Insights on AI, automation, and what it means for your business.
And what you can do about it — on your own terms.
There's a particular kind of headline that most business owners have learned to tune out. "AI will change everything." "The future of work is here." "Your industry will never be the same." After a few years of this, it starts to sound like background noise — the same breathless predictions recycled with a new date on them.
I get it. You've got clients to serve, bills to pay, and a team to manage. You don't have time to chase every technology trend that someone on LinkedIn says will be "revolutionary."
But something has genuinely shifted in the last twelve months, and I think it's worth your attention. Not because the headlines have got louder, but because the technology has become quietly, dramatically more capable — and the businesses that are paying attention are pulling ahead in ways that will be very difficult to catch up with.
A year ago, AI tools like ChatGPT were impressive but limited. You could ask them to write a blog post or summarise a document, and they'd do a reasonable job. Useful, but not transformative.
What's happened since is that AI has gone from being a clever tool you ask questions to, to being something closer to a capable colleague that can actually do things. Today's AI systems can browse the web, use software, manage multi-step tasks, make decisions based on your preferences, and work alongside your existing business tools — email, calendars, accounting software, CRMs — without you needing to learn anything new.
This isn't about robots or science fiction. It's about the kind of work that fills your day: sending follow-up emails, chasing invoices, comparing quotes from suppliers, keeping your books up to date, scheduling appointments, responding to routine enquiries, monitoring your competitors, producing reports. The tasks that are necessary but repetitive. The ones you do at 9pm because the day ran away from you.
AI can now handle a significant chunk of that work. Not perfectly, not for everything, but well enough that the businesses adopting it are operating meaningfully faster and cheaper than those that aren't.
Here's what concerns me about the current moment, and why I'm writing this.
The businesses that have started using AI seriously aren't just saving a bit of time. They're fundamentally changing their cost structure. A company that used to need three people to manage client communications, reporting, and admin can now do the same work with one person and a well-configured AI system. The work still gets done — often better and faster — but the cost of delivering it drops dramatically.
That company can now undercut you on price, deliver faster, or invest the savings into growth. And this advantage compounds. Every month, AI gets a bit more capable and a bit cheaper. The gap between businesses that are using it and those that aren't doesn't stay the same — it widens.
I see this every day in my work. The clients who adopted automation twelve months ago aren't just ahead of where they were — they're ahead of their competitors who are still doing things manually. And the competitors are starting to notice.
This isn't limited to tech companies or large enterprises. It applies to accountants, law firms, estate agents, marketing agencies, consultancies, tradespeople with office admin, medical practices, recruitment firms — any business where a meaningful portion of the work involves information, communication, and coordination.
I'm not going to pretend I can predict exactly how the next few years will unfold. Nobody can. But there are a few things I'm fairly confident about:
The cost of not adopting AI is going to increase every year. Right now, it's an advantage. Within a few years, it'll be a requirement. The businesses that move first get the benefit of learning while the stakes are low and the advantage is highest.
Your competitors are already looking at this. Even if they haven't implemented anything yet, they're thinking about it. The question isn't whether AI will affect your industry — it's whether you'll be the one using it or the one competing against it.
You don't need to become a technology expert. This is the most important point. You don't need to understand how AI works any more than you need to understand how your email server works. You need a clear picture of where your time goes, which tasks are repetitive, and a partner who can build the right solution and keep it running.
Start with the boring stuff. The biggest returns aren't from flashy AI features — they're from automating the mundane work that quietly eats your day. Invoice chasing. Appointment confirmations. Data entry. Report generation. Supplier comparisons. These are the tasks where AI delivers immediate, measurable value with very little risk.
Here's something I think deserves more attention. Most businesses are paying for far more software subscriptions than they need. Over the last decade, the standard advice was to buy a specialised tool for everything: one for project management, one for email marketing, one for invoicing, one for scheduling, one for customer support, one for reporting.
Each one costs £20, £50, £100 a month. They add up. And most businesses use about 20% of each tool's features.
AI has changed the economics of this completely. Many of the tasks those subscriptions handle can now be done by a simple automation connected to an AI model, at a fraction of the cost. I'm not saying every subscription is wasteful — some tools are genuinely excellent and worth every penny. But I'd estimate that the average small business could cut its software spend by 30–50% by replacing underused subscriptions with purpose-built automations.
It's worth auditing. You might be surprised by what you find.
If you've read this far and you're thinking "this might apply to me but I genuinely don't know where to start," here's what I'd recommend:
Take an honest look at where your time goes. For one week, keep a rough log. What tasks fill your day? Which ones are repetitive? Which ones could be done by someone (or something) following a clear set of rules? That's your automation shortlist.
Audit your software subscriptions. Log into every tool you're paying for. When did you last use it? Are you using all the features? Could the same job be done differently? This isn't about cutting costs for its own sake — it's about understanding where your money is actually going.
Talk to someone who does this for a living. Not a salesperson trying to sell you a platform. Someone who can look at your specific business, understand your workflows, and tell you honestly what's worth automating and what isn't. A good automation consultant will save you from wasting money on the wrong things as much as they'll help you invest in the right ones.
Start small. Pick one process. Automate it. See the result. Then decide if you want to do more. The businesses I work with that get the most value are the ones that started with a single, well-chosen automation and expanded from there — not the ones that tried to transform everything overnight.
I'll finish with this. We're in an unusual moment. AI is powerful enough to deliver real business value, but most businesses haven't adopted it yet. That means there's a genuine first-mover advantage available right now to anyone willing to take it seriously.
That window won't stay open forever. As adoption spreads, the advantage shifts from "getting ahead" to "keeping up." The businesses that move now will define the standard that everyone else has to match.
I don't think that's a reason to panic. I think it's a reason to be curious, to ask good questions, and to start exploring what's possible — on your own terms, at your own pace, with your own business needs front and centre.
If you'd like to have that conversation, I'm here. No jargon, no hard sell, no obligation. Just an honest chat about where AI fits into your business — if it does at all.