Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:06] Welcome back to the Confessions in the Home Office podcast. I'm Wendy Hill, and today I want to talk about something that seems to be showing up everywhere I read and everywhere I look. It's in my email inbox on LinkedIn. We even talk about it in client meetings.
[00:00:20] So of course I'm talking about artificial intelligence or AI.
[00:00:24] Now, before you roll your eyes and think, great, another podcast episode about AI. I want you to stay with me for just a minute because this really isn't an episode about the technology.
[00:00:35] It's an episode about people.
[00:00:37] More specifically, it's about how people are changing the way they search for information, how they evaluate businesses, and how they make buying decisions.
[00:00:45] So after the LA over the last several months, I've noticed something interesting when I talk with business owners about AI, that they really fall into one of two categories.
[00:00:56] The first group is worried. They're concerned AI is going to replace jobs, eliminate the need for marketers, writers, designers, and maybe even entire businesses. Now I'll say a lot of those are marketing people that I'm talking to. They see headlines predicting mass disruption and wonder if everything they've spent years building is about to become obsolete. Are they ever going to be able to find a job again?
[00:01:16] The second group has the opposite reaction. They aren't worried because they aren't paying attention.
[00:01:22] They know AI exists. They've heard about ChatGPT, they might have an account, and they've played around with it a little bit. But they don't have time for this, and they don't believe it has much to do with their business, at least not yet. They assume it's another trend, another shiny object that everyone's really excited about and that they'll forget about it soon.
[00:01:40] Personally, I think both groups are looking at this the wrong way.
[00:01:44] What I find fascinating isn't the technology itself. What fascinates me is the behavior change happening around it. If you've listened to the podcast for any length of time, you know that marketing has always been about behavior. Tools are going to change, the platforms are going to change, the algorithms change all the time. But successful marketing has always depended on understanding how people find information and how they make decisions. So I want you to think about how much that process has changed over the years.
[00:02:14] So not that long ago, if someone needed a service provider, they would ask their friend for recommendation, or a neighbor or a colleague, and then they would flip through that thing we called the phone book.
[00:02:25] Then websites became important. Then Google became the dominant player. Businesses spent years learning about search engine optimization because Ranking well in search results could have a huge impact on your growth.
[00:02:38] For the better part of about 20 years, the process was really predictable.
[00:02:42] A person had a question, they opened up Google, they typed in a few keywords, they reviewed the search results, and they started clicking on websites. That's the environment most business owners have been operating in. But today, more and more people are skipping past that process altogether.
[00:03:00] Instead of typing a few keywords into a search engine, they're asking complete questions, they're opening chat GPT and asking for recommendations.
[00:03:07] They're using Google's AI generated summaries that come up at the top of the screen after you search. They're looking at tools like Gemini, Claude and Perplexity. I've been playing around with Perplexity some recently myself. They're having conversations instead of just conducting a search.
[00:03:23] That may sound like a subtle difference, but it's really a major shift.
[00:03:28] So when someone types Estate Planning Attorney Spartanburg, South Carolina into a search engine, they're looking for options.
[00:03:35] When someone asks AI, who should I hire to help my aging parents with their estate planning? They're looking for guidance, they're looking for answers, they're looking for expertise.
[00:03:46] That distinction matters because it changes what businesses need to do in order to be found.
[00:03:51] For years, many websites were built around what the business wanted to say. We talked about our company history, we listed our services, we highlighted our awards and accomplishments. There's nothing wrong with those things, but AI is pushing us towards something different.
[00:04:06] It's rewarding businesses that answer questions, provide useful information, and demonstrate expertise.
[00:04:13] And, you know, I think that's a good thing.
[00:04:15] One of the frustrations I've always had with marketing is how businesses look for shortcuts.
[00:04:20] They want the trick that gets them to the top of Google. They want the hack that generates instant leads.
[00:04:27] They want the secret formula that somehow allows them to skip the hard work of building trust.
[00:04:31] AI doesn't eliminate the need for trust, really. In many ways, it amplifies it.
[00:04:37] The businesses that are likely to benefit most from this shift are the ones that have been consistently educating their audiences all along.
[00:04:45] They're answering common questions, they're publishing articles, they're creating videos. They're sharing insights based on real world experience. And they're helping people solve problems before they even ask for a sale.
[00:04:56] So as I work with clients, I find myself having the same conversation over and over again. They ask, do I need to worry about AI? My answer is usually no. What they need to worry about is whether they're creating content that demonstrates expertise so here's the reality.
[00:05:13] AI can generate content, it can summarize information, it can draft articles, and it can draft social media posts. But what it cannot do is replace years of experience.
[00:05:23] It cannot replace judgment, it cannot replace relationships, and it cannot replace the lessons you've learned working with hundreds or thousands of customers.
[00:05:32] That's where your competitive advantage lives.
[00:05:36] A lot of business owners are asking whether AI will replace marketing. I don't believe that's the right question. The better question is whether AI will change how people discover and evaluate businesses. The answer to that question is absolutely yes.
[00:05:49] And that means that the businesses that continue relying on outdated marketing approaches, they're going to start finding themselves struggling.
[00:05:57] Not because they're bad at what they do, but because they're not adapting to how consumers are searching for information.
[00:06:03] So here's the good news. Adapting doesn't require complete reinvention of your business.
[00:06:08] It requires a commitment to being helpful. It requires answering questions. It requires sharing your expertise.
[00:06:16] It requires showing up consistently, even when results are not immediate.
[00:06:21] In many ways, the fundamentals haven't changed at all. People still want to work with businesses that they trust. They still want confidence before making a purchase, and they still want to know that the person they're hiring knows what they're talking about. What's changing is how they gather the information that helps them make those decisions.
[00:06:37] And that's why I believe we're still in the early innings of this whole shift. Businesses that begin paying attention now have an opportunity to establish themselves as trusted authorities, while a lot of their competitors are either ignoring the change or waiting just to see what happens.
[00:06:54] I've always believed that visibility creates some opportunity. The businesses that consistently show up, they answer the questions, they share their expertise, they win over time. AI doesn't change that principle, it really enforces it.
[00:07:08] So if you're wondering what to do next, my advice is very simple. Keep creating helpful content, keep investing in your website, keep updating the content, keep answering questions, put frequently asked questions on your website, keep building trust, and just keep showing up. Because while the technology may be changing rapidly, the businesses that focus on helping people solve problems will always have a place in the conversation. And that is something no algorithm can take away.
[00:07:35] That's it for this week. So I'll be back soon for another episode and I hope you have a great week. Thanks.
