Thinking About AI in Your Business: A Guide for Entrepreneurs

by Stélio Inácio, Founder at Jon AI and AI Specialist

Project 8: Thinking About AI in Your Business: A Guide for Entrepreneurs

So far, our projects have focused on personal productivity. Now, let's zoom out and look at the bigger picture. If you are an entrepreneur, a team leader, or a manager, you're likely asking a fundamental question: "How should I integrate AI into my business?"

In 2025, this is no longer a question of "if," but "how." The transition from experimentation to strategic implementation is happening now. Simply giving your team access to an AI tool is not a strategy. A thoughtful, deliberate approach is what separates businesses that are merely playing with AI from those that are gaining a serious competitive advantage. This guide provides a framework for thinking about that strategy.

Key Concept: AI is the Elephant in the Room

You must address AI use in your business, or classroom, people will use AI, no doubt about it. Make sure they use it properly and safely

Your Toolkit Strategy: Foundation First

The AI tool market is vast, with thousands of specialized apps for every niche imaginable. It can be tempting to chase every new, shiny tool. A wiser strategy is to build from the ground up.

Start by equipping your team with the powerful, general-purpose foundational models: ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. These are the versatile "Swiss Army knives" of the AI world. Before you invest in an expensive, specialized AI tool (like a dedicated app for writing social media posts), challenge your team to first try and build a no-code, custom version using a GPT or Gem. This "foundation first" approach is more cost-effective and flexible.

Only pay for a specialized "vertical" tool when its deep domain expertise provides a clear, significant advantage that your foundational models cannot replicate. Often, the cost is justified for industry-specific tasks in fields like law or advanced SEO, but for many general business functions, a well-instructed foundational model is all you need.

AI is Non-Negotiable Infrastructure

Let's be clear: In today's business landscape, providing your team with access to a high-powered AI subscription is not a perk; it's essential infrastructure. You should view this as a fixed cost, just like your internet bill or office rent. It's the cost of doing business in an AI-augmented world. Organizations are realizing tangible returns from AI, with an average of $3.70 for every dollar invested and productivity gains of 15% to 30%.

Furthermore, embrace a multi-model approach. Encourage your team to use the best tool for the job—perhaps using Claude for its nuanced writing, Gemini for its deep analysis of Google Sheets, and ChatGPT for its vast ecosystem of GPTs. Committing to a single provider can create vendor lock-in and limit your team's potential.

Your Non-Negotiable AI Policies

Providing access to AI also means you must provide clear rules for using it safely. Your company's AI policy should be simple, mandatory, and enforced from day one.

Disable Model Training: All employees using AI tools with company information must go into the settings and disable any feature that allows their data to be used for training the AI models. This is a critical step to protect your company's intellectual property.

The Culture of AI: Empowerment, Not Mandates

This is where nuance is required. Should you mandate that every employee use AI? That would be like mandating creativity—it doesn't work. Instead of a hard mandate, focus on creating a culture of empowerment and setting a new standard for performance.

Frame AI as a powerful tool the company provides to help everyone work smarter and faster. An employee can still choose not to use their AI assistant, just as they could choose to write a report by hand instead of with a computer. However, the expectation for the quality and speed of their work remains the same as their AI-augmented colleagues. The choice is theirs, but the performance standard is set by what is possible with the tools provided. This encourages adoption naturally, as employees will see the clear benefits their peers are gaining.

Pro Tip: Address the Quality Problem with Training

What happens when you see employees submitting subpar, generic-sounding documents because they're using AI with low-effort prompts? The solution is not to ban AI. The solution is to improve their skill in using AI. If your team is using the world's most powerful tool incorrectly, it's a training issue. Invest in a high-quality AI literacy course (like this one!) and make it a mandatory part of their professional development. This ensures everyone on your team operates from a high-level, shared understanding of how to use these tools effectively.

Quick Check

When considering a specialized, single-purpose AI tool for your business, what is the most sensible first step?

A) Immediately purchase the specialized tool to stay ahead of the curve.

B) First, try to replicate the tool's function by building a custom GPT/Gem with a foundational model, and only buy the tool if it provides a clear, justifiable advantage.

C) Ban all specialized tools to save money and reduce complexity.

Recap: Thinking About AI in Your Business

What we covered:

A "foundation first" strategy for AI tools, prioritizing powerful general models over niche applications.
Why AI subscriptions should be treated as essential, non-negotiable infrastructure for a modern business.
The absolute necessity of clear, simple, and mandatory AI safety policies.
How to foster a culture of AI empowerment rather than imposing rigid mandates.
The importance of training to solve the problem of low-quality, AI-generated work.

Why it matters:

A deliberate strategy for tools, policies, and training is what separates businesses that are simply using AI from those that are gaining a true competitive edge. This framework helps you build a smarter, faster, and safer organization.

Next up:

We'll consolidate everything we've learned in this chapter by Reviewing Key Concepts of Getting Started with AI.

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