I Hate To Say This, But AI Is Becoming Non-Optional

I know it only adds to the fear and overwhelm when someone says things like:

“If you don’t adopt AI, you’ll become obsolete".

“If you don’t use AI, your competitors will win.”

I personally don’t like when fear or threat is used in marketing.

If there are ways to make our business better, we should explore them because they bring value, and not because they trigger FOMO.

But let’s be honest.

AI is no longer hype, and it’s not just a buzzword used to get attention.

Since 2022, when ChatGPT came out, I’ve watched it take over conversations - at least within the circles I move in. At first, only a handful of people knew how to make generative AI tools actually useful.

Fast forward to now, and the divide has become clear.

Some people are learning, experimenting, and moving fast. They may talk more than they do, but at least they do something. Every small experiment builds experience - and that experience builds trust. They don’t just talk about what they know; they talk about what they’ve tried. I value the grounded approaches they take, and I enjoy working with them.

Then there are others who have stayed comfortable, believing nothing really needs to change. They keep running their business the same way they have for decades. They still make money, but their market share - their pie - is shrinking. Gradually, but surely.

Over the past 10 months, I’ve been talking with many business owners, including those who were skeptical of AI. Most of them are now experimenting. They feel the shift. They know something has to change, and they are making the progress.

I recently spoke with a founder of an IT service company with about 200 employees. He built his business during the .com boom. His model is process-heavy: long-term projects, billed by the man hour, with layers of operations supporting each client. Deals take months to close, and every engagement stretches six to nine months or more. It’s a well-oiled, traditional machine.

Then there’s another founder I’m working with. His team uses AI tools at every step - from code generation to project planning. Many of his engineers are contractors. From consultation to first delivery, they move in weeks, not months. Their prices are roughly one-third of the traditional firm’s, because their people and processes adapt faster. Oh, and there are so many automations running in the supporting operations.

As business owners, we don’t need to know every detail of how software is built. But more and more, success is no longer about legacy - it’s about agility, speed, and flexibility.

After two decades in enterprise B2B, even I’m surprised - almost scared - by the pace of change. The IT companies I once trusted can no longer deliver the same value. Quality expectations haven’t changed, but the time and resources needed to meet them have shrunk dramatically with AI.

This is just one example, but it highlights a pattern I see everywhere. Many people are still waiting. Waiting for the right time. Waiting until things “settle.”

But while we wait, the world keeps moving - faster than we realize. Blink, and we’ll miss what changed.

That’s how quickly this AI shift is unfolding. And maybe now, it’s time we all stop waiting, stop worrying - and start getting things done with AI.