6 Steps to Incorporate Gen AI into Your Independent Business  

Embracing AI is a business imperative for independent professionals, and many have moved to incorporate it into their businesses. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents for our report on Gen AI and its impacts on the independent workforce reported familiarity with the technology. Nearly 60% of that group reported using Gen AI in multiple workflows.

Independent workers use Gen AI to amplify their productivity. Gen AI allows them to delegate repetitive and mundane tasks, giving them more time to focus on more complex and value-adding aspects of their work.

You will be most successful if you lean into the technology and the changes it will require in your business.  These six steps can help you implement Gen AI most effectively.

1. Pinpoint the Best Places for Gen AI

Look at your current workflows and projects. Which parts would benefit the most from using Gen AI? For example, can you save time on project management or streamline your financial management? Can you conduct more thorough research in less time? Get help creating content outlines and first drafts? Think about which areas can see the biggest impact from AI tools.

2. Find Out What’s Available

While some Gen AI tools like ChatGPT have gotten a lot of attention, there are numerous options available to you. Do some research, determine which offerings fit your business and your expertise, and try them out.

3. Allow for the Learning Curve

Incorporating Gen AI into your projects right away is not likely the best strategy. There is a learning curve, and you need to invest some time to learn how and where it makes sense in your business. Carve out time in your schedule to work with your AI resources to get comfortable with them.

4. Create Strong Prompts

Part of the learning curve is gaining experience in the creation of prompts. To get started, think in terms of:

• Assigning a role (e.g., “imagine you’re a marketing strategist”)
• Setting boundaries (e.g., “with expertise in social media marketing”)
• Specifying the format (e.g., “create a benefits comparison of different social media platforms”)
• Defining scope (e.g., “for an independent application programmer who wants to market to enterprises”)
• Adding focus if needed (e.g., “concentrate on areas of opportunity and major threats”

Practice makes perfect. Experiment with different approaches using these five parameters, assess the results, and hone your approach.

5. Be Deliberate with AI Integration

Don’t try to overhaul all of your workflows in one go. Concentrating on the items you identified at the start. It may make most sense to focus on the internal side of your business first—administration, finances, marketing strategy, for example. Once you’ve been successful on that side of things, look for ways to implement Gen AI in your project work.

6. Stay Informed about New Tools

We are very early into the era of Gen AI, and things are changing fast. Success will hinge greatly on adapting quickly to new capabilities as they become available. It’s important that you stay up to date with developments in Gen AI.  This will let you identify new opportunities, change your workflows, and demonstrate to current and prospective clients that you are an agile and innovative contractor.