The AI Gap Is Widening. And It's Not What You Think
⏱️ Read time: ~3 min
I bumped into a former client yesterday. We chatted for a couple of minutes on how life had been treating us, how work was going. He had seen on LinkedIn that I'm now focused on AI, and he asked me, "How useful is it, really?"
He told me he uses Copilot at work to transcribe meetings. Sometimes he'll ask it to clean up an email or look something up. "But beyond that," he said, "what's the value?"
So I walked him through a few examples, not fancy tools, not bleeding-edge features. Just practical ways to use AI with him, not for him. Ways to augment his thinking, his drafting, his decision-making.
His reaction? A genuine "I never even thought of that."
Was I surprised? To be honest, not at all. This reflects what I observe in so many companies, big or small, local or global.
Why Most People Are Falling Behind
Every week, there's a new AI tool with magical features. New models. New integrations. New hype. Recently, it's been absolutely insane. The sheer number of new tools and feature releases has been mind boggling.
And it's made me wonder whether more on more people are falling behind, simply because they can't keep up.
My brief conversation with my former client reminded me how much of an AI bubble I'm in.
Most people? They're still using AI like it's a slightly smarter Google. A transcription tool. An email polisher. They're not behind because they don't have access to the latest tech.
They're behind because they lack AI literacy.
They don't know where AI can help. They don't know how to bring it into their work. And most critically, they don't understand the difference between delegation and augmentation.
My former client's company gave him access to Copilot. But no one taught him how to think with it. No one showed him how to use it as a thought partner, a co-creator, a strategic collaborator.
So he defaulted to the obvious: transcription and lookup. Tasks you hand off. That's much better than what is becoming widely known as "work-slop". Essentially, handing tasks off to AI without providing proper context, guardrails etc. And without a proper human review.
While one is certainly better than the other, neither is where the real value is. Real value starts happening when you cultivate an AI-First approach.
AI-First Doesn't Mean AI-Everything
When I talk about cultivating an AI-first mindset, I'm not saying "use AI for everything."
I'm saying: know when and how to augment your work with AI.
Augmentation means you stay in the driver's seat. You're doing the thinking, the strategizing, the creating and AI is helping you do it better, faster, or with more clarity.It's the difference between:
- "AI, write this email for me" (delegation)
- "AI, I'm writing an email to a hesitant client to address their concerns about ROI. How can you help me structure my thinking?" (augmentation)
One replaces you. The other amplifies you.
And here's what I'm seeing: the people who get this are pulling ahead fast.
The people who don't? They're quietly falling further behind every week. Not because they're lazy, but because no one taught them how to think differently.
Your Action Steps This Week
Sounds overwhelming? Let me give you two simple actions you can take.
1. Self-reflection prompt:
Ask yourself honestly: Am I using AI with me, or just for me?
2. Try one augmentation experiment:
Pick one task this week, drafting a training session, a client proposal, thinking through a tough decision. Instead of handing it over to AI, try this:
"I am doing [this task] for [this purpose] for [this kind of audience/results...]. How can you help me?"
Then see what happens when you enter into a dialogue with AI.
Key Takeaway
The AI gap isn't about tools. It's about literacy. It's about knowing how to collaborate with AI, not just delegate to it.
If you're only using AI to transcribe meetings and polish emails, you're leaving 98% of the value on the table.
Have fun experimenting,
Elena
P.S. Know someone who's still using AI like a fancy search engine? Forward this to them so they can sign up for the newsletter and start closing the gap.
