"It's Your Business"
We can all learn more about ourselves and our business, when listening to the stories of others!
This podcast is for you, if you're someone who's all about making business connections and hearing entrepreneurial stories.
We dive into the business journeys of UK entrepreneurs but don't worry, we're keeping it real and down-to-earth.
Join me as I sit down with everyday business people, listen to them sharing their stories: the ups, the downs, and everything in between, in a way that's easy to connect with.
We'll get into the nitty-gritty of 'what,' 'when,' 'how,' and 'why' they've built their businesses, and you'll pick up some practical insights that you can apply in your own journey.
Whether you're a go-getter just starting out or you're climbing the corporate ladder, this podcast is your go-to source for relatable stories and actionable advice in the world of business.
This is for you if you are in business, a business entrepreneur, a leader, self-employed, manage a business or just interested in business stories.
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"It's Your Business"
AI at Work - The Opportunity, the Risk and the Compliance Challenge with Darren Bentham
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In this episode of It’s Your Business, Kath is joined by Darren Bentham, founder of Interact Digital and The AI Works, for a fascinating conversation about AI, digital marketing, compliance and the future of business visibility.
Darren explains how Interact Digital supports businesses with websites, content and online marketing, while The AI Works helps organisations use AI, machine learning and software development to improve efficiency, streamline processes and work more intelligently. With decades of experience in both AI and digital, he brings a rare long-view perspective to a subject that many businesses are only just starting to explore.
The conversation looks at the huge opportunities AI offers, but also the growing need for businesses to use it carefully and responsibly, especially where sensitive data, internal systems and future compliance are concerned. Darren talks about why businesses need to start thinking now about governance, security and how AI is being used behind the scenes, rather than waiting until regulation catches up with them.
Kath and Darren also explore where human connection still matters most. As more content becomes automated, businesses need to think about how they show up in a way that builds trust and reflects real expertise. That is where Darren’s podcast studio comes in, giving businesses a professional space to create podcast and video content that feels personal, useful and authentic. Together, they discuss why podcasting can be a powerful part of a business marketing strategy, from answering frequently asked questions to creating long-form content that can be repurposed across websites, social media and AI search.
This is a practical and forward-looking episode for business owners who want to understand AI more clearly, stay aware of what is coming with compliance, and make smarter decisions about the way they market, communicate and grow.
Find Darren Bentham on LinkedIn
https://theaiworks.co.uk/about-us/
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Hello and welcome to It's Your Business with me, KLG, your fairy podmother. This is the podcast that shines a spotlight on inspiring UK businesses, the mindset behind their success, and the practical tips that could help you too on your business journey. Let's get started. Hello and welcome to this episode of It's Your Business with me, KLG. And in my studio today, I have Darren Bentham. He has two businesses, Interact Digital and the AI Works. Hello, Darren.
SPEAKER_01Hi, Carf and Fancy having me on board.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome. Now, your business is in Charlie, but it does work UK-wide. And I want you to tell me first of all a little bit about each business as it stands today. So Interact Digital, what is that?
SPEAKER_01Interact Digital is a traditional digital marketing agency. So we build websites, we maintain websites, we offer clients social media, animation, content writing, bus writing, all the ways of marketing your business through digital channels. And then alongside that, we've got the AI Works, which is a new business and it deals with AI, machine learning, and software development.
SPEAKER_00And lots of businesses will be looking at that. I mean, we all have websites, we all use social media. So yeah, that is an ongoing thing. But the AI works sounds like a great addition. So what sort of businesses use that?
SPEAKER_01It could be anything. AI isn't one thing. It's not one technology. It could be a vision system or it could be content writing, it could be audio. It's a range of things. So it's in essence what it is, it's a productivity tool. So it makes it doesn't replace people, it makes them more efficient. So anyone who's got any inefficiencies in the business, it can optimize the way you work and make it better and smarter.
SPEAKER_00What about people that are a little bit scared? Have they got sensitive data? Or are they worried about putting AI in there in case, oh my god, everyone's going to get a hold of this, or it's a robot and it's got all my information. What about those types of businesses?
SPEAKER_01It's a genuine concern. Yeah, we do deal with some companies in those sectors, such as education and social work. In which case, what we can do, we can build, we have the software capabilities to build personal AI systems, alleger language models, which can operate from inside your office and the data will never leave your premise. So if anything confidential nature, we can guarantee that it's going to stay inside your business and never leak out.
