Today I want to talk about something that unless you’ve been living under a huge rock, you’ll have all heard about.
Yes, we’re talking about AI, right? And more specifically, I want to talk about whether or not we should be using it within our business.
It undoubtedly brings tons of possibilities, but as with anything, we should always do things for the right reasons, not just because we can.
Now, if this is something that you’ve been having similar internal dilemmas about, then listen up, because I’m going to break it down in really simple, practical ways so that you can start using AI to work smarter, not harder, and in a way that really works for you within your business.
Let me start by saying this – AI isn’t here to replace you or anyone else. It’s here to support you. Think of it like adding a super-efficient team member who never gets tired, never takes a holiday, is brilliant at handling the boring stuff that you don’t have time for.
Here are three big things that AI can help you with straight away.
Now, number one, it can help you with speeding up admin. So things like your emails, such as creating brief templates, tidying things up, flagging important messages. It can help with your planning and organisation, such as suggesting meeting times, sending reminders, creating helpful to-do lists and spreadsheet work and things like that.
Next, you can use it to boost or supplement your own creativity, such as event ideas, product descriptions, social posts, identifying trends, campaign concepts, customer engagement ideas. And then, and this is an exciting one, it can improve your existing customer experience.
Now, whenever I talk to business owners about AI, they get excited and they want to fix everything all at once. But if you want my honest advice and opinion, you should start with the tasks that you absolutely hate. Ones that drain your time, drain your energy and those you always find yourself pushing to the bottom of the to-do list, but you know they’re really important. That’s a brilliant place to start with.
So to begin with, pick one area and let’s just say, right, let’s get AI to do this a little bit better and a little bit faster. Once you start and see the results, trust me, you’ll be hooked and then you’ll be looking at the next one.
Let’s break it down into some simple steps.
Firstly, use AI for structure, not the final answer. Sometimes the hardest part is compartmentalizing things and that’s something that AI can be great for. So it can help you draft emails, write schedules, plan launches, create checklists while having you check over things for the bigger picture.
Secondly, use AI as your brainstorming partner.
When your brain’s fried at seven o’clock on a night and you can’t think of a single social post, but you want to maintain consistency, for example, AI can help you with that. Throw in a few ideas, a bit of context, and watch it help you shape something brilliant without you having to do all of the heavy lifting.
Then we have number three, use AI to automate repetitive bits. So that’s your customer FAQs, booking confirmations, basic data entry. It’s not glamorous work, but AI loves it and it can have a hugely positive impact on your customers.
Imagine having responses going out instantly, having tailored product suggestions, automatic follow-ups, chat tools that can help customers 24 seven. Well, AI can do all of that for you and suddenly you require more hours in your week.
But, let me be clear, people still want to talk to a real person when it matters, especially if the problem is a bit more complex and they need some human interaction. However, AI can handle the simple stuff so that you and your team can be focusing on the moments that count. It’s about making your customer feel looked after and AI can help you do it consistently and most important, professionally.
Now, as I said in the beginning, as I said in the beginning, that’s really something important to remember when thinking about how to use AI effectively. You should never, ever, ever be looking to lose that human touch.
So I recently had someone in one of my businesses use AI to communicate with me. Now that’s somebody I work with, and I’ll be really honest, felt very uncomfortable at the fact that they’d chosen to do that. And I shared that experience with my LinkedIn followers, and someone in the comments said that when it comes to AI, we should be using the 108010 rule.
You put 10 % in, AI does 80 % of the work for you, and then you need to spend another 10 % polishing everything up and that’s always really stuck with me as a brilliant recipe for success. 10, 80, 10, right? AI can add the content, but it needs to be you that adds the personality. And that’s how to use it successfully while not compromising on your voice and on your personal brand.
Now, before we wrap up these are my golden rules about using AI.
Be curious. The more you play with AI, the better you will understand what it can do. Be specific. The clearer your instructions are, the better the output is going to be. And then finally, keep control. AI supports your brand. It doesn’t and shouldn’t define it. And don’t forget, stay human. Use AI to free up some time so that you can focus on the parts of your business that no machine can replace such as relationships, creativity, passion.
Remember, the businesses that thrive are the ones willing to learn, to adapt, and to try new tools and while it might seem like sometimes that is exactly what AI is, it’s not magic. It’s just a tool. It’s a very powerful one when it’s used in the right way, and that’s the key, use it in the right way.
Hopefully that’s a little bit of insight on how you can start using AI effectively in your business simply, practically, and in a way that makes your working life easier. So give it a go, start small, play around with it, experiment, and you’ll be amazed at the difference it can make!