How to Use AI in Your Business in 2026

TL;DR

Use AI in your business by automating one existing workflow from beginning to end, then training and evaluating it as rigorously as the process it replaces. The speaker recommends combining business knowledge with technical understanding; his company’s five support agents handled about 120,000 tickets and resolved 90% without human intervention. Read on for practical implementation steps, evaluation principles, and examples across sales, support, risk, and content.

Transcript

Last year, my company did over $250 million in aggregate revenue. I've been in business for over a decade and a half. Uh in this video, I'll show you how we use AI to make our business better, cheaper, faster, and less risky for our customers. I'll also walk you through some real examples of every department. Number one, how do we actually make the... Read More

Key Insights

• AI should be seen as a tool to enhance existing business processes, not as a requirement to become a tech company.
• Successful AI integration requires understanding both high-level strategy and granular technical details.
• AI can significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency, as demonstrated by companies like PayPal and JP Morgan.
• It's crucial to compare AI implementations fairly with existing processes, considering the time and effort invested in both.
• Business owners should prioritize learning and automating workflows themselves to unlock more valuable tasks.
• AI's role is to make current tasks easier and faster, not to replace the need for effective business strategies.
• Proof of effectiveness is essential for AI-driven content, especially in B2B contexts, where credibility matters.
• The focus should be on the outcomes AI delivers rather than the technology itself, as customers care about results, not tools.

Questions & Answers

Q: How should you use AI in your business in 2026?

Treat AI as a tool for improving existing business processes, not as a reason to turn your company into an AI or tech business. Start by automating one portion of your day from beginning to end, using your knowledge of the workflow to define the required behaviors and outcome.

Q: What is the first practical step for implementing AI in a business?

Choose one specific task or workflow and dedicate focused time to automating it from beginning to end. The speaker suggests finding a relevant tutorial, giving its link and transcript to an AI, following the directions, and sharing screenshots whenever you get stuck.

Q: Why must business owners understand both strategy and technical details?

Technical specialists may understand what can be built but lack the owner’s context about the business. The largest improvements come from combining business acumen with enough technical knowledge to recognize how APIs, workflows, people, marketing, and strategy can work together.

Q: How should a business evaluate an AI implementation fairly?

Compare it with the existing process on an apples-to-apples basis. A half-built AI function should not be judged against a human process refined over 6, 10, or 20 years; the AI needs comparable work on training and standard operating procedures.

Q: Can AI improve a sales process that is already weak?

AI can make current sales activities easier and faster, but it does not eliminate the need for a sound sales motion. An AI salesperson or setter still requires training for the specific business, just as a human salesperson would, and automating an ineffective process does not make it effective.

Q: How has AI reduced costs and risk in real business examples?

The speaker says PayPal reduced fraud losses by $700 million in a single year by using AI to recognize patterns faster. He also cites JP Morgan’s COIN system as saving about 350,000 lawyer hours and processing 12,000 credit agreements in seconds.

Q: How can AI improve customer support?

During the speaker’s book launch, five AI agents handled roughly 120,000 support tickets and resolved 90% without human intervention. He also cites Klarna as replacing 700 customer service agents with AI and saving $40 million in a year.

Q: Should a business advertise that it uses AI?

The speaker recommends focusing communication on outcomes rather than advertising the technology. Customers care that they receive something faster, cheaper, better, and with less risk; they do not necessarily care which tool produced those results.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• AI should be used as a tool to enhance existing processes rather than transforming a business into a tech company. It can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and mitigate risks if implemented correctly. Business owners need to understand both strategic and technical aspects to effectively leverage AI.

• Comparing AI implementations to well-optimized existing processes should be fair, considering the time and effort invested in both. AI can automate tasks and improve efficiency, but it requires proper training and understanding of workflows to be truly effective.

• Incorporating AI in business should focus on outcomes rather than the technology itself. Customers care about results, not the tools used to achieve them. Business owners should prioritize automating workflows themselves to unlock more valuable tasks and opportunities.