SPEAKER_00Oh well, that's comforting, isn't it? Because I do know a lot of businesses that I've spoken to recently have been saying things like, oh no, I'm scared to use AI because once you've used it, but you can get a custom-made AI system for your business via you, and you can keep it within that one business.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's right. Yes, it's uh it's what we call a larger language model. And all we do is restrict the data sources it uses and any conversations to within that one bit of software.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that was really good, isn't it? That's a great idea to add that onto the business because every every single interview I have at the moment, we talk about AI in one sense or another, because I think using it as part of your processes and your systems to speed them up or to help you is probably a good thing for most businesses. Do you use it yourself?
SPEAKER_01We use it in many ways. So we use it in terms of helping the survivor content, not writing the content per se, but we help it as an editorial tool, enhancing images. Uh, I'm using it this morning to write some software. So the AI is writing the software for me, so by which is quite ironic because by trade I'm a software developer, but I'm not using AI to do the work of that I I would have been doing for and taken weeks to do, it's doing it in minutes.
SPEAKER_00Wow. So all that time and years of expertise in software, that is where you came from, wasn't it? Software developer, and you've been in software for such a long time. Did it take a while for you to go, wow, this can do all of what I did before for me?
SPEAKER_01It didn't, it didn't. I've been working with AI for 34 years now. So it's been around for a long time. Uh my degree back in I graduated in 1996 with a degree in AI, and then went on to do a postgrad. Uh, when I was sort of my daughter was born in 2006, doing a postgrad in AI, so it's been around for a long time. I've been working with it on and off, but nobody wanted it. So when you graduated with a degree in AI back in the 90s, nobody wanted AI. So the web had just started off, and that's the route and most of my career took me, building up websites and doing software development for websites. So the web started in 1994, I've been using it since 95. So very early on with the web as well as AI. Recently, with the way AI's grown in popularity, we've then started the business on the back of my knowledge and a personal interest in machine learning and AI.
SPEAKER_00Well, basically, you're the expert in the field.
SPEAKER_01I'm old, I think that's what we I wasn't saying for old.
SPEAKER_00I'm saying you're the expert in the field. But do you know what? Until it comes and bites you on the nose, like AI has for everyone, although it's been there in the background, you don't know it's there. And it's the same with podcasts for business. I did uh an advert on Facebook for one of my courses or to get people into the funnel or whatever it was for. And I said, I've been podcasting for 25 years, and lots of people in the comments are going, podcasts haven't been around 25 years. You can't possibly have been podcasting for 25 years. There was no such thing as podcasts 25 years ago. And I'm like, there were audio blogs in the 80s, it was the exact same way of doing a podcast, there were audio blogs, that's what podcast is iPod broadcast. And it was in 2004 that a Guardian newspaper columnist changed audio blogs into the word podcast, and that was 22 years ago. So, and I've worked in radio all that time, it's editing, producing, and I'm like, why am I having to justify myself here? I know podcasts were audio blogs in the 80s, the 80s were more than 25 years ago, you know. But because people are only hearing about them now, same with AI, it's AI is all popular, AI is everywhere, podcasting, podcasts for businesses everywhere. And people are going, this new thing, it's going crazy. I'm like, it's nothing new. So actually, both you and I are experts in our field.
SPEAKER_01We are, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And how good is that? That actually, not only have you got Interact Digital and the AI works, you've also built a podcast studio.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's come out of in essence a big change in the market with digital marketing. So what people are not spending the same money and time investing in the digital marketing through websites, and also the rise of AI that allows a lot of customers to do some of this work themselves. So I've got a strong belief is that businesses, customers will want to do a more personal marketing, so through brown video podcasting to get across your personality, your uniqueness of your business. And it's kind of coming from the deficiencies in what AI can't do and what a human does better, and also the downturn with the some of the traditional additional marketing. So podcasting fits perfectly between the the two businesses that I've got.
SPEAKER_00It absolutely does. I think it's great that you built a podcast studio, and of course, you've involved me in that, which is fantastic, because businesses that are coming to you need to know the what, why, and how to podcast for business. And without that fundamental, they can't just rock up and use your studio. So the thing is with uh podcasting as well, like you were saying, the rise of digital marketing, it is your hero content. If you do six, ten episodes, all of that, and you're doing video as well as the podcast. If you're doing video, you've got all of the hero content, each one episode can be clipped to numerous social media posts. One of my clients uses her podcast. It's she's like, That's it, it's my hero content, it does everything. I use it, and she puts the episode transcriptions into AI and says, Create me six social media posts from this episode, create me six media posts from that episode. So she's got a wealth of uh content and then points to whatever episode it relates to, or uses a clip from that episode. So when people are saying things like, Oh, I haven't got time to create a podcast or whatever, you only need one series and it's evergreen, it's there, you've got it out there, but you can keep using that content over and over again, and it's a great little digital marketing engine for you. And I think people are starting to realise that now. So, what sort of businesses are you hoping that will be using more and more your studio?
