Most solopreneurs started using AI to save time,  and it worked, at least at first. Content came out faster. Tasks got done quicker. But speed came with a cost, and many are now seeing the consequences of that approach.

This episode takes an honest look at how AI has been used over the past two years and why using it only for content production is the wrong way to use AI. If your engagement has dropped or your results feel flat, this episode is for you.

Marisa shares what she believes is the real power of AI for solopreneurs, and it has less to do with what it writes and more to do with what it can analyze, systematize, and improve behind the scenes.

• Why cranking out content faster may actually be hurting your business
• What Merriam-Webster’s 2025 word of the year reveals about where AI adoption went sideways
• The backend use case for AI that most solopreneurs are completely overlooking
• Why researchers say audiences are developing an “AI suspicion penalty,” and what that means for your trust
• The difference between using AI as a content machine versus using it as a thinking partner
• Three specific ways to use AI that can actually move your business forward

AI is more valuable as a backend systems tool than a content production tool

Your audience wants your voice and your perspective — speed cannot replace trust

The question you bring to AI matters more than the tool itself

“AI isn’t really a productivity tool. It’s not about how fast we can crank things out.”

“AI is only as strategic as the person directing it. Point it at captions and it writes captions. Point it at your business and it builds systems.”

“Your audience doesn’t need more content from you necessarily. They need you, your voice, and your perspective.”

The tool hasn’t changed, but the question you bring to it can change everything.

This year is the year to move AI from the front end to the back end and use it in a way that actually builds your business.

Marisa Shadrick

AI Marketing Strategist & Certified Copywriter

The AI Lab for Solopreneurs is a private membership community where Marisa shows coaches, consultants, and service providers how to use AI ethically and strategically — not just faster.

You’ll get custom prompts, AI skills development, graphic templates, mini courses, and live coaching calls.

The price is currently $37/month. It goes up to $49 in April.

Join here: marisashadrick.com/community

 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/

 Subscribe and receive each episode in your email inbox: https://marisashadrick.com/listen

If this episode was helpful, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

If you’re watching on YouTube, subscribe and leave a comment.

Thanks so much for your support!

Amplify Your Authority Podcast

Episode 147

The Wrong Way to Use AI — And What Solopreneurs Should Do Instead

The Rush to Use AI

If you’ve been using AI to write captions, draft emails, and knock out content faster, that’s not a bad place to start. However, that rush to use AI for quick tasks is the very reason so many of us are using it wrong. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Today, we’re going to talk about the ethical way to use AI.

Welcome to the Amplify Your Authority podcast. I’m your host, Marisa Shadrick. Today, we’re diving into a loaded topic: AI use. There are a lot of different views and perspectives out there.

How AI Adoption Evolved

Some people love AI. Others resist it. What I want to share is what I’ve seen evolve over the last few years.

In 2024, many people dug their heels in. They didn’t want to use AI, and there was real resistance. Then they started experimenting. They said, “Wow, I can actually produce things pretty quickly.” So 2025 became the year of testing — playing in the sandbox, so to speak.

What did that produce? It helped us do a lot of things faster. But there was a consequence. Now we have to look at AI differently and ask: how can we use it to improve the bottom line, create more clients, and serve people better — without burning out?

AI Isn’t Really a Productivity Tool

The big attraction was saving time. But AI isn’t really a productivity tool. It felt that way at first because we were cranking things out faster. Watching words appear on the screen was compelling and fun.

We soon realized, though, that the output wasn’t the greatest. AI was pulling from the internet, mixing it up, and giving it back to us. Chances are someone else had already said the same thing somewhere else. That’s why we started seeing so many em dashes, the word “delve,” and a similar rhythm across posts. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

The Real Question

AI isn’t about how fast we can produce. It’s about how efficiently we can do what we’re already doing — and how we can use it to improve, analyze, and work alongside us.

The choice isn’t “don’t use it” or “use it for everything.” The real question is: how do we coexist with AI? Because it’s here to stay. Every industry is implementing some form of AI integration. We’re going to adapt and adjust. But we can decide for ourselves how we’re going to use it — with integrity and as responsible content creators.

The problem isn’t the tool. It’s our focus. The pressure to produce more has always existed. But do we have to lean into that? Can we lean into quality instead? Can we lean into our own perspectives, experiences, skills, and backgrounds?

The Human Is Always in the Loop

People often say there needs to be a human-in-the-loop. I think the human is always in the loop. We bring AI to support what the human is already doing.

We are the decision-makers. We choose which AI tool helps us reach a specific goal. So let’s look at what created the controversy we’re seeing now.

AI made things easier. It lowered the bar of entry. It became easier to produce more content. We saw people creating entire books with AI, and I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with that. It really comes down to how people use it. Used with integrity, AI can help you communicate more clearly, spot where you repeated yourself, or find places where an explanation fell flat.

Speed Slowed Down Connection

AI sped up production. But it also slowed down the connection. Getting up to speed with AI tools takes time. You have to learn, experiment, and verify that what it gives you is actually correct.

