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Over the past several months, there’s been a surge of online noise about starting an “AI business,” launching an “AI agency,” or building an “AI service company.” On the surface, it sounds exciting. AI is everywhere, the technology is powerful, and it feels like getting in early could be a massive opportunity. But this is exactly where most people get it wrong.

Here is the core truth you need to understand before you waste time, money, and energy going down the wrong path:
you are not selling AI.

Unless your name is Sam Altman or you own or run a massive AI platform, you are not in the business of selling artificial intelligence. What you are actually selling—what you have always sold in business—is a solution to a specific problem.

AI is just a tool.

And tools don’t sell themselves.

Tools Don’t Matter. Problems Do.

Imagine you have a serious problem in your business or your life. Something that’s costing you money, time, or peace of mind. Now imagine someone comes along and tries to sell you a service, but instead of focusing on fixing your problem, they spend the entire conversation talking about the tool they’re going to use.

They explain the software.
They explain the features.
They explain how advanced and cutting-edge it is.

You probably wouldn’t buy.

But if that same person said, “I know exactly what’s causing your problem, and I can fix it within 30 days,” your interest would spike immediately. You wouldn’t care much about how they fix it, as long as it works, it’s legal, and it’s affordable.

This isn’t new. Sales trainers were teaching this decades ago. When selling a copier machine, you don’t talk about pages per minute or technical specs. You sell the outcome: faster reports, fewer headaches, happier bosses, and better career prospects. The copier is just the mechanism.

AI works the same way.

The most common mistake people make when trying to start an AI agency or AI service is that they lead with the tool. They go to market saying things like:

“I help businesses use AI.”
“I offer AI automation services.”
“I can integrate AI into your workflow.”

The problem is that most business owners don’t wake up thinking, “I really need more AI in my life.” They wake up thinking about missed deadlines, shrinking margins, staffing issues, slow processes, and wasted time.

When you lead with AI, you’re selling what you find exciting, not what they actually want.

That disconnect kills sales.

The Only Model That Works

The business formula has not changed just because AI exists.

You still need to:

1. Identify a very narrow niche.

2. Talk to real human beings in that niche.

3. Ask them what their biggest problem actually is.

4. Look for patterns and consensus.

5. Sell a solution to that problem.

AI does not replace this process. It does not shortcut it. It does not magically create demand where none exists.

Once you know the problem, then you decide whether AI is the best tool to help solve it faster, cheaper, or more effectively.

At that point, AI becomes an advantage—not the product.

How To Position AI the Right Way

Instead of calling businesses and asking if they “want to use AI,” you approach them like this:

You acknowledge a specific pain point they already have.
You demonstrate that you understand the impact of that problem.
You present a clear outcome you can deliver.

Only then do you mention that AI is part of how you achieve that result.

The client doesn’t buy because it’s AI.
They buy because the problem goes away.

That distinction matters more than almost anything else you will do in business.

Why Selling “AI” Directly Is So Ineffective

There is a small percentage of any market that’s excited about AI for its own sake. These people read about new tools constantly and want to experiment. You can chase them if you want, but they are a minority.

If you focus only on that group, you’ll work harder for less money.

The broader market doesn’t care about AI itself. They care about speed, savings, efficiency, revenue, and relief from frustration. AI is simply one of many tools that can help deliver those outcomes.

You should absolutely use AI in your business. At this point, not using it would be foolish. But using AI and selling AI are two very different things.

You are not building an AI business.
You are building a problem-solving business.

AI is just one of the tools in your toolbox.

If you position your offer around results instead of technology, people will buy. If you lead with the tool, most won’t.

Keep it simple. Solve real problems. Let AI quietly do its job in the background.

AI did NOT write this article. The article comes 100% from me and is 100% my content. However, AI was used to transcribe this content from some of my other social media which is why the voice is a little different. It’s still 100% my content and not written by AI. AI will never “write” my content!  Remember that you can always go to calebjonesblog.com and subscribe to my Substack if you want articles physically written by me with no AI involvement whatsoever.

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