If you lead an AI automation business, there's a question that might be kind of nagging at you, maybe quietly. Is the technology you're selling actually about to make your own expertise? Well, redundant. Yeah, it's a fear you hear a lot, and it's totally understandable, right? AI is moving so incredibly fast. It really does feel like those core technical skills, the building skills, are becoming a commodity. Welcome to
the Deep Dive. Today, we're digging into this whole evolving world of AI automation agencies. And there's this real tension, isn't there? On one hand, you've got these super powerful, easy to use AI tools just exploding everywhere. But on the other hand, there seems to be this persistent, maybe even growing need for... real human expertise. Absolutely. So today we're going to face that anxiety head on. We'll look at, you know, a surprising truth about why so many AI projects are actually
failing, even with these cool new tools. We'll check out what history can teach us, reveal a strategy that could really transform how agencies operate, explore a huge kind of hidden market opportunity, and then wrap up with a practical roadmap, you know, how to actually navigate this. And for this journey, we're trying on insights from Max Anson analysis. Is AI replacing AI automation
agencies? how to thrive so yeah let's get into it first off let's just state it plainly that fear it's valid we are definitely in the age of the diy ai revolution the actual um technical heavy lifting building the automations it is getting easier and cheaper for clients to potentially do themselves oh absolutely i mean you can literally describe a business process now to an ai model and boom it spits out code or like a workflow
schema for nan or make .com you know those visual bills right the lego blocks for data exactly stuff that used to take a junior dev hours now maybe minutes for first draft and think about microsoft copilot it has these recorders it just watches what you do like copying data from excel to your crm and it builds the automation. Yeah, it builds it automatically. It's pretty wild, almost kind of spooky sometimes. And that barrier
of needing to know code. or complex tools it feels like it's just dissolving natural language is becoming the way you build totally you see platforms like zapier now where a business owner can just type hey when i get an email with an invoice save the pdf to google drive and ping me on slack it works and it just builds the workflow we're also seeing these browser -based ai agents taking off little digital helpers that can actually control a virtual computer clicking around websites
filling forms doing tasks just like a person would. There's that quote from an expert in the source material, something like, we always thought our edge was building things they couldn't. But the reality is that edge is getting thinner every single day. Yeah, and this whole self -serve trend, it's pushing this message out there loud and clear. Hey, you don't need that expensive agency anymore. You can just do it yourself. You can do it yourself, or so it seems. So, okay,
burling it down. What's the biggest immediate
threat? these diy tools really pose to agencies right now they commoditize core technical building skills plain and simple okay but here's where it gets really interesting this is what max ad calls the great diy illusion because even though these tools are amazing the data it tells a different story it shows they aren't solving the core business problems right and sometimes they actually make things worse it sounds crazy but look at the number something like 80 80 of corporate AI projects
fail to deliver what they promised initially. Wow, 80 %? Yeah, that failure rate is double, double traditional IP projects. And get this, in 2024, 42 % of businesses said they scrapped AI initiatives after starting them. That was way up from just 17 % the year before. So they're starting, but then hitting a wall. And when you
ask them why, why are these failing? over half point to the same thing they just don't have the internal skills and expertise they lack the know -how mckinsey research backs this up they found only like one percent of companies are actually mature in deploying ai effectively just one percent it's like that analyst said without expert guidance AI becomes a costly science experiment. Rather than a business transformation. Yeah, I remember that quote. It's like giving someone
the keys to a Formula One car. Exactly. Handing them the keys, but nobody teaches them how to drive it. So they crash and burn, not because the car isn't powerful, but because they don't have the strategy, the skill, the pit crew, you know. So digging into that then. If the tools are so easy to use, why are so many projects crashing and burning? Because businesses lack the internal strategy and skills to use them right. Okay, let's step back and look at history
for a second. Because this pattern isn't entirely new. History shows that these kinds of DIY revolutions often don't kill the expert market. Sometimes they actually expand it. Oh, totally. Remember when Wix and Squarespace came out, everyone was shouting, Death of the web developer! Why pay thousands when you can DIY for like 20 bucks
a month? Right. But what actually happened? the web dev industry exploded those tools didn't kill the market they educated it they created awareness suddenly everyone saw the value of having a website And then they hit the limits of the DIY tool. Exactly. They'd say, OK, this is cool, but I need this custom feature or my site's too slow or how do I connect this to my inventory? The DIY tool showed them the potential. Which then made them ready to invest in something
more robust built by an expert. Precisely. They went from being maybe unaware or unsure to being qualified buyers. They saw the basic ROI and wanted more. And you see this everywhere. QuickBooks didn't kill accountants, right? No, it became a tool for them. Yeah. It lets them offer better, faster advisory services. Or Home Depot, did it put contractors out of business? Nope. Half their revenue is from pros buying supplies. Right. The DIRs create the demand, but the pros handle
