On November 13, 2025, industry experts, apparel decorators, promotional products people, and more gathered for “Automate & Elevate.” The virtual summit, hosted by Branded Merch Network and produced by the 2 Regular Guys podcast, addressed how AI and automation are shaping promo, print, and apparel workflows.

Opening remarks were given by Aaron Montgomery and Terry Combs of 2 Regular Guys alongside Jay Busselle of Branded Merch Network. After thanking the event sponsors (FastEditor, Merch.ai, PromoPulse, PromoPilot, and Spector & Co.), Busselle wasted no time, diving into the first panel that targeted where trends meet transactions.

The panel featured speakers Marshall Atkinson, Atkinson Consulting; Ali Banholzer, Shirt Lab and Wear Your Spirit Warehouse; Jason Nokes, PromoPulse; and Davis Slagle, BeeGraphix. The discussion was all about using AI to identify trends in your business faster then using the data to create better efficiencies.

Slagle noted that it’s all about data, saying that AI should be utilized as a way to generate ideas within your business. From there, it’s time to take action. One area to do so is in the creative and design departments.

“If you have a customer segment, and you have some information [on a specific client], you can do some analysis on their colors and their logos,” suggested Atkinson. “Ask [your AI platform], what could we do? Give me some colorways, give me some ideas to start with, give me your top three suggestions. Now you have something you can start with for a brainstorming session with your customer.”

One of the top takeaways from all of the panelists is that AI should be used with strong human intervention and engagement. Don’t just rely on AI to do the work — incorporate real human elements and emotions.

Atkinson offered some advice on how to do so: “You have to practice it as human, show up as human, and embrace your ‘weird,’” he advised. “Sometimes it feels sterile or not fun, so I think we need to put some weirdness into it. What makes us all different is that funky personality. That has to show up in what you’re doing even if you’re using AI.”

For those wondering if this truly benefits a business, Banholzer noted that Wear Your Spirit Warehouse is saving close to $24k a year in software costs because they’re using AI. But that’s not the only area it’s impacted her business — she’s also noticed better company culture as a result of incorporating AI: communication is improved, customer complaints go down, and some jobs are now easier to do because of increased efficiency.

Ready to Continue Learning? Check out this upcoming AI webinar from PRINTING United Alliance.

Using AI to Elevate Your Business

The second panel of “Automate & Elevate” featured Raul Rodriguez, Merch.ai; Rick Molenaar, FastEditor; Ashley Colautti, Specter and Co.; and Eric Granata, PromoPilot. Panelists got into the nitty-gritty of using specific AI tools while also exploring how agents and automation work together.

Granata provided some definitions to a couple terms to help listeners understand how everything works together. First, he outlined “deterministic.” This category incorporates tools like Zapier and are rule-based with predictable inputs and outputs. “Inference” can understand context to make predictions.

Together, agents don’t just execute tasks, but decide how and when, Granata continued. “Together, AI and automation can hopefully simplify your life,” he said. “It depends on what processes you start with and whether those are ready to be set up.”

Rodriguez suggested looking at your internal processes. Anything you think can be automated, such as tasks that are repetitive or take a lot of time, should be examined.

The event concluded with all panelists participating in a round-robin discussion. Not only did they address live audience questions, but they continued to push the actionable steps people need to take with AI now.

For those that missed the live event, or want to go back and rewatch section, check out the recording on YouTube.