Businesses are rushing to adopt AI quickly, chasing the allure of AI’s potential for massive efficiency gains.  While we have an “AI” solution today for just about every business function – content creation, data entry, analytics, business development – it does not mean using AI is always the best answer.  

AI is not an answer but rather a tool to help determine an answer.  It is a potentially powerful tool when used correctly.  Users need to understand the exact problem you are trying to solve and where and when to use AI and not. On the one hand, we want our business to run very efficiently and lean, but we also want our customers to absolutely love our product or service.  As a business leader it is important to remember that humans are social creatures.  Think of the value of networking and groups such as Philly Tech Entrepreneurs provide.  There is a lot of power in keeping some things human.    

To make sound business decisions on whether to use AI or not, first, we need to understand what AI is good at. Today’s AI is good at automating repetitive tasks, code generation, general ideation, data acquisition/analysis, and handling tier 1 customer support – among other things.  Increased use of AI is inevitable and necessary for businesses to remain competitive.  The purpose of this piece is not to discount AI but rather to highlight some areas to be aware of and where it would be good to keep the increasingly valuable human touch.  

“AI Won’t Replace Humans — But Humans With AI Will”

First, it is essential to understand that any intelligence, artificial or otherwise, is not infallible.  Just because a computer gave you an answer does not mean it is the best or even the correct answer.  It is also important to have a high-level comprehension of how AI is developed.  An AI model is trained on a large amount of data. Quality matters: garbage in, garbage out.  The model should be trained on the exact type of data it is meant to analyze for your business.  Whether using a pre-trained model or building your own, it is not a set-and-forget approach. While an AI can exhibit issues from the start, such as hallucinations, biases, and overfitting, it can also deteriorate over time through model drift, leading to temporal bias.  

Automation

Automation is a great AI use case. The general idea is to automate repetitive and human error-prone tasks such as data entry, reporting, or analytics. This is one of the most basic and proven use cases without many downsides. The two recommendations are to ensure your tools are calibrated in the beginning and check on them periodically to ensure there are no deviations. The benefit of human involvement is limited.

Large Language Models (LLMs)

Many businesses are now using or integrating with LLMs such as ChatGPT, a more complex use of AI.  It is crucial to remember that most AI LLM tools available today for businesses are optimized for continuity over truth.  This means the tool – whether generating text or code – wants to create a complete answer, but it cannot determine the veracity of that answer. Public LLMs can also provide privacy and intellectual property risks to your business, as the data input will be shared and used to train the model further and can help answer future queries for other people. These tools still have a great deal to offer, but it is essential to have a knowledgeable person using them, someone who can review the outputs to ensure validity and protect your business.   

Ideation

Ideation is another common use for AI. While the tools can generate ideas, these are often lacking originality, emotion, and creativity – “quantity over quality.”  The outputs also have little to no connection to the unique brand identity you are creating. As long as AI cannot generate original and unexpected ideas, it will not surpass humans in creativity, and as a result, its decision-making abilities will be limited. Differentiation is critical, especially when fighting to get a foothold as a new business or in a new market. For example, use AI to generate white paper topics and drafts but refine them to ensure they express your brand correctly. When a company needs a new or innovative solution to a problem, humans are better equipped to provide such a solution.

Chatbots

Chatbots are helpful tools for providing tier-1 customer support.  However, it is essential to have a human escalation point to ensure consumer frustration is minimized.  There is great value in excellent customer service.  Think about times you had to fight a bot – online or over the phone – to get live support.  For example, compare the difference between disputing a charge on your cable bill versus dealing with Amex customer support. Additionally, if you are relying on your chatbot to generate sales on a site, how good of a deal closer is that bot really? 

There is also a legal risk to using chatbots if done incorrectly.  At a recent conference I attended with compliance leaders from many F100 companies, there were discussions on the “novel” application of existing laws toward the world of AI.  One is the 1968 “Wiretap Act,” which states that “the interception of wire or oral communications… should be allowed only when authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction”.  In short, avoid many problems by ensuring that chatbot users must opt-in to having their data and the chatbot conversations recorded.

AI can be great for the start of the funnel, answering general prospect/client questions.  However, that human-to-human contact can be a breath of fresh air to prospects and clients and be a clear differentiator in closing a new client or keeping an existing one.  

The Human Differentiators

There is a lot of power in keeping some things human. Social bonds between businesspersons and clients have long-term positive impacts on relationships, helping to weather storms and providing invaluable feedback.

In human-to-human interaction, we have a superpower: our Emotional Intelligence, which is a great differentiator from Artificial Intelligence. With this comes the benefits of higher levels of authenticity and trust. AI can help diagnose a disease more accurately, but it is not better at breaking bad news to a patient.

Personal relationships foster trust and authenticity, which are critical in business dealings. AI lacks the human touch needed to build genuine trust, making personal connections irreplaceable for credibility.

Humans are capable of Emotional Intelligence, allowing for empathy, understanding, and nuanced communication. This is essential for resolving conflicts, negotiating deals, and providing customer support, areas where AI still falls short.

Business Exercise

At the end of the day, our time is limited, and its value should be maximized. Start by creating a customer journey map that reviews each interaction with a prospect or customer. Then, list all of the behind-the-scenes steps needed to make that interaction top-notch.  

Identify which interactions add the most value from a human touch perspective and automate the rest—in other words, taking inspiration from the 80/20 rule, where can your human touch have the most outsized impact?  

Laws & Regulation

The AI landscape is rapidly changing, and by its very nature, the pace of those changes will only accelerate. Regardless of how we feel about AI, its continued development and spread are inevitable. Therefore, education is absolutely essential to making informed business decisions.

Governments worldwide – both local and national – are attempting to legislate this space (EU AI Act, Colorado, Utah, FCC, FTC, etc.). This is difficult because it is evolving quickly, and most agencies lack the adequate knowledge to legislate this space effectively.  Additionally, regulators do not want to stifle innovation.  One of the most significant risks identified by companies I have met with is not innovating AI fast enough and falling behind. 

Conclusion

AI is here to stay. So long as humans are selling to humans, that personal touch will be important – for some, a key differentiator, and for others, a luxury worth a premium.  We can think of this as the supply and demand for human creativity.  As we all know, business heavily relies on relationships built on trust, good communication, and common ground.  As the use of AI gets even more widespread, the value of human touch will get even greater. 

While AI promises a great deal, personal relationships provide the emotional, ethical, and contextual understanding essential for long-term success and meaningful human interaction.  After all, humans are more connected yet lonelier than ever.   

What are your thoughts? 

About Nick:

Nick van Vliet is a seasoned director with extensive experience in sales, operations, strategy, leadership, and change management. He is currently serving as the Director of Sales and Operations at Clarip, a SaaS company specializing in privacy and AI governance solutions. He is adept at new client acquisition, relationship management, and strategic planning, with a robust background in driving brand awareness, developing sales strategies, executing go-to-market plans, and team building.