the bigger, more complex jobs. And LegalZoom is another example, handles the simple stuff. Which just highlights why you need a real lawyer for the tricky, complex situations. The pattern is pretty clear. DIY tools tend to expand the market and create more demand for real expertise. So, thinking about AI now, what's the core lesson from these historical shifts? DIY tools expand markets, creating demand for advanced expertise. Okay, this leads us right into the core transformation
that Max Anne talks about. Agencies need to shift focus. Move from just being the builder to becoming a strategic AI partner. And that means flipping the whole value stack upside down. Exactly. In the old way, the technical build was kind of the main event, the most valuable part. But in this new model, development is actually the foundation, maybe the least valuable piece from a strategic view. The real value moves way upstream. So what does this new value stack look like? What's at
the top? Top of the stack, most valuable. Strategy and use case identification. This is where you stop talking about tools first. and start diving deep into the client's actual business problems. You're doing like AI audits, strategic planning. So we're really understanding their operations, their data, their goals, their tech. Yeah, a proper deep dive, especially critical in finance, you know, crypto, stocks, forex, where tiny inefficiencies
mean big money. Then from that audit, you pinpoint maybe just two or three specific places where AI will make the biggest, fastest impact. Like finding that one bottleneck. Right. For a trading firm, maybe it's just standardizing how they pull pre... market data. Simple, but saves every analyst an hour a day. Huge ROI. Then you build an AI roadmap, a clear step -by -step plan showing the expected return. The deliverable isn't code, it's clarity. It's telling the execs, okay, do
these two things first. Here's exactly why. That clarity alone sounds incredibly valuable. What's next down the stack? Next is education and change management, because you can build the most amazing AI system, but if the team doesn't use it or they're scared of it, it's worthless. Good point. So you run workshops tailored to their teams, marketers, financial analysts, whoever, teach them how to use the new tools safely, effectively.
But it's also about helping leadership build an AI -ready culture, managing that human element, the fear, the resistance to change. Makes sense. And after strategy and education. Third is placements and team building. This is more of a long term play, but high value. Lots of companies eventually want to build their own internal AI muscle. You, as the trusted partner, help them figure out
what roles they need. Maybe an AI automation specialist or for finance, a quantitative analyst, you know, someone who applies AI to the markets. You help them define the roles and even find the talent. Yeah, help define roles, find talent, vet candidates, maybe even help set up their internal innovation processes. You're helping them become self -sufficient smartly. And then finally, at the bottom of this new stack, there's the part that used to be at the top. Exactly.
Development, the actual building. Still crucial, obviously. But now it flows naturally from all the strategic work you did up front. And the beauty is you don't really have to sell the development project anymore. Because they're already bought in from the strategy phase. Right. You've shown them the clear business case, the ROI on that roadmap. They're not asking if they should build it. They're asking you to build the solution you already proved they need. It just flows.
You know, even doing this kind of strategic work, I still sometimes wrestle with prompt drift myself. you know, where the AI's answers kind of get less accurate because my instructions weren't quite tight enough. It really makes you appreciate how vital good strategy and clear use cases are. Yeah, absolutely. So for an agency wanting to start this shift, where do they practically begin moving towards offering more strategy? By identifying core business problems, not just building tools.
Okay, let's talk about the market opportunity here because the numbers are kind of staggering. There's this... Well, $73 billion gold rush happening that maybe isn't getting enough attention. The AI consulting market's just exploding. It really is. It's forecast to go from around, what, $8 .8 billion up to over $73 billion by 2033. That's nearly a 30 % compound annual growth rate. The demand is absolutely massive. But here's the kicker, right? The supply side. Yeah, that's
the astonishing part. There's almost no supply of the specific kind of help businesses desperately need right now. The market's kind of dominated by two groups, and frankly, both are often missing the mark. Okay, who are they? Well, on one side, you've got your big traditional consulting firms. You know the ones. They're brilliant at PowerPoints, great with executives. But maybe lack the deep hands -on tech experience. Exactly. Their advice can be a bit generic. The price tags are often
astronomical. We're talking $500 plus engagement sometimes, and they can be slow, kind of bureaucratic, not great for agile businesses. Okay, so that's one side. What's the other? The other side is the pure builders, the traditional tech agencies. They're fantastic at execution, technically very skilled, but they often lack that higher level business strategy piece. They tend to wait for the client to tell them exactly what to build. Without necessarily asking why or if it's the
right thing to build. Precisely. So you've got this huge gap in the middle. Businesses need someone with the strategic brain of a consultant, but the street cred and know -how of a builder who's actually implemented this stuff. And that's where agencies with a development background have a unique advantage. Totally. It's like Sam Altman said, managing AI is kind of like managing junior employees. It needs both deep tech understanding and strategic direction to really work well.
