How Will AI Impact Your Job? (Look At Your Business Model)
I totally get the "Will AI take my job?" question. It’s terrifying, we’re sensitive, it’s understandable.
But it’s not overly helpful. I mean, we can say all we want that AI doesn’t take jobs, it takes tasks, but that’s like telling a new parent that the odds are incredibly low that their kid actually pokes their eye out with that stick.
So what is helpful?
We should be asking "How is AI changing the business I'm in?"
AI doesn't eliminate jobs as much as it impacts business models.
And when your company's business model gets wrecked, that’s when we have to watch out.
We’re seeing this in a big way right now as Google moves to AI mode.
GOOGLE JUST DISRUPTED ITSELF
The Wall Street Journal just published a pretty intense article showing that Google's AI tools are crushing news websites.
Not slowly. Not eventually. Right now.
HuffPost lost over half their search traffic in three years. Business Insider's traffic dropped 55% and they just cut 21% of their staff. The Atlantic's CEO told his team to assume Google traffic will hit zero.
The world needs journalists. These are talented people doing excellent work.
The problem is that their business model just got hit by lightning.
Google used to be a search engine - pointing you to the right place. There was a lot of money to be made on that journey.
Now it's an answer engine. It gives you the answer without sending you to the website that provided the information.
Think about your own behavior. When was the last time you clicked past Google's first result? Now imagine that first result is a complete AI-generated answer.
Why would you click anywhere else?
THIS IS HAPPENING EVERYWHERE
Travel blogs that ranked #1 for "best restaurants in Miami"? Google's AI now gives that list directly in search results.
Health websites that built traffic from "symptoms of headaches"? AI Overviews answer that question without a single click.
Local service businesses? AI can now answer "how to fix a leaky faucet" without sending anyone to a plumber's website.
These businesses built their model around capturing traffic from search results. That model just broke.
THE FRAMEWORK: SPOT THE SHIFT BEFORE IT HITS YOU
Most people are asking the wrong question. They're worried about AI replacing them personally. Like I said, that’s super rational.
The real question, though, is: "What part of my company's business model depends on something AI can do faster, cheaper, or better?"
Here’s a framework to think about this:
STEP ONE: MAP YOUR VALUE CHAIN
Write down the key steps your business uses to make money. Not your job description - your company's actual value chain.
Example: A marketing agency might have:
Research target audiences
Create content strategies
Produce content
Distribute content
Measure results
Report to clients
STEP TWO: IDENTIFY THE MIDDLEMAN STEPS
Look for steps where your company is essentially a middleman between information and customers.
In our marketing agency example:
Research (finding publicly available information)
Basic content production (writing blog posts, social media)
Reporting (aggregating data from platforms)
These are vulnerable because AI can often do them directly.
STEP THREE: FIND THE IRREPLACEABLE CORE
What can't AI replicate about your business? Usually it's:
Direct relationships with customers
Unique expertise or perspective
Physical presence or local knowledge
Creative problem-solving for specific situations
For our marketing agency:
Deep understanding of the client's business
Strategic thinking about market positioning
Relationship management
Creative campaigns that reflect brand personality
STEP FOUR: ADAPT BEFORE YOU HAVE TO
This is where most companies fail. They wait until the business model breaks, then scramble.
Smart companies are already shifting resources toward their irreplaceable core and away from the middleman tasks.
REAL-WORLD ADAPTATION IN ACTION
The Atlantic isn't waiting around hoping Google changes its mind. They're building a stronger app, investing in live events, and focusing on direct subscriber relationships.
Business Insider is emphasizing audience engagement over search optimization.
Notice what they're NOT doing? They're not trying to make better content for Google to summarize. They're building direct connections with their audience.
YOUR PERSONAL STRATEGY
As an individual, your job security isn't about avoiding AI. It's about positioning yourself in the parts of your business that become MORE valuable when AI handles the middleman tasks.
If you're in marketing and AI starts writing basic blog posts, become the person who develops creative strategies that AI can then execute.
If you're in customer service and AI handles basic inquiries, become the specialist who handles complex relationship issues.
THE HARD TRUTH
Some business models are going to die. That's reality.
But here's the opportunity: When AI eliminates middleman tasks, it often creates more demand for the core human work.
When calculators eliminated human computers, we didn't need fewer mathematicians. We needed more people who could think strategically about what to calculate.
THE BIG TAKEAWAY
Start positioning yourself in the irreplaceable parts of your business model today.
Because the companies that thrive in an AI world won't be the ones that avoid AI. They'll be the ones that embrace it to amplify their uniquely human value.
The business model shift is already happening, friends. The question is: Are you going to be ready for it?
