There are two types of people learning AI: one treats AI as a toy, while the other has already turned it into a money-making machine.
I have seen many of the first type, chatting about gossip with friends, using DeepSeek to write love letters, using Midjourney to create WeChat profile pictures, using Sora to generate fake travel videos to post on social media. It’s lively, but it’s like spending a whole day at Disneyland and then realizing that the Mickey Mouse headband won’t help you pay your rent.
The second type of people is fewer, but they are using AI to create value:
1. It is your Swiss Army knife in the workplace.
Those in operations use ChatGPT to write 100 versions of Xiaohongshu copy to test viral patterns; those in finance let AI read 500 annual reports to find risk keywords; those in design use Midjourney to produce 30 versions of poster drafts to keep clients quiet. Don’t let AI replace you; use AI to amplify you.
2. It is your cognitive enhancer.
Let ChatGPT play the role of a picky investor, a difficult client, or a harsh competitor, putting your plans through rigorous testing. It won’t replace your thinking, but it can help you rehearse with “AI simulated humans before meeting real people, just like rehearsing before a performance. Having questions and answers ready will definitely improve your performance when meeting real people.
3. It is your lever for breaking through obstacles.
When business stagnates, you can have AI analyze all PR materials from competitors, identify sensitive points they collectively avoid, and successfully break through. It’s like suddenly being able to see the opponent’s cards in a card game. AI won’t play the game for you, but it can help you see through the situation.
Now, here are three immediately usable “value transformation“ application cases:
– Turn AI into your “super intern
Have it read industry white papers from the past decade in one day and organize them into mind maps; have it analyze 1000 emails to summarize communication patterns; have it consolidate your scattered ideas into a structured report— use the time saved for real decision-making.
– Let AI be your conflict translator.
Translate your boss’s “optimize further“ into specific actionable items, translate the client’s “something feels off“ into modifiable dimensions, and interpret your colleague’s “anything is fine“ as potential pitfalls. AI is best at turning vague requirements into actionable instructions.
– Use AI as your bottom line defender.
Have it check for loopholes in contract terms, have it cross-verify report data, have it monitor competitive dynamics 24/7, and let AI be your early warning center.
To be honest: learning AI now is like learning computers in 1995, learning to go online in 2000, and learning smartphones in 2010. You can use it just for chatting and gaming, or you can leverage it to reorganize resources. The difference lies in whether you treat it as entertainment or as a productivity tool.
The monthly iterations of AI tools are not important; what matters is the most pressing business problem you have. It’s like when you need to drill a hole in the wall with a power drill, you’re not concerned about the drill’s speed, torque, or battery capacity, but rather where the hole needs to be.
Before you open an AI tool next time, ask yourself what specific problem you want to solve today. If the answer is just to try out new features, then you might as well watch short videos instead.