SPEAKER_01It could be anything, to be honest. It's it becomes clear when we're talking to clients about the work, and however mundane and boring you feel the client sector is as soon as they open their mouth and you see the passion come through and you see the expertise, I can just get this on paper traditionally when we're looking at the website. But you mentioned podcasts end up, they've got this personal dislike to doing it, this fear, if you will. Yeah, I'm sorry, you're holding a gun to the face rather than a camera. Yeah, getting over that hurdle, and as you'll see many times before, that personality can shine through. So, in terms of the types of clients, we've clients working in pest control, some are experts with evaluations of Beatles, some launching large oil refinery products. The list goes on. Time briefing clients we've got. So we've got a bigger range, but all of them, the passion comes through when you're talking to them. And I think that's what sells a business more than anything else. It's that confidence that these guys are the experts.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And AI cannot replicate someone's passion.
SPEAKER_01No, not all. It can do a good job of replicating you. But with some of the laws coming in place in the next couple of years from the EU, you need to watermark every single thing you do that's AI generated as AI generated.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So you'll have the option eventually. Well, I don't want to see AI content on the browser.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. And if you say I don't want to say AI content, and you've got I've seen people advertising that they will do your whole podcast for you, and it doesn't even need to be you. Just give them a clip of your voice, and I'm like, what? Yeah, where is the connection there? Where's the building the trust? Might sound a little bit like you, but like you said, when all these laws come in, no one will be seeing this content.
SPEAKER_01It'll be dead in the water.
SPEAKER_00Because it's AI generated you. It's not you, it's not your voice.
SPEAKER_01And part of the problem with CAF is that people, uh human species as beings, we like cutting corners. So AI is an easy way. I can just type it in and that does all the work for me. So you can invest a lot of time and a lot of money doing this in 2026. In 2027, your entire content will drop off the internet effectively.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because the he's going to be walked to me out as AI, but I don't want to see AI content, therefore, it's gone.
SPEAKER_00So if you're creating things now, you've got to remember that. B you. But like I say, if you're passionate, so all your clients that you're talking to, they want to do podcasts. So you look at a strategy, we have a look at all that, and then they come into the studio, they create the podcast. That content then goes onto their website, there's links to all that, and it's still saving them time because people you can direct them to that on the website. Now, some people have used it for frequently asked questions. So if they get regular frequently asked questions, they've answered them as podcast episodes.
SPEAKER_01I'm glad you mentioned that because that is a very critical point to make here. FAQs are what the likes of Chat GPT use to generate the answers.
SPEAKER_00Ah.
SPEAKER_01So when you're optimizing your website to make sure it gets found on AI, FAQs are where it starts from. So the more FAQs you can do on the website, and obviously podcast is a great seed into that, you're going to get found more on people questioning Chat GPT and the likes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01The questions. So and things like that, I guess. Google's dying off somewhat, it's still there, it's always got to be there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But personally, and a lot of friends and family, and now we're going straight to Chat GPT.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And if you want to get found as the person, you put all your information you can so it can be found. So frequently asked questions are a great way of planning out your podcast episodes. So you go, what are people asking frequently? Let's answer it in a passionate, I know all about it episode. And then you get that on your website. You make sure obviously you've got all your tags in there and everything when you put your podcast up. And that is very useful for you. The other thing a lot of people are using it for, and I was involved in Sport England's for this, is internal training podcasts.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Yep.
SPEAKER_00So people can I use studio and come and use it for that. So lots of people are using. I mean, back in the day, do you remember the French tapes? I used to have a box, you open it, and it was tapes that I was trying to learn French, right? So learn a language, learn French, learn language. And then each week you put in a tape, you press play, and this was you trying to learn a language. Because we like to listen and learn in bite-sized chunks like that. And if people that you work with have training programs, you could be saying some come into the studio, come into the studio and record them in here, like a podcast, like a mini mini training courses and things like that. They can do the newsletters as podcasts, just mini podcasts as your newsletter. You're then more accessible as a business. You're not just doing things in written word. So all of the things that you do tie really nicely together. I love it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's a full end-to-end. So I went through most of my career with this degree that nobody wanted. And it's fine, finally to actually have a use for it. It's gone the other way now. It's got in massive demand from nothing.
SPEAKER_00It's completely skyrocketed. So from the nine 1996, did you say?
SPEAKER_01That you that's when we graduated.
SPEAKER_00So that's all those years ago, and finally you can use that degree.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I bet you're the only person anyone knows that's got a degree in AI.
