Getting Started with AI: A No-Fluff Guide for Business Owners Who Don’t Want to Get Left Behind
Tanner O'Brien
ActionCOACH & Growth Architect | Scale with Systems, Dashboards & Strategic Execution
Artificial Intelligence isn’t coming—it’s here. And no, you don’t need to be a coder, a startup founder, or some Silicon Valley brainiac to use it. If you’re a small business owner trying to get more done in less time… AI might be one of the most powerful tools you’ll ever add to your toolbox.
In this episode of The Ownership Advantage, Kay and I walk through how to actually start using AI without feeling overwhelmed or losing your voice along the way. This isn’t a hype train—it’s a grounded conversation about how to explore, implement, and ethically use AI in your day-to-day operations.
👇 Here’s a breakdown of what we covered and how you can apply it immediately.
Step One: Get Curious, Not Complicated
The biggest mistake I see? Business owners overthinking it.
They hear “AI” and imagine robotic voices, data breaches, or the plot of Ex Machina. In reality, it’s a lot simpler.
Pick a free tool—ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity—and just start playing. Open the window. Ask it questions. See what it spits out.
You don’t need a strategy or a system yet. You just need to get curious.
Pro tip: Spend 5 minutes every morning using AI. Ask it for a subject line, a post idea, a sales rebuttal, or even a summary of a news article. Over time, it’ll become second nature.
It’s Not About the Tool. It’s About the Prompt.
Getting good answers from AI is like having a great assistant—you have to give it context.
Kay talks about this all the time with her artist clients. She doesn’t just have them prompt ChatGPT to “write a bio.” She has them journal first—brainstorm stories, quirks, and tone. Then they feed that into the AI so it sounds like them.
That’s what makes AI valuable. It doesn’t replace your voice—it amplifies it. But only if you feed it the right stuff.
Want better results?
And yes, there are prompt libraries and creators on YouTube and Instagram who can shortcut a lot of this for you. But the real win is learning how to use your own content to teach the tool.
Use AI Responsibly (Don’t Become a Robot Yourself)
This part matters.
It’s easy to get lazy with AI. You paste in a question, grab whatever it gives you, and hit publish. But that’s how you end up with cringey, robotic content full of clichés and weird transitions like “moreover” and “in conclusion.”
Kay and I both agree—AI is a collaborator, not a creator.
In her world of songwriting, she won’t let AI write her lyrics. But she might let it spark an idea or break through a block. The same applies to your business content, emails, proposals, or ads.
AI should give you a starting point, not the final word.
Bottom line: If it sounds too polished or too generic, it probably wasn’t you. And your audience can feel that.
The Real Advantage: Ownership Over Automation
AI doesn’t replace humans—it multiplies humans who know how to think.
That’s what we’re after. As business owners, we already carry the mental load of 100 decisions a day. AI doesn’t remove that responsibility—but it can help you organize, streamline, and clarify faster.
“Know thyself, know the tools you’re working with, and then use them. They’re here—use them in the way that’s best for you.” — Kay
That’s the ownership advantage. When you stay in the driver’s seat, AI becomes a force multiplier—not a shortcut to mediocrity.
What To Do Next
And if you’re serious about scaling your business without burning out, I’d love to help.
Final Word
You don’t need to be a tech wizard to use AI.
You just need to start with curiosity, stay grounded in your own voice, and treat AI like the creative partner it is—not your replacement.
Let’s build smarter.
Let’s stay human.
Let’s lead.