Craig Hewitt argues ChatGPT is a consumer product. For serious business tasks, agentic AI tools like Manus (built on Claude) are superior, offering web browsing, data aggregation, and code generation that go far beyond a simple chat interface.
The Castos founder decided to build a second product only after a year and a half of failing to grow his core business, even after hiring top marketing talent. This ensures a new product isn't a premature distraction from a solvable growth problem.
By implementing an AI agent trained on its knowledge base, Castos (a SaaS with 4,000 customers) reduced support tickets by 50%. The system provides instant answers while a crucial "escape hatch" button allows customers to easily reach a human, preventing frustration.
Despite hype about full automation, AI's real-world application still has an approximate 80% success rate. The remaining 20% requires human intervention, positioning AI as a tool for human augmentation rather than complete job replacement for most business workflows today.
After building numerous AI tools, Craig Hewitt realized many popular applications (e.g., AI avatars, voice cloning) are worthless novelties. He pivoted from creating flashy tech demos to focusing only on building commercially viable products that solve tangible business problems for customers.
For his next SaaS, Castos founder Craig Hewitt has three strict rules: 1) Price must be at least $100/month. 2) The model must have built-in expansion revenue (e.g., usage-based). 3) It must align with his existing customer base to leverage his established brand and audience.