The AI Divide: Are You Exactly the Same as Everyone Else, or Rare?

When AI exploded onto the scene, as an overwhelmed, solo business owner, you probably thought: Fantastic. Here is my digital PA, my marketing engine, my customer care bot, and my research assistant. But what you didn't realize is that everyone else had the same epiphany.

If you're reading this, you probably already know that I am a big advocate for streamlining and outsourcing one-person businesses, and that includes utilizing AI. AI tools are incredibly helpful for shortcutting research, helping you overcome blank page syndrome, and testing out your ideas. However, right now, when it comes to AI, self-employed experts fall into one of two camps: The 'Sea of Sameness' or The 'Refined and Rare'.

The 'Sea of Sameness'

Getting the free version of ChatGPT and asking your first question feels revolutionary—and let's face it, it is! But, much like taking on a new member of staff, AI needs the right structure, training, instructions, and rules to learn how to do the job right. Without this vital framework, you run the risk of building an echo chamber, with an ever-decreasing pool of data to draw from.

To a novice user, AI is very simple to use—you just type your question and a nanosecond later you have the answer. But every novice is asking the same questions. While you may get different answers in terms of wording and structure, the themes will generally be the same. Then you post it to your blog or social media and, hey presto, another rewording of the same source material.

Prompting in the wrong way can also reinforce the position you are taking. Please remember that, although AI is very conversational, it is not able to think like a human. It serves you and whatever you tell it your purpose is.

When you discuss a topic with another human, we might ask more questions or challenge you—we don't usually need your permission to do that. This matters because if your thinking is flawed, AI will merrily take you deeper into what you think—just like the algorithms that keep serving me funny dog videos because it knows that's what I like.

Refined and Rare

The revolutionaries aren't using AI to "replace" their thinking. They are using it as the digital infrastructure for their brilliance. They don’t use it for fluff; they use it for friction-free operations.

Here is how you can use AI to actually stand out:

1. Bespoke agents

Create and train your own agents or work with an AI professional who can craft the perfect agent prompts for your business. Learn the basics of good prompting, and recognize when it's time to hit reset and start over.

2. Shortcut Research

Experts don’t ask AI to write their point of view; they already own the expertise. Instead, they use it to bridge the gaps. If you’re a master coach and you want to write a piece that is evidence-based or contains statistics, AI can do the legwork for you. If you use the right prompt, it will give you all the sources so you can read the material and confirm the results are from reputable sources you actually want to be associated with.

3. Ditching blank page syndrome

If your brain naturally rebels against boring, linear writing and a blank page feels like your kryptonite, try talking out your thoughts using speech-to-text on your laptop or phone. It doesn't need to be in the right order—just let the thoughts come as they are.

Then, take your messy brain-dump and give it to a preconfigured copywriting AI model to organize into a clean, structured article.

WAIT! We aren't done yet. Now you need to make sure what's written sounds like you. You must edit the article no matter how professional it sounds—it's the only way to fully own and understand your content.

4. Permission to challenge granted

I have some brilliant AI models that I have created myself, but sometimes they are just like my dog—they love me no matter what! 😂

“Oh Sarah, yes that's a brilliant idea,” “That's very insightful, Sarah,” “You are completely right,” “Love this context, Sarah” are all things that Google Gemini has said to me recently. Lucky my feet are firmly on the ground!

Asking AI to challenge your thinking, or find the stress points, is an incredibly helpful way of validating your ideas and exploring different approaches. When I am working on something new, I always ensure I explicitly give the tool permission to ask questions and challenge me.

5. Stop falling for AI nonsense

Say you need expert advice on something, but you just don't want to shell out the money. Why should you when you have a solution in your pocket that can give you the answer, for free, in seconds?

Here’s why: when you take advice on topics you know little or nothing about, you can end up wasting a lot of time following instructions that are outdated or just plain incorrect.

I am tech-savvy, but there are a lot of systems available to small business owners, and I can't possibly know how they all work. AI does make it much faster for me to access the right instruction manuals, but sometimes I get "led down the garden path" by overzealous responses referencing an article from five years ago about an option that no longer exists.

Because I have years of experience, I can quickly identify when things aren't right and correct my course. But what would happen if I didn't have that knowledge to draw on? Frustration and time-wasting, that's what! (Let's liken it to Googling your health issues—nothing good is going to come from it 😂).

Stick to the stuff you know. Use AI to get ideas of what to ask an expert, but pay a real expert to help you solve the problem!

Come back tomorrow for some tips on how not to make an arse of yourself with AI.