My friend thinks AI made him smart...

I had an interesting chat with a friend last night that perfectly illustrates why most people are thinking about AI all wrong.

This guy is an incredible marketer... who's been using AI to create some absolutely mind-bending stuff lately.

But here's what got me thinking...

On our walk, he said something that made me want to smack him:

"People think I'm some marketing genius now."

I had to stop him right there.

Because he was missing his own damn point...

He's ALWAYS been a marketing genius. AI just gave him superpowers.

This conversation was still rattling around in my head when I listened to the latest "Every" podcast with Dan Shipper ... where Mike Maples broke down exactly why most people are missing the point about AI.

(If you don't know Mike, he's the legendary investor who wrote early checks for Twitter, Twitch, Okta, and Lyft... and now runs Floodgate, the fund he cofounded.)

His point was simple:

The most valuable AI companies aren't just slapping AI on random problems... they're combining deep domain expertise with AI capabilities.

Why does this matter? Because without deep domain knowledge, AI is just a fancy tool producing generic outputs that don't actually solve real-world problems.

Look at Applied Intuition...

They are CRUSHING IT because they understand the automotive industry inside and out:

• Century-old supply chains
• Complex manufacturing processes
• Engineering challenges that would make Einstein cry

Then they added AI to that expertise... and suddenly they're helping traditional carmakers compete in a software-dominated world.

As Maples puts it:

"To succeed and ask for giant contracts from these companies, you need not only AI expertise but multi-discipline expertise."

Let me give you 3 real-world examples of this "expertise + AI" formula in action:

1. Marketers Who Get It: The best copywriters aren't using AI to write generic copy. They're feeding it their hard-earned knowledge of customer psychology, objection handling, and conversion triggers. Then using AI to test 50 variations instead of 5.
2. Business Owners Who Get It: The smartest business owners I know aren't using AI to replace their thinking. They're using it to handle the boring boilerplate while they focus on architecture and business logic, stuff that actually requires their expertise.
3. Creators Who Get It: The content creators killing it aren't asking AI for generic blog posts. They're using their unique perspective to guide AI in creating supporting research, outlines, and first drafts, then applying their voice and insights where it matters most.

THIS Perfectly Illustrates My Point

Just watched this perfect case study of what I'm talking about...

This marketer built an ENTIRE six-figure agency with ZERO employees, by combining her marketing expertise with AI tools.

She doesn't just throw generic prompts at ChatGPT and pray.

Instead, she:

1. Starts with REAL conversations (webinar transcripts, client interviews) that capture authentic expertise and tone
2. Uses AI to extract the valuable insights, maintaining the original voice
3. Repurposes that content across multiple channels without losing the human element

It's EXACTLY the formula I've been talking about:

DOMAIN EXPERTISE + AI TOOLS = UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

This woman didn't suddenly become a marketing genius when ChatGPT dropped.

She was already a skilled marketer who understood client needs, messaging strategy, and content development.

AI just let her operate like she had a team of 10 people when it's just her.

And that's how she's outcompeting traditional agencies with massive overhead and employee costs (330k per year vs. 2,400 per year with AI.) Why? Because her operational costs are a fraction of traditional agencies while her output quality remains high due to her expertise guiding the AI.

Her expertise became her moat. AI became her superpower.

The perfect real-world validation of everything Mike Maples was saying.

Here's what's wild about this whole situation...

There's this MASSIVE opportunity gap right now:

Most AI "experts" have ZERO domain expertise. Most domain experts have ZERO AI expertise.

The people in the middle are running away with it.

Because they understand both their craft AND how to leverage AI tools to amplify it.

Which means there's this brief window where you can position yourself in that sweet spot before everyone else catches up. This timing matters because early adopters in this middle space will build systems and workflows that create compound advantages.

And here's where it gets interesting...

When you TRULY understand your domain... and then add AI to that knowledge... you can completely change how business gets done.

In ways your bigger competitors literally CAN'T copy.

(Even if they wanted to... their entire business model won't let them.)

Your expertise becomes your moat. And AI becomes your superpower (repeating this because it's that important).

Just like my friend... he's not suddenly a genius because he's using AI. He's just finally got the tools to amplify what he already knew.

Now let's start thinking about what happens next.

The first wave was: "OMG ChatGPT can write emails!"

The current wave is: "I can use my expertise + AI to outperform everyone."

The NEXT wave...Building entirely new business models and workflows that simply weren't possible before.

We're talking about expertise that scales in ways previously unimaginable.

Individual experts with the leverage of entire departments.

Small, nimble teams outmaneuvering corporate giants because their domain knowledge + AI gives them structural advantages the big guys can't match.

That's where it gets REALLY exciting.

And that's the real secret sauce here...

The winners in the AI era won't be the ones who just discovered ChatGPT... they'll be the ones who already deeply understand their craft... and use AI to turn that expertise into superpowers.

Stay Curious,

-Max

P.S. This is a good test to see if my friend actually reads my stuff ??