How do you feel about Artificial Intelligence (AI)? As a business leader, you’re likely to have strong views on the topic.
From my experience, I’m guessing you’ve joined one of two parties: ‘The Excited’ or ‘The Fearful’.
Those at ‘The Excited’ party embrace AI’s possibilities, experimenting with new tools and prompts, while the people at the ‘The Fearful’ gathering worry about safety and job replacement. Maybe you shift between both parties – depending on who you’re talking to at the time or the article you’ve just read.
I get it – AI is a new and scary thing to many of us non-technical entrepreneurs and leaders. So it’s normal to feel both curious and cautious.
But regardless of your party preference, there are several common misconceptions about AI and small business that you need to be across. In this article, I’ll share just a few I’m witnessing first hand from my students and audience members.
Misconception 1: AI is a passing trend
Whether you like it or not, AI is here to stay. It’s actually not a new thing either.
The term ‘artificial intelligence’ was coined way back 1956 by computer scientist, John McCarthy. We’ve been exposed to it for many decades since – but it’s all happened behind the scenes.
For example, platforms like Google, Netflix, and Amazon have used AI for years to personalise our experiences. And many of us regularly talk to Siri and Alexa for instant news updates, alarms, and weather forecasts.
So why are many small business owners currently freaking out? It’s because, thanks to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and similar tools, AI is now completely accessible to the everyday human – without needing coding knowledge or technical superpowers. We now have the ability to hang out and tweak with the backend of this technology – a space previously reserved for the IT geeks and gurus.
It’s definitely not a passing trend. This is only the beginning. So if you want to remain competitive during this pivotal moment in time, you can’t afford to completely dig your head in the sand.
Ultimately, we all need to accept it, learn about it, and roll with whatever changes it brings to our roles. Remember this – social media, the internet, and electricity were all considered ‘passing trends’ at one point too!
Misconception 2: AI will replace human jobs
Ah, this misconception is a classic – and a favourite among the fear-mongering media.
But I don’t believe it’s true. Well, not completely.
With the invention of social media, the internet, electricity, and other technological advancements, most jobs haven’t disappeared. However, they HAVE evolved.
We still have bank tellers and accountants, even though we now have ATMS and accounting software. Their roles have simply become more advisory.
And we still have marketing professionals and graphic designers, even though we’re all capable of doing our own emails and socials, thanks to tools like Canva. But they’re the experts we turn to for big campaigns and projects.
We also still have sales reps and customer service teams, even though things can be automated via robotic messages and chatbots. Because, a lot of the time, we still want to talk to a HUMAN!
You get the picture. We need to be prepared for our roles to change in the near future, whatever that may look like.
Misconception 3: AI-Generated content lacks authenticity
We’ve all seen that robotic, generic content flooding our inboxes and social media feeds. And I completely agree that it lacks authenticity.
However, with proper training, AI-generated content should be unrecognisable.
The crummy content we’re currently seeing is the result of GenAI being misused by unintentionally misguided or misinformed individuals. Or someone who’s too caught up with that buzz word ‘productivity’ to stop and consider the impact of the flat information they’re spitting out into the world.
Before doing ANYTHING with AI, it’s absolutely key to spend time training your tool to thoroughly understand your business’ voice, values, and customers. But this step is skipped by so many small business owners.
I suggest seeing your AI tool of choice as a brand new junior assistant or intern who is joining your team. You wouldn’t start barking demands or handing over essential parts of your business to them on Day One, would you? No, you’d start with an onboarding process.
And that’s exactly what you need to do – sit down with your AI tool for an ‘onboarding’ process and tell them everything they need to know to do the best possible job for both your business and clients. It’s totally worth it.
In summary…
Don’t let the above misconceptions hold you back.
By understanding and embracing AI, you can tap into its possibilities to strengthen your small business, stay competitive, and confidently thrive in this evolving tech space. You’ve got this!
Leanne Shelton is AI Queen (AKA CEO) of HumanEdge AI Training. Find out more at: https://humanedgeai.com/
If you’d like to join the waitlist for my ‘AI vs humanity’ book coming out in 2025, sign up here – https://humanedgeai.com/ai-book/
