PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Rick Mulready

Rick Mulready is a business and AI strategist who helps coaches and service providers apply AI to their work. After 12 years in corporate Internet advertising, he left in 2012 and started coaching online business owners in 2014. He launched The Art of Paid Traffic, developed it into The Art of Online Business and sold the 13-million-download podcast in 2023; he then introduced The AI-Powered Business podcast with Rachel Woods. During a four-month sabbatical in 2023, he tried ChatGPT and built Pick Rick's Brain; he shared the APPTT framework in 2024 and founded The AI Playbook community by 2025. As of October 2026, he is based in San Diego and offers Constraint First coaching.

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Timeline

  1. 2000–2012

    Corporate internet advertising

    At AOL, he starts in advertising operations in 2000. Over 12 years in corporate Internet advertising, he works with AOL, Yahoo!, Funny or Die and Vibrant Media, selling and managing online ad campaigns, then leaves in fall 2012.

  2. 2014

    Online business coaching

    He starts coaching online business owners in 2014, when Facebook ads are new. The work grows into courses and a 12-month Accelerator program for coaches, consultants, course creators and membership owners.

  3. 2015–2023

    The Art of Paid Traffic

    He launches The Art of Paid Traffic in 2015, a podcast about paid advertising. He changes its name to The Art of Online Business in 2020; the podcast reaches 13 million downloads before he sells it in 2023.

  4. 2023

    Pick Rick's Brain

    During a four-month sabbatical in 2023, he tries ChatGPT for podcast titles and builds Pick Rick's Brain, a coaching chatbot. He works with Coachbox to train it on coaching calls, Facebook group questions and about 720 podcast episodes.

  5. November 2023

    The AI-Powered Business podcast

    In November 2023, he uses an episode called The Art of the (AI) Transition to announce a new AI direction for his business and introduce The AI-Powered Business podcast with AI expert Rachel Woods.

  6. February 2024

    The APPTT framework

    In February 2024, he shares his APPTT framework with Pat Flynn on Smart Passive Income and discusses writing ChatGPT prompts for business use.

  7. 2025

    The AI Playbook and AI agents

    By January 2025, he is founder of The AI Playbook community, a membership that helps entrepreneurs use AI to streamline their businesses. In August 2025, he explains AI agents and workflow tools such as Relay.app on Amy Porterfield's podcast.

  8. As of October 2026

    Business and AI strategist

    As of October 2026, he is a business and AI strategist based in San Diego who helps coaches, consultants and service providers through the Constraint First method. He offers Unlimited 1:1 coaching and The AI Playbook group, and his YouTube channel has more than 118,000 subscribers.

Career

  1. Until 2012AOL
  2. Until 2012Yahoo
  3. Until 2012Funny or Die
  4. Until 2012Vibrant Media
  5. The AI Playbook communityFounder

From the biography.

  1. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes Yahoo. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.
  2. 23% of people shaping AI who left a university for a company later returned to a universityIncludes Yahoo. We estimate that 468 of the 2,011 people shaping AI who left a university for a company (23%) later returned to a university after a median of 5 years, and 163 of 829 (20%) made the reverse round trip.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Yahoo. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Rick Mulready yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. What to Do When Your Work Isn't Fun Anymore with Rick Mulready buzzsprout.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. TCC Podcast #88: What you need to know to use Facebook effectively with Rick Mulready - The Copywriter Club thecopywriterclub.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. 7-Figure Ad Strategy: Behind the Scenes with Rick Mulready - Jasmine Star jasminestar.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. About Rick Mulready | Business and AI Strategist rickmulready.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. #246: How to Grow a Million Dollar Business Without Burnout - MiloTree milotree.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. The Art of Online Marketing with Rick Mulready | Ep. 141 - BRANDS ON BRANDS brandsonbrands.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Overwhelmed by AI? How to Actually Start Using It in Your Online Business (Without Burning Out) femaleentrepreneurassociation.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. SPI 759: AI-ify Your Business with Rick Mulready | Smart Passive Income smartpassiveincome.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. The Art of the (AI) Transition – The Art of Online Business – Apple Podcasts podcasts.apple.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. #749: Unlocking AI's Potential: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know Today with Rick Mulready amyporterfield.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  11. Episode 24: AI on Autopilot with Rick Mulready - Amy Porterfield | Online Marketing Expert amyporterfield.com. Checked 21 October 2026.