A lot of people are just now discovering AI tools. I've been using them for a while, and I want to be honest about something: most of what gets hyped doesn't survive contact with real business.
Here's what actually stuck.
The Big Shift: AI as a Thinking Partner
The first thing AI changed for me wasn't efficiency — it was clarity.
Before, when I was working through a complex problem (pricing strategy, how to handle a difficult client, what offer to build next), I'd think about it in my head, maybe talk it through with someone, and eventually land somewhere. Now I use Claude or ChatGPT to think out loud. I describe the problem, dump my half-formed thoughts, and the AI asks questions or pushes back in ways that help me get clear faster.
This alone is worth whatever you're paying for a subscription.
What I Use Every Day
Claude — My primary thinking and writing tool. I use it for strategy, frameworks, drafting content, reviewing copy, and any time I need to think through something complex. The longer context window matters when you're working with real business documents.
GoHighLevel's AI features — Since my whole agency runs on GHL, having AI built into the CRM, email builder, and automations means we're constantly finding ways to move faster. The AI workflow builder alone saved us dozens of hours this month.
Windmill — This is the backend automation layer I run on a VPS. Unlike tools that require GUI drag-and-drop, Windmill lets me write actual code flows that run on a schedule or trigger. For agentic tasks — things that need to check data, make decisions, and take action — this is where I go.
Fireflies — Every client call gets transcribed automatically. I don't take notes during meetings anymore. Fireflies captures everything, and I can pull quotes, action items, and follow-ups after the fact.
What Didn't Work (At First)
I spent a lot of money and time early on trying to automate everything. Big mistake.
AI is powerful, but it amplifies what you already have — good or bad. If your process is messy, automating it just makes a mess faster. I had to slow down, clean up how we actually do things, and then build automation on top of solid fundamentals.
The other trap: AI-generated content that sounds like AI-generated content. I've tested it. Readers can feel it. The engagement numbers confirm it. Anything I publish, I write or heavily rewrite.
The Actual Competitive Advantage
Here's the thing nobody tells you: most of your competitors aren't using AI seriously yet. They're playing with it, not building with it.
That gap is closing fast. But right now, if you understand how to wire AI into your actual business operations — not just use ChatGPT to write emails — you have a real edge.
That's what I'm building toward with every experiment I run. I'll keep sharing what I find.
Next week I'm writing about the specific automations I've built for client onboarding. Subscribe if you want that in your inbox.