Written By: Frank Saulsbery
THE LATEST THOUGHTS FROM THE FOUNDER
A running column from Frank Saulsbery. Not a sales pitch, just the way he’d explain it if you pulled up a stool next to him. Meet Frank →
A SNEAK PEEK…
“You don’t need to figure out everything about AI. You just need to solve one problem well.”
You know the moment. Someone on your team mentions AI in a meeting, everyone nods, and then the question lands on you.
“Okay… which one are we supposed to use?” You open your laptop, do a quick search, and suddenly there are hundreds of options. Chat tools, automation tools, reporting tools, tools that claim they do everything. It feels a little like walking into a hardware store for one screwdriver and realizing there are 200 types of them.
It’s easy to feel like you’re already behind or that you might pick the wrong thing and waste time and money. That’s a very real concern, and you’re not alone. A lot of businesses struggle here, not because they aren’t capable, but because they start in the wrong place.
Here’s the reality in plain terms, choosing the right AI tool is not about finding the “best” AI. It’s about finding the right fit for a very specific problem in your business. When companies skip that step and jump straight into comparing tools, they usually end up with something that looks impressive but doesn’t actually help.
The businesses that get this right tend to follow a simple pattern. They start by asking a basic question, what is taking too much time right now?
It might be sorting emails or may be responding to the same customer questions over and over. It might be building reports that should take minutes but somehow eat up half a day. AI works best when it is aimed directly at those pain points, not as a general “let’s add AI” initiative.
Once you identify that frustration point, the next step is to be honest about what you actually need the tool to do. Not in technical language, just in practical terms. Do you want it to help write emails? Answer phones? Analyze data? Take notes? That clarity matters, because AI tools are usually very good at one or two things, not everything.
After that, you take a step back and look at your environment. What systems do you already use? Your CRM, accounting system, email platform. The best AI tools are the ones that fit into what you already have, not the ones that force you to rebuild everything. Integration sounds like a technical word, but all it really means is “does this tool play nicely with what we already use?”
Then there is the part that a lot of people gloss over, but honestly matters more than anything else, your data. If you are going to let an AI tool interact with customer information, financial data, or anything sensitive, you need to understand how that information is handled. Where does it go? Is it stored? Is it used for training? Those are not small questions, especially if you deal with confidential or regulated data.
At that point, and only at that point, does it make sense to start comparing actual tools. And even then, the smartest approach is not to roll something out across your entire business, start small. Pick one use case, test one tool, and see what actually happens. The companies that succeed with AI treat it like a gradual process, not a one-time decision.
Now, here’s something that might save you some time and frustration. Before you go hunting for a brand new AI product, check with the software you already use. Many vendors are quietly building AI features into their existing platforms. Sometimes the simplest solution is already sitting inside a tool you are paying for every month.
And to be fair, not every business needs a full AI rollout. If your processes are already efficient and your team is not buried in repetitive work, you may not see a huge return right away. This is one of those areas where doing less can actually be the right decision.
So when you think about your own business, here’s a simple way to ground it. Where are you or your team spending time on work that feels repetitive, manual, or slower than it should be? That question tends to point you in the right direction better than any product comparison ever will.
If you want a practical next step, just write down two or three tasks that consistently frustrate your team. Not ten, just two or three. Then start looking at whether AI could help with those specific things. You don’t need to figure out everything about AI. You just need to solve one problem well.
That’s how I see it, anyway, and I’d enjoy hearing how you see it. None of this is a sales pitch. It’s just the kind of thing I’d talk through with you if we were sitting across the table. If it raised a question, or you think I have it wrong, I want to hear about it.
My door is always open. Whether you want to talk this through or just say hello, you can reach me anytime.
Network Solutions Unlimited is a generational managed IT services provider based in Decatur, Illinois, serving businesses and nonprofits with genuine support and decades of trusted relationships. Led by Baily Saulsbery and founded by her father Frank, we're not just your IT provider; we're your neighbors who happen to be really good at technology. Contact us today to experience IT support that actually cares.