And this isn't just for giant corporations, right? Not at all. Think about the SMB market, small and medium businesses. They're like half the U .S. economy, half the jobs includes tons of finance folks, stock traders, Forex brokerages, crypto startups. So many are looking at AI, but very few are getting the expert guidance they need. It's a massive underserved market just waiting for the right kind of strategic partner.
Whoa. Just imagine scaling that kind of focus, strategic help, transforming hundreds, maybe thousands of those businesses from just tinkering with AI to really using it effectively. That's powerful. It's a huge opportunity. So in this crowded space with big consultants and pure builders, what's the absolute key differentiator for an agency wanting to capture this market? Deep technical background combined with strategic business acumen. That's the magic combo. All right, let's get
practical. How does an agency actually make this transition? Let's map it out. Phase one. Phase one. Stop thinking like just a builder. Seriously, your deep technical experience. That's not a liability. It's your superpower. It's your unfair advantage. You've been in the trenches. You've seen what breaks. You know it actually works. Pure consultants. They can't fake that kind of hands -on credibility. Okay, so embrace the tech
background as a strength. What's phase two? Phase two, add assessment and education to your offerings. You don't have to flip your whole business model overnight. Start small, maybe with your existing clients who already trust you. Offer them a free AI readiness assessment. Like a quick checkup. Exactly. Or put together a simple training workshop for their team. And crucially, start documenting everything. What use cases have you already solved? What was the ROI? Build those compelling case
studies. Show, don't just tell. Got it. Document the value. Phase three. Phase three. Target the early majority. Your ideal client for this strategic partnership model isn't necessarily the super bleeding edge startup always chasing the newest thing. It's more likely the established successful business. They're maybe a bit cautious, but they're definitely curious about AI. They've heard the hype, maybe seen some failures, and now they want a trusted guide. Precisely. They want someone
to help them navigate it smartly. Think established financial firms, Forex brokerages, well -funded crypto projects needing operational efficiency businesses looking for real results, not just experiments. Okay, and the final step, phase four. Phase four, build your transformation partner
offering. This is where you gradually formalize everything, develop a structured audit process, create professional -looking training materials, maybe build partnerships with other specialists if there are areas you don't cover, like specific legal or compliance aspects. You're solidifying your shift from builder to guide to full strategic partner. And the irony here, as the source mentions, is that the very AI tools that seemed like the threat. They become your superpower. It's beautiful,
really. These tools let you build prototypes faster, test ideas cheaper, dramatically cut down development time. Which means better margins on projects. Better margins, lower risk for the client because they can see things working quickly, and critically, it increases your capacity. You can handle more strategic work, serve more clients because the build phase is so much faster and
more efficient. So if an agency leader listening right now wants to take the very first concrete step towards this pivot, what should they do today or tomorrow? Offer an AI readiness assessment to their existing clients. Start that conversation. So wrapping this all up, the big idea we've explored today is that the real value in the AI space is shifting. It's moving upstream, away from just the technical build, and towards strategy, guidance, education, true partnership. Yeah,
exactly. But... And this is key, that technical foundation you've built, all that hands -on experience. It's absolutely essential for credibility in this new strategic role. You know how these systems actually work. You know the pitfalls. That's gold to businesses looking for someone they can trust. There's that great quote from the expert in the source. Oh, yeah. People are going to try to come in at the consultant level, but they're going to have none of the base you guys have
been building. That really nails it. So this really feels like a unique moment, a chance for agencies with that tech foundation to bridge this growing gap between what AI can do and what businesses are actually achieving with it. It absolutely is. The big question for listeners is, are you ready to step up and be that bridge? Are you ready to lead? A powerful thought to end on. Thank you for joining us for this deep
dive. We really hope these insights give you a new lens, a new perspective to apply to your own situation. And you can find more deep dives like this from The Deep Dive wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening.