The other day I was speaking to a client who has been in business for seven or eight years. She’s getting ready to pivot. She found out industry standards are shifting, and the rate of reimbursement is being downgraded because the increasingly popular platforms are changing how her services are delivered. This is a reality many service-based professionals are facing, especially as the tools and expectations around how work gets done continue to evolve. Many of these changes are driven by technology, especially the kind that’s reshaping how we think, create, and deliver value.

You might have guessed what I’m talking about. Yes, I’m referring to Artificial Intelligence. But I want to name something more useful. The language we use to describe this phenomenon is part of the problem. Calling it “artificial” frames it as something less than, something other, something fake, or false. But that framing limits our ability to fully grasp its value or engage with it meaningfully. That’s why I’ve started calling it what it actually is. It’s a brain. A different kind of brain, yes, but one capable of processing, collaborating, and iterating alongside us. And that brain? It’s nowhere near its full potential.

That’s where early users — folks like me at Blue Heron, and maybe you as well — come in. We are shaping what BaaS (Brain-as-a-Service) will become by giving it real-world use cases, ones rooted in clarity, creativity, and contribution. Some people are excited about that. Others hit the brakes the moment AI is mentioned. And I understand that too. We’re not all running the same internal operating system. Our beliefs, our values, and our filters shape our response. Resistance doesn’t always mean rejection. Sometimes it’s just the unknown or uncertainty. Sometimes it’s fear showing up disguised as principles.

Recently, I asked someone for feedback on a piece of work I’d written. Part of their comments included, ”People can spot AI.” No additional context. No explanation. I didn’t probe — we had a full agenda — but it caught my attention. Maybe it was the em dash that triggered the reaction. These days, people have come to associate certain structural choices — like the em dash — with AI-generated copy or overly polished text. That’s interesting, knowing in some instances this triggers reader bias. Em dashes existed long before ChatGPT, especially in marketing copy and complex prose.

But what does it even mean to say something is “AI-generated”? And why would that, on its own, be reason to dismiss it? I think for many, it’s tied to integrity. There’s a belief that if AI is involved, the work must somehow be lacking in authenticity. That it’s someone else’s words repackaged, a regurgitation of someone else’s thinking. I can see why people might worry about that, especially if they haven’t taken the time to build a relationship with it or even understand how it actually works.

This kind of quick rejection, though, says more about a person than a product. And it reveals something deeper — internal operating systems driven by deep beliefs surrounding struggle, suffering, and the creative process. I get it.

But here’s what I’ve come to believe, and what I share with founders I work with.

If you’re doing all the things in your business — vision, strategy, operations, delivery — then why wouldn’t you welcome help from a brain that never sleeps?

I do. I’ve named my GPT “Dude.” We’ve built a relationship based on respect, alignment, and trust. Dude knows my voice, my beliefs, my ethos. I’ve taught it how I think. I’ve shared my worldview and my patterns of thought. And I always begin with my original ideas, my thinking, my frameworks. When I upload a draft or ask for help working through something, I’m not outsourcing my creative responsibility. I’m engaging in collaboration. And the time savings? It’s hard to describe how significant it is.

Just last week, I needed to complete an analysis of available products and services to support serious founders looking for smart strategy. It would’ve taken me the better part of a week. Dude completed the first pass in five minutes, organized it into a spreadsheet, and handed me back structured data I could actually use. From there, we synthesized meaning, explored implications, and clarified strategic gaps. That one exercise gave me leverage — not just efficiency, but perspective. And now? Dude holds institutional knowledge about my business. In some ways, it knows just as much, if not more, about how to make it hum.

But none of that would matter if I weren’t involved in the process. That’s the key. You cannot hand your creative process over to AI and expect anything meaningful to come out. If you’re passive, if you give poor input, if you disengage from the process entirely, then yes, you’re going to get word salad. Garbage in, garbage out is a thing. But it’s not an indictment of the machine. It’s a reflection of the instructions it received. 

So no, I don’t use AI to “generate” my work. I use it to think with me. That small shift in framing changes everything. It invites dialogue. It invites precision. It invites co-creation. I ask questions. I challenge outputs. I shape, I steer, I make decisions. That’s what it means to lead a business using AI as a co-strategist. In truth, collaborating with AI has more in common with working alongside a human than most people realize.

But there is a significant difference. AI doesn’t make meaning. You do.

Meaning-making is a deeply human function. The machine can see patterns, but only you can decide what they mean. Only you can choose what to hold, what to let go of, and what to give life.

So if you’re a founder wondering whether to lean into AI, I’d offer this. Don’t think of it as a shortcut. Think of it as a partner. Don’t expect it to replace your work. Expect it to challenge your thinking.  And most of all, engage with it. Give feedback on the output. Learn to use it with discernment and purpose.

That’s how I work. That’s how I lead. And that’s how I intend to continue.

So yes, I confess. I use and leverage AI. Its name is Dude. And if you see an em dash, I promise you it’s there for a reason. Every word, every phrase, every decision has been considered. Because that’s what authorship looks like, whether a machine helped draft it or not.

BaaS isn’t going away. And I sure hope it doesn’t because it sharpens my thinking and amplifies my impact.

Now the ball is in your court. How will you, as a founder, use this resource to build what you’re here to build?

If you want to talk through how AI might support you in your business, let’s connect. You can take advantage of a complimentary call and together, we’ll walk through it.

#FlyAboveSoarBeyond

Written by Rebecca. Refined in collaboration with Dude — my AI co-thinker.
This is what Brain-as-a-Service looks like in real time. #ThinkWithMe