Something weird happened on a client call last week. We were supposed to be talking about their lead conversion rates, but instead, we spent forty minutes staring at a new button in their GoHighLevel dashboard.
They were convinced this one feature was the silver bullet they’d been waiting for. I, on the other hand, was convinced it was just another shiny object designed to make us feel productive while we ignored the fact that their follow-up emails still sounded like they were written by a Victorian bailiff.
It made me realise that being a GoHighLevel user right now feels a bit like being at an all-you-can-eat buffet where the chefs won't stop bringing out new dishes. You haven't even finished your spring rolls, and suddenly there's a chocolate fountain and a live pasta station.
It’s exciting, sure. But eventually, you just get a stomach ache and forget why you came in the first place.
The Reality of Recent GoHighLevel Platform Updates
I’ve spent a lot of time lately digging into the latest patches. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it feels like they’re trying to build a spaceship when most of us just need a reliable bicycle to get to the shops.
The platform is evolving at a pace that is frankly exhausting. If you’ve felt a bit behind, don't worry. Most of the people pretending to be experts are just reading the changelog five minutes before they go live on a webinar.
The trick isn't knowing every single update. It's knowing which ones actually move the needle for your clients and which ones are just "feature theatre."
The New Funnel Builder and UI Enhancements
Let's talk about the editor. For years, the GHL funnel builder was, to put it politely, "characterful." It had its quirks. Moving an image two millimetres to the left often felt like trying to perform keyhole surgery with a pair of oven mitts.
The recent UI updates have finally brought it into the modern era. It’s snappier. The global styles feature is a genuine lifesaver for anyone who has ever spent three hours manually changing the hex code on forty-seven different buttons because the client decided they preferred "slightly more aggressive salmon" over "regular coral."
Why does this matter? Because speed is a competitive advantage. If you can build a high-converting landing page in twenty minutes instead of two hours, your margins just grew. If you’re looking for more ways to streamline, I’ve written more articles on AI and automation that dive deeper into this.
Advanced AI Features in GoHighLevel
Everyone is shouting about AI, and GHL is no different. We now have AI content creators, AI appointment bookers, and AI image generators tucked into almost every menu.
Here is the honest truth from someone who has broken a lot of things: the AI is only as good as the person holding the steering wheel.
The Conversation AI is getting remarkably good at handling the "Where are you located?" and "What are your hours?" questions. It is still remarkably bad at handling "My cat just died and I donkeys years ago bought a sofa from you, can I have a refund?"
The updates that matter here are the ones that allow for human intervention. The "Live Chat" handoff features are the real gems. They allow the machine to do the boring bit, but give you a nudge when a human actually needs to talk to a human.
- AI Ad Copy Generation: Useful for beating writer's block, but usually needs a "human polish" to not sound like a robot.
- Workflow AI: This is a sleeper hit. Using AI within workflows to categorise lead intent is a massive win for lead scoring.
- Image Generation: Fine for placeholders, but please, for the love of all that is holy, don't use the six-fingered people for your client's main hero image.
Communities and Membership Portals
GHL clearly wants to take a bite out of Skool and Kajabi. The new Community feature is a bold move.
Historically, the membership area in GHL felt a bit like a dusty library. Functional, but you didn't really want to hang out there. The new "Groups" and "Communities" feel more like a social network.
If you’re an agency owner, this is a massive opportunity for "stickiness." If you can host a client's community and their CRM in one place, they are never, ever going to leave you. Switching costs are the best friend of agency retention.
However, a community is a living thing. Don't launch this for a client unless they have a plan to actually talk to people. A silent community is just a very sad, empty digital room.
The WhatsApp Integration and Multi-Channel Messaging
This is a big one, especially for those of us not based in the US. In the UK and Europe, WhatsApp is the king of communication.
The deeper integration of WhatsApp into the unified conversations inbox is probably the most "useful" update of the last six months. Being able to trigger an automated WhatsApp message from a form fill—without using three different Zapier workarounds and a prayer—is lovely.
It’s personal. It has higher open rates than email ever will. And now, it stays synced with the contact record.
If you aren't using this for your local business clients yet, you're leaving money on the table. It’s often the difference between a lead that goes cold and a lead that books an appointment within four minutes.
Which Features Should You Ignore?
I promised to be honest. There are some updates that you can safely ignore for now.
The "Social Media Planner" continues to get updates, but if your client is a serious content creator, they’re probably still going to use a dedicated tool. It’s getting better, but don't feel like you have to migrate everything there just because it exists.
The same goes for some of the more complex reporting dashboards. Unless you have a client who specifically asks for a custom pivot table of their Facebook Ad spend vs. their Tuesday afternoon coffee consumption, keep it simple. Most clients just want to know two things: "How much did I spend?" and "How many people gave me money?"
Everything else is just decoration.
Making the Most of the Platform
If you're feeling overwhelmed, my advice is to pick one new feature every two weeks. Test it on your own agency first. See if it actually saves you time or makes you money.
If it does, roll it out to your best client.
Don't be the agency that sends out a "BIG NEWS" email every time GHL changes a button colour. Be the agency that solves problems. GHL is a toolbox, not a strategy.
If you’re struggling to figure out how to piece all these tools together into a coherent sales process, you can always book a consultation and we can look at your specific setup.
It’s easy to get lost in the tech. I’ve done it. I once spent three days building a complex automation that saved me four minutes of work a month. I felt like a genius until I did the maths.
The goal isn't to have the most "updated" sub-account. The goal is to have the most profitable one.
Since it’s Thursday, I should probably mention that I’ve put a lot of these "how to not mess this up" thoughts into a book. It covers the strategy that sits on top of the tools. You can get the free book here if you fancy a bit of light reading that won't give you a headache.
Stay focused on what matters. Use the tools, don't let the tools use you. And maybe check in on that client who wants to spend forty minutes talking about buttons — they probably just need a bit of reassurance that the basics are still working.
I write about AI tools, business, and unconventional working life at steventann.com. Come say hello.
About the Author
Steven Tann is an AI consultant, author of "You're Selling AI Wrong", and founder of SalesM8. He writes about AI, sales, and running a business from a narrowboat on the English canals. Connect with him at steventann.com.
