We were promised efficiency. “AI will do the heavy lifting.” “Automation will free up your time.” “Work smarter, not harder.”
That’s great, but now there are more tools, more acronyms, more logins, and more 9-step workflows standing between us and a finished deliverable. It doesn’t always FEEL efficient.
The spreadsheet that became a data matrix now has predictive modeling capabilities. Your email has “AI-assisted generative response optimization.” Chatbots come with an “agentic reasoning framework.” And search results now scrape your website instead of sending people to it.
AI has genuinely simplified some of my work. But it also dropped a whole new layer of tools, prompts, and platforms on top of a digital ecosystem that was already starting to get hard to keep track of. And like everything else, it gets more complicated before it gets simple.
When I talk with small business owners, many are using AI in pretty similar ways and anxious they should be doing more. A lot of text editing, email and contract writing. Some research shortcuts. The occasional image or infographic. Maybe a new AI feature in their existing software.
Everyone is figuring AI out in real time, at their own pace, in their own way.
As a Digital Marketing Strategist, I feel the pressure too — to adopt features faster, use it more, unlock some magical efficiency pyramid across a dozen platforms. But the time! Reallocating time & mental focus to climb the learning curve is the biggest barrier to entry…
🤖Take Lightning, the bright red humanoid robot that stumbled through a half-marathon last year like a 65 year old who forgot to train, only to return this year and break the human record. The learning curve for these technologists from that first race to the finish line is like any AI adoption journey: you might stumble through the initial trial, but you’ll adapt, optimize, and figure it out, like any human and humanoid.
Just know this: If you’re feeling behind, you’re probably not as far behind as you think. Find the one or two places AI actually saves you time, invest time in those platforms this Summer, get good at them, experience and enjoy the efficiency they afford you. Then pick 2 new uses.
Keep using your best judgment, relationships, and instincts to adopt AI in places that best fit your needs. (You don’t have to race against a robot if you don’t want to).
If you need another human to help figure out where AI solutions will create real efficiency for your small business and how to adopt them, Contact Vast Interactive Founder, Catherine Llewellyn for an inspirational discussion.
