Cortney Hickey is the executive assistant to the CEO at Zapier, where she’s leveraging AI to transform traditional EA responsibilities into scalable, organization-wide systems. In this episode, she demonstrates how she’s built AI workflows that automate meeting preparation, reinforce company culture through automated feedback, and democratize strategic knowledge across the organization. Her approach shows how EAs can use AI not to replace their roles but to elevate them—working on higher-impact initiatives while creating systems that benefit the entire company.

What you’ll learn:

How to build an automated meeting prep system that researches participants, checks CRM data, and delivers actionable insights before important meetings
A framework for creating AI-powered culture reinforcement through automated meeting feedback aligned with company values and operating principles
How to develop an AI-powered document review system that helps teams align with executive expectations before formal reviews
A strategy for creating a centralized knowledge base that makes company strategy accessible and interactive for all employees
Why “progress over perfection” is the key mindset for building effective AI workflows that evolve over time
How EAs can use AI automation to work themselves out of repetitive tasks and into higher-impact strategic roles