I've been through at least a dozen VAs in the past 2 years.
I've been trying to find this elusive A-player. The Integrator. The Glue. The person who just gets it and makes everything run.
But whether it's VAs who ghost me, go through family emergencies, or simply make so many mistakes it's not worth it — I've struck out every time.
I've hired agencies. Paid hundreds of dollars to recruiters in the Philippines. Even asked a trusted friend with a team there to find someone.
Still no A-player.
So I tried something different. I created a Clawdbot AI agent.
Reply TESTING if you're experimenting with AI agents too. I read every response.
Here's what's inside this week:
→ My 1-week AI agent experiment (the real results)
→ What worked, what broke, and what scared me
→ 3 solopreneurs using AI to compete with big brands
→ "I've watched 3 eight-figure brands fire their entire VA team this month"
→ OpenAI wants 4% of your Shopify sales
→ 🎁 Surprise link at the bottom
Let's get into it.
I Hired an AI Agent to Replace My VA. Here's What Happened.
The tool is called Clawdbot (now Moltbot). It's an open-source AI agent that runs constantly on your computer. You communicate with it through Telegram or WhatsApp. It can manage your calendar, send emails, browse the web, write code, and automate tasks.
People said it was the biggest thing since ChatGPT.
So I set it up to be my Chief of Staff.
The Setup (Not Pretty)
It took several late nights. A dozen YouTube videos. Trial and error.
I tried setting up a VPS on AWS. That failed.
Eventually found a paid VPS that actually worked.
Going in, expectations were high. The hype was real. I was expecting an A-player that could take over my computer and run my business.
That's not exactly what happened.
The Wins (They Were Real)
The single biggest surprise? It could perform routine tasks at a high level.
Research automation. I had it research products, trends, and competitors. Work that would've taken hours of manual labor. It did it in minutes.
Overnight builds. I set up cron jobs to have Clawdbot work while I slept — creating apps and competitive intelligence reports. Stuff that would've taken me several hours.
Newsletter research. Looking through Twitter threads to find relevant articles for this newsletter? Used to take hours. Now takes minutes.
YouTube competitor research. I had it search through YouTube for competitive niches. Hours of research compressed into minutes.
Morning briefings. This changed my routine. Every morning I get a briefing report — like having a Chief of Staff who's already summarized all the data points I need to review. Same in the afternoon.
It even helped me organize my ClickUp tasks, which were a mess.
The Fails (They Were Also Real)
The most frustrating moment? Clawdbot just broke down. Crashed. Stopped responding to me over Telegram.
It took me at least 2 hours to get it back up. Time I didn't have.
Confidently wrong. It told me I hadn't shared API keys with it — when I had. It forgot its own email password. I had to say "no, that's not right" at least 3 times. Possibly 5.
Memory problems. People said it has persistent memory. That's not what I experienced. It would forget tasks we discussed minutes ago. I tried the memory prompts that popular Clawdbot influencers recommended. Still didn't work.
Overnight builds forgotten. Sometimes it would just... not do the work I assigned before bed.
There was a moment I thought: maybe I should just shut this down. My Clawdbot started acting like a B-player. Not doing work I'd already assigned. Forgetting context.
The Scary Part
Prompt injection.
The risk of information getting deleted. Or sent to malicious actors. Or my accounts getting hacked.
There's a lot I'm not willing to delegate to this thing. Not yet.
The Verdict
Would I do it again?
Yes. For the potential.
But here's who this is for: Risk-takers. People willing to bear the rewards AND the risks. First movers.
If you're conservative — if you're waiting for everyone else to figure it out first — this isn't for you. Not yet.
The one thing I'd tell someone before they start:
Be prepared to be frustrated. This is not polished like an Apple product. You're going to tinker. You're going to debug. You're going to want to throw your laptop out the window.
But AI can solve 99% of the problems you'll hit. And it's forced me to become more active on Twitter, engaging with other thought leaders who are figuring this out in public.
That's actually been a positive.
My Current Workflow
Here's how I'm actually using it:
Overnight work. Jarvis (what I named my Clawdbot) builds apps or does research while I sleep.
Morning briefing. I wake up to a summary of what happened overnight, what's on my calendar, what needs attention.
Research tasks. I assign research projects throughout the day. Still have to approve everything.
Human-in-the-loop. I check everything before it goes out. I feed it content when creating content. I don't tell it to write a LinkedIn post without input. I want it to write in my voice — not AI slop.
I give it instructions through voice dictation, text, and screenshots.
