AI Elevation

10/01/2026

I was about to publish my latest blog post but had to stop.

I'd spent days comparing AI agents for small business. Claude. ChatGPT. Dots. Manus. Genspark. Hermes. OpenClaw. Grok Bot. Lindy. Muse.

Then OpenAI dropped Dots the same day I finished.

So I rewrote it.

Every vendor says their agent "just works." From the outside, they all sound identical. You pick one, you play with it for a week, and you still don't know if you grabbed the right fit for how you actually work.

What matters is what you need done, and how hands-on you want to be.

Some of these you can text from your phone with almost no setup. Others essentially need a computer science degree, but do a lot more once they're running.

I compared ten of them for small business owners. What each one does. Where it falls short. Who it's for.

Full write-up is on the blog. Link in the comments.

Are you using any in your business?

09/30/2026

You’ve felt this on a golf course before.

Rainy day. Club that worked last week. Ball that goes nowhere useful.

I’ve been playing since I was a kid. Sometimes the conditions aren’t what you’re used to. Keep the wrong club and you pay for it all afternoon.

AI rolling into small business is that same rainy day.

Not worse weather. Different weather. What worked a few years ago doesn’t work the same way now.

Here’s why that matters.

I always follow the same ROA framework. Review. Optimize. Automate. That’s why the Optimization step is so important. Look at how you work. Cut the waste. Pick the tools that fit today’s weather.

I’m becoming tool-agnostic on purpose. With clients we build a simple second brain so knowledge stays theirs when tools swap. Memory stays put. Tools sit on top.

Learn the new conditions and the storm starts to feel like clear skies.

09/28/2026

Using AI in 2026

09/24/2026

Is Siri actually helpful now!?

I just had my first experience with Siri AI, and I couldn't believe it!

Have you tried it yet?

08/11/2026

I've answered enough of the same AI questions that I just started writing them down

AI Elevation now has a blog: aielevation.ca/blog

Inspiration for each post comes from our AI Mastermind sessions, client work, and every day discussions

Notes on using AI in a small business, from Jeff Barker of AI Elevation. What worked, and how to set it up yourself.

08/05/2026

I see this every week in my consulting work.

Business owner hears about AI. Gets excited. Starts thinking about all the ways it could help.

But here's the reality: if you're not doing the work now, getting AI to do it is the wrong approach.

AI is an amplifier. If you have a sales process, AI can make it faster. If you're consistently showing up with content, AI can help you do more of it. If you have a client communication system, AI can extend it.

I follow the ROA framework, which always starts with the same question: what are you doing consistently right now? Start there. Amplify that.

07/30/2026

So what happens when a business hires us?

Every project I run follows the same ROA Framework: Review, Optimize, Automate.

Review: Before we touch a single tool or make any recommendations, we figure out where the time is going.

Optimize: Let's cut the waste out of what we found in the review step. Reduce the workflow into fewer steps, or use existing tools more efficiently.

Automate: Once we understand what the workflows look like, and have implemented efficiencies - now we can start to automate those processes.

07/01/2026

So what the heck is an AI Tools Assessment?

The most common thing I hear from small business owners: "I know I should be using AI. I just don't know where to start."

This is where the AI Tools Assessment comes in.

We sit down together, look at your existing workflows, the tools you’re using, and what a typical day looks like. Then I figure out where AI can help the most. I put together a report: here are some off-the-shelf tools, and here’s where to start.

Nothing complicated, just a clear starting point. If you’re overwhelmed by how to get started with AI beyond using ChatGPT - this is the easiest way to get unstuck.

Find out exactly where AI can save your business time and money. $499 CAD. No retainer.

06/30/2026

I run multiple businesses, and I wear many hats inside each business. Like many people, I use AI to help me be more productive and efficient.

Often, I'll use AI to help me structure my messy thoughts - I brain dump rough ideas and have it organize them into a structured that makes sense.

By default, AI sounds like AI. There are many tells, and people have gotten really good at spotting them. The same openers, emojis, and em-dashes (so many em-dashes!)

I was reading an old Robert Munsch book to my son and came across an em-dash. I laughed and thought "how the heck did he have access to AI back in 1985?" (it's a joke - I know the em-dash is real punctuation, it's just not widely used anymore)

Once you know the tells, you can spot them immediately.

So, how do you use AI without sounding like you're using AI?

I gave my content generation agent a simple file called voice.md. Inside that file are writing styles, and rules to follow (words/phrases I use, words/phrases to avoid).

Everything AI writes for me (posts / emails) runs through that file first.

What comes out the other end is still not perfect, but it's a much better draft that needs minor edits.

If everything you put through AI just sounds like AI - this is what's missing.