Stop Overhyping AI And Get Practical
AI is real. The hype is louder. Lately I keep hearing a line that makes me roll my eyes: spend five hours a week “playing” with AI or you’ll never catch up. That’s not how progress or business works. My take is simple: you don’t need to obsess over every AI toy to win. You need to be intentional about where AI actually moves the needle.
I run companies, invest in others, and live in the middle of marketing and growth. I’m not anti-AI—I use it, back teams building with it, and see where it’s already helping. But the sky-is-falling pitch is lazy advice. Most businesses don’t need to drop everything and tinker for hours each week to stay relevant.
“If you’re not spending five hours a week just playing with AI, you’re gonna be so far behind in six months, you’ll never catch up.”
That claim is wrong. Here’s why—and where the real advantage sits right now.
The Hype Misses How Most Businesses Win
Progress is not a race to the most hours spent clicking prompts. It’s about outcomes. Time invested should match the upside. If you’re trying to take over the world, sure, go deep. If you run a solid local business, you’ll probably be fine without daily AI experiments.
I still go to a tire shop my dad used near downtown LA. He still uses a manual credit card machine. His business is fine.
That example isn’t nostalgia. It’s proof that customer need, service, and trust beat trend-chasing. AI will change parts of work. It won’t erase simple, proven businesses overnight.
There’s also no broad first-mover advantage right now. Tools change fast. What you “master” this quarter could be irrelevant next year. I invest through our fund, and we see value in AI. But the edge doesn’t come from random tinkering. It comes from channel strategy.
Where The Real Edge Exists Today
The most useful near-term play I see is AEO—showing up in AI answers. When people ask tools like ChatGPT, “What should I use for X?”, you want your brand named. That channel is growing fast and it’s already driving results. From a marketing view, that’s worth betting on.
Think of AEO like a cousin to SEO, but for AI assistants instead of search engines. The goal is to be referenced, cited, and recommended by these systems when users ask for options or advice.
- Publish clear, specific guides that solve real tasks.
- Use precise product and category language people actually type.
- Earn credible mentions and citations across trusted sites.
- Structure data so AI systems can parse it easily.
- Track where AI tools reference you and fill the gaps.
In short, make it easy for AI systems to “know” you and surface you. That’s a practical edge—not hype.
Smart Adoption Beats Blind Experimentation
Most teams should watch, test, then scale. You don’t need five hours a week “playing.” You need focused pilots with clear goals. If a workflow is slow, test an AI draft, summary, or QA pass. If results improve, systemize it. If they don’t, move on.
Brief counterpoint: Will ignoring AI forever hurt? For some, yes. If your market moves to AI-led buying and you skip it, you’ll feel it. But there’s a big gap between that and obsessing over every feature drop.
- Pick one process to streamline with AI. Set a metric.
- Try one AI tool for 30 days. Keep or cut based on the data.
- Invest in AEO so you show up in AI answers.
That’s not Luddite thinking. It’s disciplined growth. Chasing every shiny object is a tax on focus.
My Bottom Line
AI is the next wave, like the early Internet. But I’ve seen plenty of great businesses thrive without chasing every trend. You don’t win by playing more—you win by choosing better. Go after AEO, run small pilots, and double down only where outcomes improve.
Drop the guilt. Keep your eye on results. Build the kind of business that still works, with or without the latest tool. Then, when AI gives you a real edge, take it.
Call to action: Audit one workflow this week. Launch one 30-day AI test with a clear metric. Start building content and credibility so you appear in AI answers. Simple, focused, measurable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need to spend five hours a week learning AI?
No. Set targeted experiments with clear goals instead. Focus time where it improves output, cuts costs, or increases revenue. Let outcomes guide effort.
Q: What is AEO and why should I care?
AEO means showing up in AI assistant answers. When people ask tools for recommendations, you want to be named. It’s a fast-growing channel with real impact.
Q: Will waiting a bit put my business behind?
Not if you’re intentional. Watch the space, test small, and scale what works. Ignoring AI forever is risky. Blindly chasing it is, too.
Q: How can a small team start with AI without wasting time?
Pick one workflow bottleneck. Try one tool for 30 days. Measure a single metric like speed or accuracy. Keep only what pays off.
Q: What content helps me appear in AI answers?
Create specific, helpful guides that match real questions. Use clear product names, earn credible citations, and format info so systems can parse it.
