them and take their jobs — but a human who uses AI really well might be more of a threat. The biggest challenge often comes with people who are highly skilled but have an old-school mindset and are resistant to change. Developers, for example, don't like it when I talk about how AI can enable anyone to code apps much faster than ever, using natural language. This, of course, doesn't mean coding is dying; it just means more people will be able to code. Like it or not, the tech is here. To overcome these obstacles, I really have to help people see the benefits of AI, show them how it can make their work 10x more efficient and, more importantly, more enjoyable, because they can work on high-cognitive, exciting stuff while AI helps with repetitive manual tasks.

In your experience, what's the most common misconception businesses have about implementing AI, and how do you address it during your 12-week AI-First Mindset Training?

Firstly, there's "AI will take my job," which, for most people, is not true. Yes, there will be job losses in the near future because of AI; in some ways, that's unavoidable, and new technological advancements have always caused displacement. But I want to challenge that and give people the tools to excel at their jobs, keep up with the current situation in 2025 so that they don't fall behind and put themselves at risk. This also applies to leaders - some company leaders think that AI is the solution to everything, and this means they can fire people, cut corners, and reduce costs, getting AI to do everything. This is a huge mistake, and I think it represents scarcity thinking. Yes, you can cut back and get AI to do a lot. Or, you can empower each and every team member with AI, increase employee happiness and productivity, and therefore multiply profits. That's where growth mindset comes into play.

How do you help organizations identify their 'biggest time-wasting or repetitive processes' that are ripe for AI integration? What's your process for uncovering these opportunities?

Reporting: Who likes filling in spreadsheets and creating monthly sales reports? AI is perfect for these kinds of jobs. One client of mine had team members spending hours a month on a long-winded and frustrating reporting process. They identified it as a huge pain point, and we solved it together. I used to run a GPT competition, which has now evolved into an innovation competition, where teams create a GPT or another AI-powered tool to solve a particular struggle that they have at work. This is amazing because team members take everything they learn through the training to build real solutions for their team to solve problems.

You've mentioned the concept of 'AIEO' (AI Engine Optimization) for e-commerce. How do you see this evolving, and what practical steps can businesses take today to prepare for this shift?

People are moving from search engines like Google to tools like ChatGPT to get answers. And as that shift happens, the way products get discovered online will change too.

AI models are now starting to incorporate product recommendations directly into their answers. Users might just ask an LLM, "What's the best blue sneaker under $100?" and get a single curated suggestion. That means businesses need to think about being findable by AI, in addition to ranking on Google.

We're still figuring out the details of exactly how this all works. So what can you do today? First, focus on content that directly answers people's real questions, not just ranking for keywords. Second, think about structured data and product information that's easy for AI to crawl and understand. And third, pay attention to snippets: when AI pulls examples into its responses, being mentioned—even once—can drive more attention than ranking #7 on Google ever did.

The truth is, we're all still learning what makes a site AIEO-friendly. There's no perfect playbook yet. But if you start by creating content that's genuinely useful, transparent, and easy for AI to parse, you'll be in a strong position as the landscape shifts.

In your work, how do you address concerns about AI potentially replacing jobs? Can you share a story of how AI implementation actually enhanced human roles in an unexpected way?

Yes, there is definitely going to be some job loss because of AI; I think it's unavoidable. Every major technological advancement has caused job losses, and AI is bigger than anything we've ever seen. But I think there are many ways that AI will enhance human roles. For a start, everyone now has this incredible tool at their fingertips. So many more people will be able to build businesses and work on their dreams, with less up-front cost. Even in creative work, some repetitive, low-end work will dry up - like writing formulaic, SEO-driven blog posts. This kind of content will mostly be done by AI. The positive side of this is that every business will be able to write passable copy for websites and get their point across to potential customers. At the same time, high-quality human writing will be even more in demand. Essentially, I think the positive side of AI is that it allows everyone to focus on doing the thing they love, the thing they're good at, and automate the rest.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Everyone should learn the "love, not fear" approach. Embrace the change because it's here to stay; it's not just hype. It will be the ones who learn and adapt today who will thrive in the future. It all starts with your mindset. It's difficult, of course; we have to completely relearn how we work. But if you keep doing things the old way, you'll fall behind. Yes, it will be painful, there will be chaos, and a lot of companies will approach things the wrong way. But there'll be light at the end of the tunnel; I believe humanity will benefit in the long run. So the best thing to do now is accept it and speed up the process of adapting to this AI-first world.