SPEAKER_01Well, I know a few from the course and friends with colleagues, but nonetheless, it's still uh yeah, it's there's not many people who do a degree, and then you either use it or don't use it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01It's gone full circle.
SPEAKER_00So you train businesses then how to use AI as well?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so we we could train in some of the tools about how to use it for editing images, writing text, summarizing text, office automation, linking in a workflow from an email through to a custom support inquiry into a CRM system, so we can do the full of that. But we're also looking at the upcoming AI acts in from legal terms. So all the compliance that your companies are, especially training in the EU, we need to be compliant with. So you need to make a list of all the AI using, why you're using it, what data it's using, what's the touch points, AI governance, what policy you've got in place, how to spot mistakes, what when a mistake happens with AI, how do you report, how do you log it? There's a big list of things. All we either need consultancy or training, which is where we're open to fill that gap.
SPEAKER_00That is a great idea that you well, it's not even an idea. You're gonna have to do that for people. Because this is the thing when something skyrockets, everyone jumps on board, and then they go, hang on a minute, we need to make sure this is legal and compliant and fits with everything here. You can't just be jumping on board. So will people in the future need they're gonna have to start logging that? They might as well start logging it now, what they use it for, I guess.
SPEAKER_01If you trade with the EU, then you need to the court's already ticking, it's gonna be phased in slowly. Uh we as the UK have a slightly different legislation. We think that cybersecurity and GDPR and ICO office are enough. I don't think it's it is. I think we're gonna fall more in lines with the EU eventually. Because you you will see m start seeing more and more mistakes from AI taking place. And once that starts happening, then they will have to have to put some kind of governance in place to make sure it's managed correctly.
SPEAKER_00Well, the thing is it already happens, doesn't it, with AI, because you ask it something, I ask it sometimes something that I absolutely know is true.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it comes up with a different, and I said, that's not quite right, actually, is it? Show me your evidence where you got from.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I always get the sources.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Show me the sources of where you've got this from so that I can check it out for myself. Because once I'm like, that's not right. That is not right. You know, I could quite easily, or Joe blogs could quite easily go and post that and say, X number of this, that, and the other, say some sort of start, and I it was a start, and I knew it wasn't right. And I'm like, this isn't right, so show me your sources.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but that's the nervous cap. It's a good way then to set up your personal AI.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01You can say, Well, it can't use any sources other than what you've shown it. Yeah. You're looking at documentation and tening confirmation or procedures and policies. You can upload all your documentations, but it will only know what you've shown it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I've got a Fairy Pod Mother GPT.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00So in there, it'll have everything that I've told it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I upload like my courses, upload everything that I say so that it's only answering as me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's perfect. And that is the correct way to do it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, is it? Good. Yeah. I don't want it reverting to chat GPT. I want it to stay as me and only answer from all the information that I've given it. So if I've given it all my courses, all my freebies, all the masterclasses that I've done, uh videos, I say, like, take a note of this, take a note of that, put everything in, only answer from this, because that is me answering the questions, then.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's leakage of data or cybersecurity is a concern, which is in most sectors. Uh, and that's the in essence the way to do it. You ring fence the data and put the policies in place so it can only look at your data, and then you're pretty much safe.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, that's good then. I've actually done something right. Oh my goodness. Get me. And I do test her now and again as well. I think, yeah, that that's the way I would have answered it, actually. So yeah, that's good. That is so interesting. I don't think people are aware of that if they are uh trading with the EU, that they will need to be walking towards all of this compliance stuff. And I think it's I think it's gonna give everyone a bit of a shock.
SPEAKER_01I think there's a common misunderstanding that if we're because we're not in the EU, then we're not compliant with their laws. But if you're trading within the block, you need to be compliant with the laws of that set of the EU. Uh so there are potential big fines coming, whether they've got any teeth, time will tell. But it's quite clear why we need the legislation and why we need to keep a log of all the AI that we're using. We also need to have a process in place within the business to manage when it does go wrong. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I do think that if people can take anything from this, I want them to take that start taking a note of what you use AI for now, so that if someone does ask you for it, you've got it. And be very aware that if there's a watermark in place in the future, this is AI generated, that when people switch off, we don't want AI generated, that you'll lose all of that.
SPEAKER_01And alongside that, you the business needs an AI policy. It's not enough to say, well, you should have known better. I mean, as an employee, you need to be told what AI software you can use, what you can't use, how you can use it, and whether you want any alterations as in bringing new software. Who would you speak to get that? But you can't just bring in any AI into a business with any data of potentially your customers' data.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01The chance of leakage is massive in there, corruption.
