AI can have all the right data and context. That doesn't mean it knows what good looks like.
What's missing is taste.
Jason Vargas, Co-Founder & Chief Partner Officer at RevShoppe, describes it as the judgment that comes from experience: knowing what good looks like, recognizing when a message will resonate, and being willing to challenge an AI-generated answer instead of accepting it at face value. As companies build AI deeper into their go-to-market motions, Jason believes capturing that judgment may become one of their biggest advantages.
Jason joins Sean, Justin and Josh to discuss how companies can actually build a taste layer, who should be responsible for it, and why it needs to evolve alongside the people, buyers and business itself. They also explore what AI means for traditional GTM team structures, how organizations can train agents more like employees, and why scaling AI successfully still requires humans who know what good looks like.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the taste layer in AI
01:56 The importance of judgment in AI systems
04:00 How organizations can build their taste layer
07:59 The role of human judgment and experience
12:01 Challenges in developing the taste layer
15:48 Organizational structure and AI responsibility
19:49 Onboarding and evolving the taste layer
24:00 Digital twins and AI in organizational context
27:57 Success stories and examples of taste layer implementation
32:05 Future opportunities and closing thoughts
References in the Show:
Quote of the Show:
“You have to be able to push back on [AI] and to bring your judgment into whatever it brings back. You have to bring your experience of building companies, running teams, coaching people, whatever. You have to bring that into the conversation with it, and you have to be able to spar with it. That helps you build the judgment. That's what I'm doing personally, and it helps. But you can't take what it brings back to you at face value. You always have to challenge, like, ‘Where'd you find that? Show me a link, or why did you say that?’” - Jason Vargas
Ways to Tune In:
What is The Cheat Code & Friends?
Serial entrepreneurs and operators Justin Gray, Josh Wagner & Sean Kester combine decades of B2B and GTM expertise with unwavering honesty to unpack the latest news (fake or otherwise) on The Cheat Code & Friends Podcast. Combined with a rotating guest list of founders, practitioners and investors, the no-nonsense forum gathers fortnightly, holding court to translate headlines into reality and discuss the impact for early-stage businesses. The Cheat Code is just that, the trusted folks we look to for advice and insight, and we hope to bring the same to you.
Game over.