10+ Things You Should Build With AI Instead of Sending Files

Key takeaways

Websites are transforming knowledge work artifacts into dynamic, updatable, and interactive environments.
Replacing static files with web-based artifacts improves version control, distribution, navigation, and actionability.
AI tools like Codex are making it easier to create and publish these web artifacts without extensive coding.
The shift to web-based artifacts enables better engagement, insights, and automation across organizational processes.
There are numerous practical applications, from proposals and reports to training and stakeholder updates, that can benefit from this approach.
Future developments may include AI-powered continuous updating and interaction with knowledge artifacts, making them even more integral to workflows.

Summary

Introduction to New AI-Generated Knowledge Artifacts

The episode starts with an overview of how AI is enabling knowledge workers to replace traditional static files—like decks, memos, and spreadsheets—with more dynamic, shareable, and interactive web-based artifacts. It discusses recent updates from OpenAI’s Codex, specifically the 'Sites' feature, which simplifies publishing with Codex, allowing users to create websites and web apps easily. This shift presents a new 'unit of work' in knowledge work, emphasizing the benefits of websites as modern, flexible knowledge containers.

Problems with Traditional Knowledge Artifacts and How Websites Solve Them

The host elaborates on several issues inherent in traditional documents such as versioning chaos, distribution friction, limited navigation, and lack of interactivity. Websites offer solutions by providing a single, updatable canonical source, seamless sharing links, multi-directional navigation tailored to the user’s needs, and embedded actions. They also support rich media, better branding, and the ability to integrate with AI agents—making them a superior format for modern knowledge dissemination.

Practical Examples of Building with AI Instead of Sending Files

The episode presents 18 practical use cases demonstrating how various traditional artifacts could be transformed into websites. Examples include turning slide decks into narrative websites, strategy memos into layered strategy sites, spreadsheets into interactive data portals, proposals into microsites, and reports into research hubs. Additional ideas include client portals, project homepages, interactive case studies, competitive intelligence hubs, dynamic training materials, stakeholder portals, up-to-date board materials, investor pages, candidate sites, brand guidelines, press media kits, and employee handbooks. These examples showcase how web-based artifacts enhance distribution, engagement, version control, and interactivity.

Impact and Future of Web-Based Knowledge Artifacts

The host discusses the broader implications of this shift—namely, that the explosion of vibe coding is driven by knowledge workers recognizing websites as better alternatives to static files. The integration of features like those from Codex and backend automation tools allows for more scalable, interactive, and up-to-date knowledge sharing environments. The potential for AI agents to interact with and continually update these web assets is highlighted as a promising future direction.

Show notes

AI is making it possible to build richer versions of the files knowledge workers send every day: decks, memos, spreadsheets, reports, proposals, training materials, and more. This has gotten even easier this week with the release of OpenAI's "Sites" feature in Codex. In this practical Operator's episode, NLW walks through 10+ examples of work outputs that are often better as living, shareable, updateable, interactive links than static documents.

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