A friend who works at Google told me: "Assume this person is someone you don't trust yet. Someone you should doubt."
That's the right mindset.
I'm Not the Only One Testing This
Source: Business Insider, February 3, 2026
Business Insider profiled 3 solopreneurs using AI to compete with big CPG brands. A few highlights:
Ezra Rufino, Pow Organics — Asked AI to optimize his wholesale listings on Faire. Implemented everything it suggested. Result: 305% YOY growth on the platform in Q4. (BI confirmed this from his tracking documents.)
Amber Chaudhry, Noori — A pharmacist who had to learn Shopify, Amazon Seller Central, Meta ads, and analytics dashboards. She uploads screenshots and asks AI to explain what she's looking at. "It's quicker than trying to research it on my own."
Ann Ragan Kearns, Medalist Skin — Used AI to make simple website changes that UI experts would know instantly. "Who knew I just needed to move my free shipping banner from the bottom to the top?" She said she's spent tens of thousands on contractors who weren't the right fit. AI saved her from that.
Takeaway for Amazon Sellers: Before hiring a consultant for listing optimization, brand store design, or A+ content — ask AI first. You might solve it in 10 minutes for free.
📰 Quick Hits
Source: Wired
This is the tool I've been testing. Open-source. Runs constantly. Communicates via WhatsApp or Telegram.
Users are giving it access to credit cards and Amazon accounts for auto-ordering. That's further than I'm willing to go right now.
Takeaway: Start small. Use a dedicated machine, not your main computer. The productivity gains are real. So are the risks.
🔐 From Clawdbot to Moltbot to OpenClaw
Source: CNET
Renamed multiple times in 72 hours. Security concerns are real — giving AI access to email and files is risky. Open-source means anyone can audit the code.
Takeaway: Document what access you give it. Start with low-risk tasks.
💳 OpenAI to Charge 4% Fee on ChatGPT Checkout Sales
Source: Ecommerce News
Shopify merchants can now sell directly inside ChatGPT. OpenAI charges a 4% fee on top of standard Shopify fees.
Google and Microsoft have no extra fees for their AI checkouts.
Takeaway: New sales channel. Steep fee. Test it with high-margin products first.
🔥 Are VAs Obsolete?
Source: Chad Rubin (@itschadrubin) on X
"I've watched 3 eight-figure brands fire their entire VA team this month. Claude Cowork made their VAs obsolete. To be clear — they're not struggling... just growing faster. The $10/hr VA arbitrage that built 7-figure Amazon businesses is ending — THIS YEAR. Payroll as % of revenue going from 12% → 5% for 8-figure sellers."
This is a strong claim.
I don't think VAs are dead. But the game is changing.
The smart money isn't on eliminating your VA. It's on running a lean team with a VA who knows how to use AI to 10x their output.
A message from our partner: VAA Philippines
Want a VA who already knows how to use AI tools?
VAA Philippines is training their VAs to be AI-fluent — so you get the best of both worlds: human judgment plus AI leverage.
FREE Amazon Listing Audit or FREE PPC Audit for subscribers of this newsletter.
👉 Book a discovery call here: https://calendly.com/d/cw6k-4jj-spc/introduction-vaa-philippines-7fss-collab
🎯 The Bottom Line
AI agents aren't ready to replace your team.
But they're ready to make a small team dramatically more productive.
The gap between "experimenting with AI" and "waiting to see what happens" is about to become the gap between "growing" and "falling behind."
I'm testing it in public. I'll keep sharing what works and what doesn't.
THE VITAL FEW (In Case You Missed It)
→Amazon Cuts SAFE-T Claims Window to 30 Days
→Freight Rates Drop 11–12% — Lock In Now
→TikTok Shop’s “Amazonification” Begins
→The Amazon Rufus Optimization Checklist
→The 96% Rule: Why Your Customers Will Pay for Tariffs (If You Do This One Thing)
→The Freight Rate Opportunity: Why Rates Are Dropping (And What to Do)
→Why AI Shopping Agents Need Machine-Readable Catalogs
→🎁 The Fastest Way to Optimize Your Listings for Amazon Rufus
Ready for More?
💼 Sponsor this newsletter – Get in front of 13,000+ engaged Amazon sellers.
🎯 Work with me 1-on-1 – Coaching on Amazon growth, Japan expansion, sourcing, or AI. Apply here
🤝 Partner with me – Webinars, content collabs, or events. Email: [email protected]
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Talk soon,
Gary
P.S. If you know someone running an ecommerce business solo, forward this to them. The game is changing fast.