332: The role your firm needs but can't name

A few weeks ago, one of Sarah Persich's clients dropped an AI agent into their Slack workspace. Sarah gave it the criteria her client's intake team is supposed to follow on calls — build rapport, handle objections, gather the right information — and asked it to listen to the recorded calls and grade every person against those criteria. It came back ten minutes later with work that would have taken weeks by hand. The tool is Viktor. We spend a good chunk of this episode on it, because it runs inside Slack or Teams and it's proactive. It doesn't wait to be asked. But the tool isn't the whole story. Sarah calls herself a fractional integrator, and it's a role many small firms need without knowing what to call it. Which means they never go looking for one. We talk about where Zapier still fits, why connecting Claude to your email and calendar matters more than it sounds, and where I'd draw the line on giving AI access to your browser. Chapters 00:00 The tool that graded weeks of intake calls in ten minutes 02:17 From law firm employee to the "automation lady" 03:34 Why an automation request is usually a systems problem 07:04 What a fractional integrator does, and where the name came from 09:29 Where Zapier still fits now that AI has caught up 13:21 Claude, MCP connections, and the browser access red flag 17:31 Why connecting email and calendar is the real shift 19:31 Meet Viktor, the autonomous agent living in Slack 21:31 Grading every intake call and catching leads that slipped 25:48 Acting without approval, proactive nudges, and what it costs 31:22 Why firms under ten lawyers need this role, and how to reach Sarah Resource Links Automation Lady Zapier Make Granola Filevine Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business The 80/20 Principle (my techlaw newsletter) The Inner Circle (my online community for lawyers) Follow and Review: I'd appreciate it if you could drop a review over on Apple Podcasts. It only takes a few seconds and helps spread the word about the podcast. Thanks to the sponsor: Smith.ai Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai, you're hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai.