Small steps to get started with AI
Over spring break, my family met up with my in-laws in beautiful Sedona, Arizona to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Because of the multi-generational nature of the trip and different activity levels of everyone involved, building an itinerary to suit our needs was not straightforward. Enter Artificial Intelligence.
I spent about an hour on an AI tool telling it where we were going, some of the things we liked to do and asked it to build a plan. We tweaked the plan a couple of times as I dug deeper into the suggestions. In the end, I had a rough itinerary with only a few gaps I would need to fill in. It was a huge time saver and stress reducer. It was also a great entry point into the value of AI.
As I conducted my research in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 into AI and how owners and leaders of human-related service firms are using it, I learned a wide variety of ways AI is being used to run and grow their businesses. While my research was not scientific, through the forty in-depth conversations I had, a clear hierarchy of adoption became clear.
90% use it for drafting communications, conducting research, and taking meeting notes
50-70% use it for data analysis and screening
Less than 10% for cutting-edge applications like AI-conducted interviews.
The 90% using it for drafting communications, research and meeting notes have started the process of understanding and implementing AI. They have likely experienced time savings and stress reduction as a result.
The challenge for leaders is to determine where to focus their AI investment, both of time and money. You have been successfully running a business and delivering services without AI up to this point. Changing everything all at once may be too excessive for you. And that is okay. You only need to start somewhere and that can be in the areas that 90% of folks are experimenting too.
Regardless of how you plan to use AI, here are some ideas of where you can get quick wins and start getting comfortable with the tool that is here to stay.
Drafting or editing communications including emails, reports, presentations, or marketing content
Research and information synthesis including details about upcoming conference speakers or who your meetings are with for the week
Note-taking and meeting transcription which can include summaries for all participants and action item organization
Creating job descriptions, policies, or other standard language to disseminate
Writing or updating resumes, LinkedIn profiles, or bios for sharing
Generating interview screening questions
This list could be much longer, and I am always looking for additional ideas of how people can get started with AI. If you have some thoughts, please email them to me and I will include them in a future post.
The key here is that you must start somewhere and there are some easy, low risk ways you can engage with AI, without going through the overwhelming task of overhauling your entire company. The time may come when you do need to make dramatic, sweeping changes. The key is to build comfort with AI in small ways. Taking small steps now, before you fully know what is needed for your business, will give you the space to build excitement about what is possible with AI.