There’s a subtle shift happening in how businesses buy AI. Have you spotted it?
It’s no longer about the frantic scramble to see who can plug ChatGPT into their Slack channel the fastest. Instead, I’m seeing a much broader, quieter realisation that the shiny new tool isn't the solution, it's just a different way of looking at an old problem.
This week has been a bit of a whirlwind. We’ve seen major tech giants announce layoffs while simultaneously pouring billions into "efficiencies," and we've watched as new models were released to much fanfare, only for most of us to realise we haven't even mastered the old ones yet.
If you've felt a bit of whiplash, you're not alone. Here is the breakdown of what actually mattered this week and how to make sense of the noise.
The Reality of AI Efficiency and the Workforce
We kicked off the week looking at a sobering trend: the 55,000 workers being laid off as companies pivot toward AI. It’s easy to read those headlines and feel a sense of dread, but there is a nuance often missed in the news cycle.
Big tech isn't just replacing people with bots; they are desperately trying to fix decades of "bloat" by using automation as the catalyst. For the smaller business owner or agency, the lesson isn't "fire your staff." It’s "how do I make my current team so effective that I never have to hire for a boring role again?"
The real value in AI right now isn't in the total replacement of humans, but in the removal of the soul-crushing admin that makes humans want to quit anyway. If you want to see how this looks in practice, you might find some more articles on AI that dive into the human side of the equation.
Why Your Business Strategy Needs Less Speed
One of the most popular discussions this week was about why your business doesn’t need the latest AI feature yet.
OpenAI and Google are in a features arms race. It’s like watching two chefs throw increasingly obscure ingredients into a pot while you’re still trying to figure out how to boil an egg.
I’ve noticed that the most successful implementations I’ve seen lately share three characteristics:
- They solve a problem that existed three years ago.
- They don't rely on the "newest" model version to function.
- They are invisible to the end customer.
If you’re still chasing the latest model update, you’re likely ignoring the massive, leaky holes in your current sales funnel. I’ve often said that if a process is broken, adding AI just makes it break faster and with more confidence.
Practical Workflows vs. Software Hype
We also dug into the "how-to" side of things. If you missed it, I shared some practical AI workflows that move away from the "chatting with a bot" trope and into actual "doing stuff while you sleep" territory.
Then there’s the platform side. Many of you use GoHighLevel, and their recent updates have been... let's call them "enthusiastic." My take on the latest GHL features is that while the new shiny buttons are nice, the real money is still in the boring stuff like reliable CRM data and clean automation triggers.
It’s the same story with the big boys. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot update shows that even the giants are doubling down on "augmentation." They want your sales team to spend less time typing and more time talking. That’s a trend worth following, regardless of the software you use.
Selling AI Without the Fluff
Mid-week, we shifted focus to the art of the sale. I’ve found that most AI sales strategies are solving the wrong problem.
If you are trying to sell "AI" as a product, you are going to struggle. People don't want AI; they want their Friday afternoons back. They want their leads to actually answer the phone. They want to stop answering the same three questions via email forty times a day.
We even looked at why AI hallucinations are actually a gift for your sales pitch. When the tech messes up, it gives you a chance to show your human value. It proves that the "human in the loop" isn't just a safety precaution, but the actual secret sauce.
And if you’re struggling to articulate all of this to a client, you might want to get the free book which goes into detail on how to frame these conversations without sounding like a sci-fi novelist.
The One Thing To Remember This Week
If I had to sum up the last seven days in one thought, it’s this: The gap between what AI can do and what businesses need it to do is widening.
The tech is sprint-running toward the horizon, while most businesses are still trying to find their running shoes. The opportunity isn't in running as fast as the tech; it’s in standing in that gap and building a bridge.
Don't worry about being the first to use a new feature. Focus on being the person who uses the "old" features to solve a genuinely annoying problem. If you need help figuring out where that bridge should be built, you can always book a consultation and we can chat about it properly.
In the meantime, take a breath. The robots aren't taking over just yet—they're still too busy arguing with themselves about which "pivotal" and "nuanced" words to use in their LinkedIn posts.
I publish a weekly roundup every Saturday at steventann.com. If you found this useful, there's plenty more where this came from.
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.
