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Research That Used to Take Hours Now Starts With One Clear Brief

The Old Way: Tabs Everywhere

I used to spend half my morning just opening browser tabs. Competitor websites, industry reports, news articles, maybe a few YouTube videos. By the time I had twenty tabs open, I’d already forgotten what I was looking for. My brain was full of noise, not signal.

That’s the classic research trap. We think more sources equals better answers. But really, it just means more time spent clicking and scrolling. And then you’ve got to somehow synthesise all that into something you can actually use. It’s exhausting.

That’s where my local AI agent – I call it Hermes – has changed everything. Now research starts with one thing: a clear brief. Not a vague question, but a structured instruction. And the agent does the heavy lifting.

How It Works

I give Hermes a task like, “Compare the three main point-of-sale systems used by Australian cafes under 20 seats. Include pricing, features, and common complaints.” Then I let it run. It searches, it filters, it organises. Within a few minutes, I get back a structured summary, a list of sources, key questions I should ask, risks to watch out for, and suggested next steps.

The real magic? I don’t have to open a single tab. I just sit back and wait for the briefing.

Of course, I don’t blindly trust the output. I still check important facts, especially numbers or claims that could affect a business decision. But the agent gives me a solid starting point – and that’s where the time saving kicks in.

Real Examples From My Week

Researching Competitors

One afternoon I needed to understand what our biggest competitor had launched in the last quarter. I gave Hermes a brief that said, “Find recent press releases, product updates, and user reviews for [Competitor Name]. Summarise key changes and any customer complaints.” It came back with a neat list of three major updates, two recurring complaints about pricing, and a link to a Reddit thread I’d never have found on my own. Took maybe five minutes to read the summary. Doing it manually would have been an hour of searching.

Checking Market Trends

Before a board meeting, I wanted a quick view of the Australian buy-now-pay-later sector. Brief: “List the top five players, recent funding rounds, regulatory changes, and shifts in customer adoption over the last six months.” The agent pulled together a timeline of regulatory updates, a table of market share estimates, and flagged a potential risk around new credit laws. I used that to frame our discussion. The board was impressed I had that level of detail at my fingertips.

Summarising Software Options

My team needed a new expense management tool. Instead of visiting ten vendor websites and comparing feature lists manually, I asked Hermes to “Compare the top four expense tools for small fintech teams. Criteria: integration with Xero, mobile app rating, cost per user, and reporting capabilities.” It gave me a neat table, plus a note that one vendor had mixed reviews on customer support. That shortlist got us started in twenty minutes instead of two days.

Preparing a Business Decision

We were considering moving part of our customer service to a chatbot. I briefed the agent on our customer volume, typical queries, and budget. It came back with a list of three chatbot platforms, estimated implementation time, and a risk assessment about losing the personal touch. That last point was gold – we hadn’t even thought about it. The structured output helped me present the decision to the team with pros, cons, and next steps already mapped out.

Collecting Ideas for a Blog Post

Sometimes research isn’t about data, it’s about inspiration. I wanted to write about the future of digital wallets in Australia. My brief was simple: “Find the five most interesting recent developments in digital wallets in Australia. Summarise each one and explain why they matter for consumers and businesses.” The agent gave me a list that included a new bank partnership, a government pilot, and a startup launching a feature I’d never heard of. That became the backbone of the post. And I saved hours of reading tech blogs.

The Real Trick: Write a Good Brief

Here’s the honest truth. The better your brief, the better your research. If I give the agent a vague question like “Tell me about small business lending,” I get a generic overview that’s not very useful. But if I say “List the five most common challenges small businesses face when applying for a business loan in Australia in 2024, and include two recent articles that discuss each challenge,” the output is gold.

A good brief includes:

• Context – what’s this for? Who will use it?
• Specific boundaries – country, time period, industry
• Format – summary, table, list, pros and cons
• Key questions – what do you actually want to know?
• Risks or pitfalls – ask the agent to flag anything that could go wrong

I’ve developed a habit of spending three minutes crafting the brief before hitting send. That upfront effort pays off tenfold. The agent does the rest, but it needs a clear direction.

Speed Plus Structure

The real benefit isn’t just speed. It’s structure. When I research the old way, I end up with a messy pile of notes, bookmarks, and half-remembered facts. With Hermes, I get an organised starting point. Sources are listed so I can verify key claims. Questions are surfaced that I might not have asked. Risks are highlighted. Next steps are suggested. It’s like having a research assistant who always gives you a tidy briefing document.

But I still have to do the thinking. I don’t outsource judgment. I verify anything that matters – especially financial figures, dates, and quotes. The agent is a tool, not a oracle. Treat it that way and it’s incredibly useful.

So next time you’re facing a research task that would normally take hours, try writing one clear brief. Define what you need, set the boundaries, and let the agent do the legwork. You’ll be surprised how much time you get back.

Need help setting up your own AI assistant? Feel free to contact me at [email protected].