I was having breakfast with a friend, and we were discussing the current business climate. Although we are both embracing AI and what it can do to speed up and improve business, I think we are approaching it from different angles.

I believe none of us have all the answers because this is all so new, and we are all continuing to learn how to use AI and what works for us individually. One method is to use AI to generate content for you and then refine it to meet your expectations, but I start with my own thoughts and then ask AI questions to help me refine my main points. Both methods work, but I believe success is measured by who the output is intended for and the expectations or actions you are trying to achieve.

Living in the AI World of Big Business

There is no world in which our $20-a-month subscriptions will ever match the money being raised and spent in the emerging world of AI.

• In 2025, investors put about $202 billion into AI companies globally, nearly half of all startup funding worldwide.

Many of these startups are just scratching the surface of what AI can do, but there isn't enough money to be made from $20 or $99 subscriptions to make it profitable.

These companies are better suited to larger fish, such as governments, pharma, and Fortune 100 companies with billion-dollar contracts, replacing the need to hire humans. AI companies are in the business of using our data and either not paying us for it or charging us small sums to use it to build machine learning models. Our time and brains are the Soylent Green of the computer era.

But even with all of that, it's clear that AI is a useful new reality that can help enhance the way we think and do business. Its strength is that it can compile data and produce answers that are typically provided in tech support scripts (bots & people). Its weakness is that it lacks experiences that are cognitively remembered but never documented.

What follows is a real tech support issue that I had to deal with recently. It exposes those strengths and weaknesses in ways that may not be profitable for companies, but are paramount to how I feel tech support can work better for all of us.

The WiFi Problem

I have a relatively small house. The cable internet was brought to the house at the street (the front of the house), and the internet port is in my office, also in front. Spectrum provides a cable modem and wifi in one box. The signal was great for half of the house, but by the time it made it to the back bedroom and our backyard, including the cameras and grill (YES… I have an internet-connected grill), it was weak and unstable.

To correct that issue, I bought a Wi-Fi extender for the back of the house. It amplified the signal, but created a second network that communicated with back-of-the-house tech. Although it solved some problems, it created others. When I have to reset the modem (occasionally), the extender does not always reconnect, so I have to reboot it (with mixed results) to get the back-of-the-house tech connected again.

It was a pain to constantly switch networks on our phones as we moved back and forth throughout our day. And I constantly had to get on a ladder to reconnect the backyard camera.

It became clear I needed a better option.

The Mesh Solution

Wireless Mesh whole-house systems have been around for years, but they were expensive ($300-$500 or more) compared to the $50 extender. Spectrum had an option that cost $15 per month, but that would add up quickly to match the cost of buying a system.

I looked on Amazon and found an older TP-Link Deco Mesh system for  $60 per node. Less than half the cost of newer ones (which advanced technologies would not significantly increase the already available internet speed).

I took the plunge so I could finally incorporate Apple Home with our Alexa system (which was controlling most of our tech). It was fairly easy to set up, and it works much better with a single wifi network that covers the whole house and the 2nd-floor bedroom.

There were some issues with getting all the tech switched over to the new network, so I had multiple exchanges with Apple, Amazon, and others to get the system functioning as a whole. So I delved into various experiences with AI and humans to help correct some issues.

Level ⭐️ – Chatbot

Almost every tech support experience starts with interacting with a computer first. Their goal is to solve simple problems without connecting you with a human. Some tech and software support only offer support tickets, which make you wait and respond (slow and frustrating), while others will exhaust all options before you can communicate with level-two technicians or any human beings.

It's just annoying when they keep trying to solve problems that you don't have first, and then make you do the weave to get to the point where they may connect you with a human.

Level ⭐️⭐️ – Overseas Humans

Often with tech support, when you get to a human, you get to a script. It's obvious when they are not a technical person, but just a phone center worker providing you with questions as prompts. Layer in the difficulties of communicating with someone with a strong accent, and the whole experience becomes extremely frustrating.

(If you have to say “excuse me?” or “can you repeat that?” more than 2 times per minute, it just adds to the annoyance of having them offer an option you've already tried, like rebooting EVERYTHING!)

Although they couldn't fix the problem with my Echo Show, I did figure out how to create a second network with my Mesh system that works alongside the original, which got the Echo connected to the internet again.

Level ⭐️⭐️⭐️ – DIY AI

AI is not only getting smarter, but it's getting better at taking over your browser, performing steps for you, and then giving you the next steps to try yourself. There are new versions (like Perplexity Computer) that can do the same with your desktop and apps.

In this case, the core problem was never really solved, and the AI led me down a couple of Rabbit holes that caused more problems (like having to reboot and reconnect everything). It can work, but only when it can see the settings of every device on your network and learn not to make the same mistakes.

Level ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – The Chatbot …then Human

I discovered that I needed to replace the Spectrum router and take it out of the loop to even try to fix the problems… by talking with Spectrum. I tried their app and started with the chatbot, which led to a tech support chat, but it took calling and going through another chatbot (with voice prompts to reboot my stuff without even knowing why I was calling) to speak to a human.

Kudos to Spectrum for connecting you with someone in the US who actually has tech experience and made it clear that you can do something other than giving them more money without knowing what problem you are trying to fix!

Level ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – The Clear Winner

Part of the problem that I was trying to solve was on my iPhone. I was able to call Apple Support, and was not only connected to a human, but they could access both my Mac and my iPhone.

At one point, I had to reboot my phone, and the same tech called me back and continued to walk me through the steps needed to fix the problem. The tech support was overseas but spoke clear English, and knew exactly what the problem was because they had experienced it before.

Their support is world-class and one of the reasons I love my closed-loop Apple Mac/iPhone ecosystem. Although they could not troubleshoot the problems with non-Mac gear, it made it clear that if Apple had the tech to create a Mesh wifi system, I would pay the premium price it would probably cost because they know their stuff and its strengths and weaknesses.

Closing Thought

I often see experts saying, “I made $25,000 last week and you can too… with these 7 prompts.” I (and you should be, too) am skeptical that any prompt on its own will lead to success.

Even if you become a prompting expert, AI is changing faster than we can learn. The other issue is that if your problem or need is unique and never documented as a solution, AI will have no clue how to fix it.

That should give you some comfort that your experience in your area of expertise can often be worth more than paying an AI engine $20 or even $2000 per month to solve problems.

Sometimes it just takes experienced humans to talk with other experienced humans to solve the world's problems.

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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.