How to Make Your Business AI-First

1. Map Where the Work Happens

Start by listing the core workflows in your business. For most teams, that includes:

• Marketing (content, campaigns, social)
• Sales (CRM updates, emails, outreach)
• Operations (internal docs, processes, reporting)
• Customer service (FAQs, onboarding, support)
• Product or delivery (plans, execution, feedback loops)

Now ask: what’s repetitive, time-heavy, or templated? That’s where AI usually fits best.

2. Assign Ownership, Not Just Access

Giving your team access to ChatGPT won’t move the needle. Give them ownership.

Example:

• Your marketing lead owns prompt libraries for copy and social
• Your ops lead owns automation tools like Zapier or Make
• Your leadership team uses Claude to run quarterly planning threads

Make it someone’s job to ask: how could we do this better with AI?

3. Build Internal AI Rituals

The same way meetings, dashboards, and standups shape company rhythm—AI needs rituals.

A few to try:

• Friday Wraps: Let AI summarise the week’s Slack threads, Notion docs, or CRM activity
• Monday Plans: Run your weekly planning in Claude or ChatGPT with last week’s performance loaded in
• Team Co-Work Sessions: Open Claude Cowork or ChatGPT in a shared thread and tackle a project live

It normalises the use of AI as part of the job, not a side experiment.

4. Redesign Small Workflows

Don’t aim for transformation. Aim for leverage. Pick one workflow and rebuild it with AI at the front.

Example: client proposals

• AI pulls key data from your CRM
• AI drafts a proposal based on templates
• Human reviews and adjusts tone or pricing
• Proposal goes out in hours, not days

Other easy targets: email follow-ups, meeting notes, blog outlines, onboarding checklists.

5. Create a Feedback Loop

Every AI-first company has a loop:

• Run a workflow
• Measure time saved or quality gained
• Tweak the prompt, the tool, or the process
• Document the update and share with the team

This makes your internal playbook stronger every month. It also helps avoid wasted time on tools that don’t deliver.

6. Train for Thoughtfulness, Not Just Tools

Being AI-first doesn’t mean being prompt-happy. It means:

• Knowing when not to use AI
• Knowing how to structure a clear request
• Knowing what a good output looks like

Train your team to think like editors, not just users. The best operators will know how to shape, steer, and push AI outputs.

7. Use AI as a Strategic Thinking Partner

The biggest leap is mental. Stop seeing AI as a task-doer. Start using it as a partner in thinking:

• Brainstorm new product ideas with Claude Cowork
• Use GPT to write the first draft of your Q2 goals
• Ask it to challenge your assumptions on pricing or positioning

Treat it like a new colleague with a fresh perspective—one that never gets tired or runs out of ideas.

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