AI-driven sales tools like 'Next Best Action' often fail because they recommend what's already obvious to an experienced representative. To gain trust and provide real value, these systems must move beyond rule-based suggestions and become predictive, offering non-obvious insights that anticipate future needs, similar to how Google Maps proactively suggests detours.

The most powerful use of AI for business owners isn't task automation, but leveraging it as an infinitely patient strategic advisor. The most advanced technique is asking AI what questions you should be asking about your business, turning it from a simple tool into a discovery engine for growth.

Instead of relying on ad-hoc calls to finance or other reps, LLMs can act as a central nervous system for sales. By analyzing past quotes and data, AI can instantly recommend the optimal deal structure for a new quote—maximizing commission for the rep and aligning with business goals, putting revenue back in motion.

Advanced AI tools can model an organization's internal investment beliefs and processes. This allows investment committees to use the AI to "red team" proposals by prompting it to generate a memo with a negative stance or to re-evaluate a deal based on a new assumption, like a net-zero mandate.

A leader's most valuable use of AI isn't for automation, but as a constant 'thought partner.' By articulating complex business, legal, or financial decisions to an AI and asking it to pose clarifying questions, leaders can refine their own thinking and arrive at more informed conclusions, much like talking a problem out loud.

Beyond automating data collection, investment firms can use AI to generate novel analytical frameworks. By asking AI to find new ways to plot and interpret data inputs, the team moves from rote data entry to higher-level analysis, using the technology as a creative and strategic partner.

Go beyond using AI for simple efficiency gains. Engage with advanced reasoning models as if they were expert business consultants. Ask them deep, strategic questions to fundamentally innovate and reimagine your business, not just incrementally optimize current operations.

The most significant recent AI advance is models' ability to use chain-of-thought reasoning, not just retrieve data. However, most business users are unaware of this 'deep research' capability and continue using AI as a simple search tool, missing its transformative potential for complex problem-solving.

Firms that meticulously document the reasoning behind trading decisions are building a proprietary dataset for future AI agents. This intellectual property, capturing the firm's unique philosophy, will be invaluable for training AI that can truly understand and operate within its specific context, forming a powerful competitive advantage.