Everyone talks about how AI is making it easier than ever to start a business, but it is not just that simple
During the presentation on AI and startups, one of the main ideas was that building a business online used to be expensive and time-consuming, while now, tools like Shopify’s Sidekick can act almost like a built-in business consultant. Sidekick can assist with managing tasks, giving suggestions, and improving the efficiency of your business. On the surface, that sounds like a huge advantage, especially for a first-time entrepreneur starting from scratch with no experience.
While it is an advantage, it doesn’t mean starting a business is easier. AI lowers the barriers to entry, but not the barrier to running a successful business.
More people can start a business in 24 hours now because of these AI tools, but that translates directly into more competition. When everyone has access to the same AI with the same strategy and often the same recommendation, what looks like an advantage can quickly turn into a bunch of cloned business ideas.
That’s where the difference comes down to the operator.
AI should be used as a tool, but not as the decision-maker. If someone relies on ChatGPT for every move, they’re not really building a business, they’re just following patterns that thousands of other people are also following. In a competitive environment, that doesn’t work.
The presenter also expressed how AI is strong when it comes to speed, efficientcy, and handling smaller tasks. It is true that it can save time and help organize things in a way that could have taken five, even 10 times longer than it did before, but it breaks down when it comes to real world judgment. Artificial intelligence today doesn’t understand risk, competition, or how situations play out, it tends to simulate it. It also gives out generic advice even when it tries to sound unique, and that same advice is often being given to millions of other people.
Because of that, most people who are trying to build a business purely off AI are most likely going to fail. Not because the tools don’t work, but because these people don’t understand what they are doing, and the reasoning behind it. Business is a competition, if you want to succeed, especially at scale, you need to understand your decisions, your market, and your strategy better than other people. AI can help with that, but it can’t replace it, at least not yet.
At the same token, I don’t think AI is bad for startups, rather it’s a huge opportunity if used correctly. Someone who already has strong fundamentals and knows how to think for themselves can use AI as a tool to make decisions faster, become more efficient, and that ultimately will gain you an edge. You also see this happening right now at competitive firms, which are no longer hiring, but rather laying off employees since the ones who became more efficient are the ones providing more value.
At the end of the day, AI doesn’t build a successful business on its own, people do, and the people who win are the ones who know how to use these tools without depending on them if they all disappeared tomorrow.
Tool used: ChatGPT (GPT-5.2) Purpose: Structural feedback, grammar suggestions at the end, and title suggestion. All writing and ideas are my own.
