The Intersection of Business Development and AI

AI Is a Relationship, Not a Search Engine

Here is where most people go wrong. They type one question, read one answer, and either use it or close the tab. That is not how this works.

Working with AI well looks more like a conversation — a back-and-forth where you refine, push back, redirect, and build on what it gives you. If the first draft is not right, tell it what is wrong. If the tone is off, say so. If it misunderstood your question, correct it. The quality of what you get out is directly tied to the quality of the direction you put in.

This is why I recommend reading The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier. It is not an AI book. It is a book about asking better questions. That skill — knowing how to ask the right question, at the right time, in the right way — is exactly what makes someone effective with AI. The people who get the best results from these tools are the people who know how to lead a conversation.

You are the human in the loop. That matters. AI does not have judgment about your business, your clients, or your reputation. You do. Use it.

The Tools: What They Are and What They Are Good For

There is no single right answer to which AI tool to use. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Here is a plain-language breakdown of the main ones.

A few things worth knowing:

• You do not need all of them. Pick one, learn it well, and add others only when you have a specific reason.
• Start with Claude or ChatGPT if your primary work is writing, strategy, and client communication.
• Add Perplexity when you need to research something and want sources you can actually verify.
• Learn one tool at a time. Jumping between five at once means mediocre results from all of them.

What AI Cannot Do

It cannot think strategically on your behalf. It can generate options, but it does not know what the right move is for your business. That requires you.

It does not know your clients, your history, your reputation, or the relationship dynamics you have built over years. You do.

It will sometimes sound confident while being wrong. Fact-check anything that matters — especially numbers, statistics, or claims about your industry.

It does not have taste or judgment. It will write what you ask it to write. If you ask for something mediocre, it will oblige. Hold the bar high.

Where to Start

This week, do one thing. Open one of the tools above — I suggest starting with Claude or ChatGPT — and use the 20-question prompt from the newsletter. Let it interview you. Answer fully. At the end, ask it to write a short paragraph describing your business in your voice.

Read what it gives you. If it is right, you now have a strong starting brief to use for every session going forward. If it is off, correct it. That conversation is the foundation.

AI will not build your business for you. But used well, with intention and direction, it can free up significant time, sharpen your thinking, and help you communicate more clearly and consistently. That is worth something.

Join me on May 21st at Coffee Talk to take this further. We will be going inside the Business Health Check — three of the seven areas that tell you the most about where your business actually stands. Register at https://smallbusresults.com/coffee-talk-with-shelly/

Business and Communication Strategist

Small Business Results