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AI Tools & Models · Published August 2026

AI Is About to Become a Multiplayer Game 👥

AI work is becoming multiplayer. Here are five truths about agents, models, harnesses, cost, and organized data—and what I'm testing now.

AI Is About to Become a Multiplayer Game 👥
Alec Newcomb3 min read

Part of the AI Agents for Marketing guide

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by all of my agent activity. I run seven agents on a daily basis. It’s a lot for one human to stay on top of.

Which got me thinking about the future of how we work.

It’s clear to me that it is going to be multiplayer: us and AI, working side by side on projects. That is where AI agents for marketing are headed.

Today’s tooling does not allow for this yet, but Buzz, Slack, and everyone in the Bay Area are trying to figure it out.

I try to remind myself daily that I’m the problem. My antiquated workflows and systems are not adapting fast enough to this new AI utility.

The problem is that these new workflows are not exactly clear. It takes a lot of testing to make any forward progress.

🤖 Five AI truths I’m sure of

  1. AI will be multiplayer versus single player. Teams of humans and AI working together will outperform solo practitioners.
  2. AI will be multimodel. Today, I use five primary models: Claude, ChatGPT, MiniMax, Grok, and Gemini, in order of weekly usage.
  3. Your harness matters. The code and tooling around your AI are important. Research shows we can get a 600% improvement when the tooling and model are aligned. The wrong model running with the wrong software and tooling can burn tokens like a drunk sailor.
  4. You can reduce your AI costs by more than 50%. I’ve done it, but it takes real work. A good part of our future will be optimizing AI costs down. This will separate the winners from the also-rans. If you can run for 50% less than your competitors, that is a hard gap to close.
  5. If you don’t have your data organized, agents and automation are rather useless. I use Obsidian, but you can use Apple Notes, Notion, or something else. Where is the scratch pad where you and AI collaborate?
The Multiplayer AI Stack: humans and agents working as a team, supported by models, a harness, cost optimization, and shared data.

🧪 What I’m testing now

  • Hermes Agent versus OpenClaw. The maintenance overhead of running several OpenClaw agents is significant. Is Hermes better? I’ll let you know.
  • HyperAgent versus Hermes Agent in the cloud. Setting up a VPS (virtual private server) is a pain in the ass. Maintaining it is worse. Is there a lighter, better version for marketers? I’m trying to find out.
  • OpenRouter presets. I love OpenRouter because I can see what my AI is doing, but getting my presets correct takes real work. Which model backs up which model? What are the best settings? How much thinking is too much?
  • Working from my phone with agents. Increasingly, I do 50% of my work from my phone. What is the best app for it? Slack? No. Telegram? Maybe. Discord, Gchat, or Teams? You need the right mix of security, UI, and usability. None are AI-ready yet.

We’re all in a tough spot at the moment. The AI models are getting smarter exponentially every 21 days. Model cost continues to decline, and 35,000 software vendors are trying to sell us something that likely has little value.

My only solution is to keep testing and walk the dog.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed this week, I’m sending you a hug. I’m feeling it too. Keep testing, walk the dog, and figure out what the right mix is for you.