The AI industry is lying to you

Read the previous issues here: https://newsletter.ertiqah.com/

Subscribe to receive The Efficient Entrepreneur directly in your mailbox: https://newsletter.ertiqah.com/subscribe

Most 'AI Solutions' Are Useless for SMBs

Let's cut the crap. The AI industry is lying to you.

They're peddling "revolutionary solutions" that are useless for most SMBs. Why? These tools are built for Fortune 500 companies with bottomless pockets and armies of data scientists who can spend the next 3 years ‘customizing’ it for their use-case and still fail.

You? You’re not so lucky.

The uncomfortable truth is that 90% of AI tools marketed to SMBs are glorified chatbots with fancy UIs. Take LinkedIn Premium's "Rewrite with AI" feature. It's a perfect example of superfluous AI integration that often makes your text worse, not better.

Here’s your situation

If you’ve fiddled around with the idea of using AI-powered tools, you ran into one of the two problems:

1. There’s too many options to choose from and you can’t tell which is BS
2. Almost all of them are BS

What's worse? Implementing the wrong AI solution isn't just ineffective - it's expensive. We've seen SMBs waste upwards of $50K on AI tools that ended up collecting digital dust.

What you really need is targeted, efficient AI integration. But finding the right solution in the overcrowded AI market? That's where the real challenge lies.

Don't fall for the hype. Your business deserves better than empty promises and overpriced tech. In the next section, we'll show you how to spot these AI frauds from a mile away.

The 5-Minute AI BS Test: How to Spot a Worthless AI Tool

Time is money, and you don't have time to waste on snake oil AI. Here's a quick 5-point test to run any AI tool through before you even think about opening your wallet:

1. Specificity: If it promises to "revolutionize your entire business," run. Fast. Good AI tools solve specific problems.
2. Integration: Can it plug into your existing workflows without a complete overhaul? No? Next!
3. Customization: If it's one-size-fits-all, it fits nobody. Your business is unique. Your tools should be too.
4. Transparency: Clear pricing, clear capabilities, clear limitations. If they're dodging questions, they're hiding something.
5. Proof: Case studies from businesses your size, in your industry. Not Fortune 500 success stories.

The Diagnosis

You can drill it down to 5 diagnostic questions:

??? Does it solve a specific problem in your business?

??? Can it integrate with your existing systems without a major overhaul?

??? Is it customizable to your needs?

??? Are the pricing, capabilities, and limitations clearly stated?

??? Do they have case studies from businesses similar to yours?

?? If the answer is no to 2 or more of these, it’s a bullsh*t tool.

Let’s try the test on some tools/integrations (could be for non-SMBs, just to illustrate the point).

Bad AI: Failing the Test

LinkedIn's "Rewrite with AI" ??

• Fails specificity: It’s a generic feature. Nobody has a problem of ‘replying’ to texts, let alone automating the replies. What’s needed is prioritization, i.e., which DMs are worth replying to.
• Fails customization: It's not tailored to your industry or communication style. Can’t even be prompted.
• Fails transparency: Honestly, no one knows what data it was trained on or what its capabilities are apart from generally making your texts worse.
• Fails Proof: Duh. Haven’t seen one person say good things about it.

X's Grok ?

• Fails specificity: Almost nobody needed a ‘summary’ of top 10 tweets of the day or a ‘witty bot’ to talk to (there’s plenty others doing that much better).
• Fails customization: Its standout feature is that it can summarize news trends in general. Nothing to do with your feed in particular.
• Fails pricing: For the price tag mentioned and the capabilities promised, it’s anybody’s guess what this AI is actually good for. Seems to promise the world but delivers nothing.
• Fails proof: The hype almost immediately died down.

Good AI: Passing with Flying Colors

Notion AI ???

• Solves specific problems: Assists with writing, brainstorming, and summarizing. Everybody’s seen a blank page and blanked it. It solves exactly that.
• Integrates seamlessly: Works within your existing Notion workspace.
• Customizable: Learns from your content and can be prompted for specific needs.
• Proof: One YouTube search about Notion AI will bring up hundreds of non-sponsored creators praising how it has helped them (and I’ve seen it firsthand too).

Intercom's AI ??

• Specific solution: Solves one problem, intelligent routing and responses.
• Integrates seamlessly: If you’re already using Intercom, this is a no brainer. Just need to upgrade your package.
• Clear pricing: They don’t have separate pricing for their ‘base product’ and their ‘AI product’. It’s one and the same.
• Customizable: It builds up on your knowledge base and learns from your responses.

? Remember: Good AI enhances existing processes. It doesn't require a complete overhaul of how you do business.

That's it for today's newsletter.

What would you like to add or remove to this filter? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below ??