Any new technology that comes about has the fear factor for people that have never used it.
As we get older, we become more resistant to change. So, when new technology comes about, younger generations probably find it easier to adapt and more senior business owners can find themselves in a bit of a puzzle as to where to start. But once you get into them, the fear factor disappears.
I’m more worried about businesses that are running without AI than ones that are. Every generation gets a technology they’re told to fear. And this one just happens to be more useful.
AI is not going to replace any business founder or owner. It’s just the fact that it can replace parts of our jobs that we never really wanted to do in the first place. No one starts a business because they love writing emails, doing research or formatting decks. It’s just that AI will remove all of that friction.
Your traditional businesses that require physical skills, for example, are less exposed than the knowledge based industries, who will need to make sure that they’re on top of using AI.
AI’s heading towards the idea of driving efficiency and we’re already seeing that, at least in my space. Within the marketing sphere, two thirds of businesses are using AI. Two thirds of SMEs are using AI already. In the next 12 to 24 months you will either become part of this next generation of businesses that become more progressive, or you will get left behind.
This is the most exciting thing that’s happened since I started out in the early 2000s and I was explaining to people why they needed a website. It’s not just that people should jump on AI because it sounds sexy, but because it can help with their workflow and help them do more of the things they like to do, spend their time in the right way and enjoy their work more.
It’s a human judgement call on where and how to use AI. And I think that’s where people need some guidance. Businesses that don’t adopt AI will get left behind soon. This is because expectations from customers are going to be that things can be done faster and more efficiently than before and certain industries will need to adapt more than others.
Essentially, it’s to do more work that you want to do in less time. It’s about, where are the pain points in my business? Where are the bottlenecks? Where are the workflow inefficiencies?…
Your traditional businesses that require physical skills, for example, are less exposed than the knowledge based industries, who will need to make sure that they’re on top of using AI.
There’s a new equaliser in business, which is that smaller businesses can adapt quicker because the tools are allowing them to catch up quicker and be agile.
The customer also has more power because they can do lots more. Previously, they had to ask an expert. So, they might have to go to a graphic designer. They might have to go to a particular copywriter. They may have to work with a signage company or design a bedroom, whatever it is that they want to do.
I was working with a garden building client the other day and he said to me that one of their customers had brought a mockup to a meeting with exactly what they designed. So that shift of being able to adapt, and to be able to go with it, and be able to still provide value to your customers, is key.
People are obsessed with the idea of AI rather than thinking about what the actual problem is. So it’s really about rephrasing this to say, how can I improve? Essentially, it’s to do more work that you want to do in less time. It’s about, where are the pain points in my business? Where are the bottlenecks? Where are the workflow inefficiencies? Where am I asking teams to do work that shouldn’t exist in the first place? Then looking at, what is the one thing I can fix in this quarter?
If you’ve been doing things in one way, then this is the time that you really need to be thinking about pivoting quickly. The challenge is not what AI tool you’re using and whether you have got the time. It’s a question of if you don’t do it now, you’ll regret it. I remember the conversations I had with businesses at the start when they were going online and they were asking me why they needed a website.
Fundamentally, I don’t see AI as something new. John McCarthy was the grandfather of the AI movement. His project, the Dartmouth Summer Research Project, was one of the founding events in artificial intelligence in 1956.
Regarding the here and now with AI, I don’t feel people have as much time to play with as they think. A huge amount of jobs have already been lost to AI. It’s not like it’s going to replace human work, but it will replace humans that don’t use AI.
When we started to use the internet, there were things that were based on machine learning and algorithms. I used to play games on the computer that were based on the chess engine. That was effectively a form of artificial intelligence, and it’s been going on since the fifties.
If we look at it now, it’s just that generative AI has really highlighted the potential of AI and because it’s become more accessible to less technical people, it’s become hyped up.
Of course, the power of it now is quite staggering, but actually, it really isn’t anything new. We’ve seen this man and machine battle for some time. For me, this is like what the industrial revolution did for machinery, and we should be able to do our work in half the time.
My experience with AI is that I’ve been using many tools that are just not being labelled as AI because they are things that have been seamless in our life. I’ve got a car that has a Grok AI model built in so when you’re driving down the road, you can talk to that.
Fundamentally, I don’t see AI as something new. John McCarthy was the grandfather of the AI movement. His project, the Dartmouth Summer Research Project, was one of the founding events in artificial intelligence in 1956. So, when I’m talking about the 50s and 60s, AI comes from that.
When it comes to using and benefitting from AI today my advice is as follows. Get together in a room and figure out the problems in your business, the bottle necks and things like that. These are human issues, but we just happen to be solving them with the latest tech. It isn’t that scary, it’s beneficial, and I’m certainly not scared of it.
Steve Grant is the founder and Managing Director of digital growth agency Figment, which he started in 2006. He is also a speaker, podcast host and wellbeing advocate.
