I used to be a big-time AI skeptic.
As a travel blogger and writer, I watched the industry I loved get flooded with low-quality, AI-churned content. I saw websites pumping out a hundred blogs in an hour—often poorly researched and riddled with errors. It felt impossible to compete when I was spending weeks on the ground, researching and writing from lived experience.
Back then, my “interaction” with AI was essentially yelling across the sofa to my husband, Eric. He had the ChatGPT account; I didn’t want one. I’d shout, “Hey, can you ask ChatGPT to do this?” and he’d send me the results.
But then, I finally logged in myself. I started to play. And what I discovered wasn’t a replacement for my brain—it was a high-powered engine for my business.
The Shift: From “Content Churn” to Strategic Partner
Today, I’m not just a user; I’m leaning into “power user” territory. My day-to-day life is now powered by an ecosystem of tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity.
But I’ve learned a vital lesson: AI is a tool, not a substitute. About a year and a half ago, I might have let ChatGPT run wild creating blog posts. Now? I’m much more strategic. We build custom GPTs and “Gems” that we educate on our specific brand voice, our guidelines, our goals, and our competitors. This isn’t about letting a robot speak for us; it’s about training a partner to understand us.
How We Use AI to Error-Proof a Local Business
One of the most practical ways I’ve integrated AI is in our window covering company in Colorado. Before we submit a client estimate to a vendor, I ask ChatGPT to review it.
As a former corporate tax attorney, I have a high bar for accuracy, but human error is inevitable. It is incredible how many times the AI picks up on a discrepancy that a tired human eye missed. It has saved us thousands of dollars in avoided remakes and reorders.
Does it get it right 100% of the time? No. But it flags enough issues that I can ask our sales reps the right questions. It doesn’t make the final decision—I do.
The “Human Intervention” Rule
If there is one thing I want every business owner to hear, it’s this: AI with human intervention is the only way to win.
We do not publish content for our businesses or our clients without a human touch. We use AI to:
- Speed up writing: I use Whisper Flow dictation so I don’t have to type every word, which eliminates typos and lets my thoughts flow faster.
- Research and Market Analysis: Using AI-powered keyword tools to see how search behavior is shifting.
- Personal Life Efficiency: We even used AI to plan a recent trip to France, allowing it to suggest the itinerary and cities based on our preferences.
The Frustration Gap
I’ll be the first to admit that AI still has “bad days.” We’ve all been trapped in a loop with a website’s customer service chatbot that doesn’t understand a simple request. I still get frustrated and end up shouting “speak to an agent!” into my screen.
However, I know those moments are becoming rarer. The technology is evolving so fast that the “clunky” chatbot of today will be the seamless assistant of tomorrow. I simply can’t imagine running our businesses without these tools anymore.
The Future is Human-Led AI
The genie is out of the bottle. You can be the traveler who refuses to use a map, or you can be the one who uses the best tools available to reach your destination faster.
I’ve gone from yelling across the sofa to building a more efficient, more profitable life. AI hasn’t replaced my experience as an entrepreneur—it has simply given me the bandwidth to focus on what matters most.
Key Takeaways
- Start Small: You don’t have to be a coder. Start by using AI to check your work or brainstorm ideas.
- Customization is King: Don’t use “out of the box” AI. Use Custom GPTs or Gems to teach the AI your brand voice and specific business rules.
- Error-Proofing: Use LLMs as a “second set of eyes” on estimates, contracts, or schedules to catch human error.
- Dictation over Typing: Use tools like Whisper Flow to turn your spoken thoughts into clean text, saving hours of manual labor.
FAQ: Transitioning to AI in Business
Only if you let it. If you copy-paste directly from a chatbot, yes. But if you build custom instructions that define your “Digital Facade” and your specific tone, it becomes a powerful amplifier of your voice.
There isn’t just one. I recommend a “stack”: ChatGPT for general tasks and custom bots, Perplexity for real-time research, and Whisper Flow for hands-free content creation.
In our home services business, it absolutely has. By catching errors in orders and estimates before they are sent to the manufacturer, we’ve significantly reduced the cost of “re-dos.”
Stop looking at AI as a writer and start looking at it as an intern. Give it a task you hate doing—like proofreading a long spreadsheet or summarizing a meeting—and see how it performs.
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