SPEAKER_00I think you're gonna be inundated with people saying, Help us because what you don't want to be doing is putting into chat GPT, write me an AI policy about AI. You might need somebody's guidance like you to make sure that they're doing it right.
SPEAKER_01I've said that in essence, it is quite straightforward. You just say, Well, this is what you're allowed to do. Anything else, seats, seek authorization from your manager or at the IT departments.
SPEAKER_00I mean, a lot of people ban it, don't they? They say you are not allowed. I've been working with a business who's very large, sort of public type business, and they don't let the staff, their team use it at all. It's like you're not allowed to use AI in here at all.
SPEAKER_01And what's the reason for that?
SPEAKER_00Some of them said that if they're working from home, they will use it and create reports and stuff, and then take it to work. But they've been told, and I just think it's probably not to be rude, but kind of dinosaur managers or dinosaur overarching boards that are saying no, we don't use that in here right now because they're scared of it, they're not sure about it. Yeah, I think that's what it is. I think they're playing it safe, but they're saying, Look, but we are but we do use it at home, and then we can bring in reports and we can tinker with them, and they you do you know what I mean? That way, yeah.
SPEAKER_01But the thing is, you can't do it on the slide, you can't do it and not your boss doesn't find out because the way I it is generated now, it's putting fingerprints in there to say this is the IAI content.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So you as a human being, chances are you won't spot it spot them, but they're in there.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_01So but yeah, it's all about word probabilities and sentence structures and basically how common a sentence structure that is. Yeah. So it can read the same in ten different ways, but one is more probable way of writing than another. If your content has been in one style, one probability, and then suddenly it changes, that then flags up well, there's they've started using AI here. So you may not spot it, but then an AI checker in the down down the line will be flagging that up.
SPEAKER_00What about in schools? Students using AI. So they're answering questions, they're coming home with the homework, putting it in chat GPT, it writes it all out for you. And then the teachers are marking what AI has given them, basically.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but you I don't really know what the answer to this one is. As a tool, it's fantastic. So I've encouraged my daughters to use it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01In their first year of doing a degree in engineering, and they've been told they can't use it. And I said, Well, what that really means is that you can't use it to publish your work.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I said, Well, you can do is take your documentation that you they've given you, build your own personal AI, and tell it not to look at anything else.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Then it's a fantastic learning guide. So from that, you can build up mind maps, you can even convert it into an audio commentary that you can listen into the car, or if you want for a jug, so the revision process. So that kind of thing, because it's not generating some new content for you, it's just helping you absorb the existing content. Yes, it's a great tool to use.
SPEAKER_00But for example, if she then goes, right, I'm using this, and she asks it to create uh create an article about this for me, yes. The teacher would they know it was AI or not?
SPEAKER_0150-50. My guidance, and in this case my daughter, is don't do that ever.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So make sure it's your work, it's great for absorbing and helping you to make sense of if I give you 400 documents to read.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's a great way of summarising that. When you come to learning, some people like details, some people like pictures, some people like audio. We're all learning our own learning style. AI is a great translation tool to look at this massive documents, which is which which can be overwhelming, especially if it's very technical.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And how can you make sense of that? So things like Notebook LM, which is what I recommend that she uses, is a great interpretation device, the way I see it. So it helps to absorb it, but not for writing content. That's where it gets a bit messy. But then you've had other children and friends have been told about it to their university are encouraging it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because I think the attitude is, well, we can't stop it. At least get them to use it to its benefit, but then make sure that you when you do use it, you put your citations in place.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So that any facts and figures and observations, well, where did you get that source from?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And which, if they're going to give you any critical to any main points with using AI, always ask for the sources. Don't just take it verbatim.
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01It's like the guy down the pub who likes to drink and he knows things about everything. Dave down the pub is an expert, he's great, but he makes a lot of stuff up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01You wouldn't trust him. You wouldn't trust him for that. And look at AI the same way, but that's fine. But where did you get the source from? Show me the source and validate to yourself. You're the human, you're the supervisor, you're the editor, you're in charge, it's your work that's been published. And if it goes wrong, it's your name on the document.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And if you need any help with that at all, you will go to Darren Bentham at Interact Digital or the AIWorks. And how do people get in touch with you, Darren?
SPEAKER_01You can find me on LinkedIn and Darren Bentham at Interact and the AIWorks or the website is www.theaiworks.co.uk Brilliant.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much. Fascinating. Thank you for listening to It's Your Business. If you want help with podcast training, podcast production or support with your show, visit www.furrypodmother.co.uk. And if you've enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow, and leave a review. It makes a huge difference and helps other businesses just like you find us. See you next time.