"AI-first" is a losing strategy...
become "YOU-first" instead
Most AI-first businesses are headed for a bloodbath.
Because here's what's about to happen (it's already started, really): Tech-enabled services are all going to flatline in price.
Writing. Design. Marketing. Code. All of it.
When everyone has access to the same tools, being technically proficient isn't special anymore.
It's commoditized.
Remember when "I know Photoshop" was a rare, hireable skill? Now we've got Canva and a million AI tools. The technical edge evaporated.
The same thing is happening with writing, coding, and every other skilled service.
So where does this leave you?
If your pitch is "I'll use AI to deliver X service faster/cheaper", you're already dead. You just don't know it yet.
The big players will always out-tech you. They have more data, more engineers, more money. You can't win that race.
And despite all the AI doom, we're not seeing a wholesale replacement of workers. Why?
Political reasons (governments don't want mass unemployment)
Financial reasons (big companies move slowly)
Human reasons (people resist radical change)
This creates a transition period. A messy middle.
And in this messy middle, the real value isn't in the tech. It's in what you bring to the tech.
Your perspective. Your experience. Your unique point of view.
The POV premium
I've been watching this play out in slow motion. The clients I work with who are thriving aren't the ones with the fanciest AI stack.
They're the ones with the sharpest thinking.
The ones who have carved out a specific perspective on their industry that no one else has.
They've found a niche within their niche.
And that niche isn't about WHAT they do, it's about HOW they think about what they do.
Take someone who helps startups with their marketing:
Generic: "I help startups grow with AI-powered marketing"
POV-driven: "Most startups kill growth by chasing social virality. I help founders build quiet, sustainable audience engines that convert regardless of algorithm changes."
See the difference? The second one has a point of view. A stance. A specific diagnosis of the problem and approach to solving it.
And that's worth 10x more in a world where anyone can generate generic marketing content with AI.
How to develop your POV edge
Here's what to do:
Write down your experiences that shaped how you think about your work
List what you believe that others in your industry would disagree with
Note which problems you think are overrated and which are underrated
Identify patterns you've observed that others haven't articulated
Define the conventional wisdom in your field that you think is wrong
What emerges from this exercise is the beginning of your POV.
It's messy. It's imperfect. But it's uniquely yours.
And it's what clients will pay a premium for when AI has commoditized everything else.
The hierarchy of value is inverting
What's happening is that the traditional business hierarchy is flipping:
Execution → becoming automated and commoditized
Strategy → skyrocketing in value
Creative thinking → more valuable than ever
Most people are looking at AI wrong. They think it's a technical advantage.
It's not.
It's a technical equalizer.
When everyone has superpowers, having superpowers isn't special anymore.
What becomes special is knowing where to aim those powers.
Who wins in this world?
The winners will be those who understand this shift and position themselves accordingly:
Thinkers over doers
Strategists over tacticians
Perspectives over processes
These people will use AI, of course. But they won't lead with it. They'll lead with their thinking.
They'll say: "Here's how I see the world. Here's what I believe is happening. Here's my unique approach to solving this problem."
Then they'll use AI to execute that vision more efficiently.
But the vision - the POV - that's where the real value is.
And unlike AI skills, which are becoming commoditized by the day, a well-developed POV becomes more valuable over time, not less.
It compounds.
So forget "AI-first." That's already a losing game.
Become "YOU-first" instead.
Because in the AI era, the scarcest resource isn't technical skill.
It's original thinking.
And that's something no AI can commoditize.
-- Raz
P.S. If you've been positioning yourself as "the AI person" in your industry, it's time to reconsider. What do you understand about your field that others don't? Start there instead.