Here’s the thing — everybody is learning. Nobody has it all figured out. Everyone is slowing down a little before they can speed up.

It’s worth noting that Merriam-Webster’s 2025 word of the year was “slop.” They define it as digital content of low quality, produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence. We went from trying to be more productive to producing slop. And your audience is savvy. They can tell.

Accountability and the Absolutes

If you put a minimum prompt in, you get junk out. There’s now a call for accountability, and I think that’s a good thing. We have to be careful about what we put out on the internet.

We’re producing more and enjoying it less. The audience is noticing. AI is not the problem. The human should always be in control.

You have to stick to your absolutes whenever you integrate anything new. Ask yourself: Does this align with my brand? Does it align with my values? Does it protect my brand voice and keep me consistent across all platforms and media?

Those absolutes are your constraints. AI has actually given us an opportunity to get clear on them. Because to produce good content with AI, it needs to know a lot about your business — your audience, your products, your transformation. That process has forced many solopreneurs to pause and ask, “Wait, am I actually clear on this?”

A Better Question to Ask

Instead of asking “What can AI write for me?” or “What new tool should I try?” — ask a better question. Ask: What can help me with the task at hand? What is the goal I’m trying to reach? What is the simplest path? Where are the bottlenecks? What resources or tools will I need?

AI can help you analyze all of that.

Using AI to Find Blind Spots

You can use any AI tool for this — Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Start by painting the picture. Most mobile apps have a microphone, so you can simply talk through the outcome you want and ask AI to help you see your blind spots.

For example, if you have a course in draft mode, you can ask AI to analyze the structure and tell you what’s missing. Would this satisfy a student? Have you left anything out? Is there something your audience needs to know before they can implement this?

You can do the same with a lead magnet. Ask AI: Why isn’t this converting? Is it the title? Is it the resource itself? Is the audience not at the right level of awareness yet? Is there something they need first before this becomes valuable to them?

Use AI to audit the things that aren’t performing — or the things that are performing but leaving you exhausted. Can AI help you find a better way so you have more margin?

Backend Systems Over Frontend Content

The more I use AI, the more I notice it is more helpful on backend systems than frontend content. I’ll say that again: AI is more useful on backend systems than frontend content.

I do use it for audience-facing content. I research one topic per week, then create different formats — video, written, newsletter — all on the same topic, built for each platform. But the real value of AI for coaches, consultants, and solopreneurs is on the backend.

You wear so many hats. You are the salesperson, the face of your brand, the writer, the content creator, the social media manager — everything. Backend systems matter enormously for a solopreneur. When you think of AI as a tool for analysis, improvement, and systematization, that is where the power lies.

The goal is to use these technologies to get more leads, serve our audiences well, and improve revenue — without compromising our values.

Assessing Where You’re Spending Time

Organizations that use AI only for surface tasks access only about 5% of what AI can actually do. Many solopreneurs are in that category — using it mainly for social media content while their time gets absorbed and revenue-generating work gets pushed aside.

You have to assess where your time is going. Where is the bottleneck? Are you spending time on social media for vanity numbers, or are people downloading your resource and joining your email list? If it’s working, keep going. If it isn’t, ask AI to help you audit it and identify a better path.

Sometimes the biggest outcome comes from a small adjustment. Just a slight shift can produce a completely different result.

Most of us are not using even 5% of what AI can offer. We’re doing surface-level work. In 2026, I believe this is the year of systems — the year people figure out how to leverage AI to improve their return on investment, whether that’s money or time.

Full Disclosure and a Real Example

I have an AI use policy on my website — right alongside my terms and privacy policy. Full disclosure about how I use AI. That kind of transparency will shape how businesses show up in 2026.

Here is a real example of using AI on the backend. I have a newsletter called the Monday Marketing Memo. I pulled three months of newsletters and the analytics for each one. I loaded them into ChatGPT and Claude and asked: What’s working? What’s missing? How can I improve the open rate and click-through rate?

AI gave me suggestions. I reviewed them, decided what was doable, and then asked them to rebuild my newsletter template based on those improvements. I then took that new template into Claude and created a Skill — an expert assistant that knows exactly how to draft my weekly newsletter. Now, when I bring in my weekly research and topic, Claude uses that Skill to generate a draft in my voice.

That is how you leverage AI. It analyzed what I had, suggested improvements, rebuilt the template, and now runs the system going forward.

Three Ways to Use AI

Here are three specific ways to use AI that can move your business forward.

First, use it to analyze. Give it data, ask it questions, and let it surface what you’re not seeing.

Second, use it to systematize. Ask it to build a process or a template you can reuse.

Third, use it as a thinking partner. If you’re at a crossroads and not sure which direction to take, give AI some context and ask it to walk through the pros and cons with you.

When you use Claude, it will ask you many questions before producing anything. That is a good thing. If you’re using ChatGPT, you may need to push back and ask it to explain its reasoning. Each tool is a little different, but they are more similar than they are different.

You don’t need more tools right now. You need to figure out which tools work best for your specific business and goals.

Why This Matters: Trust Is an Asset

Your audience is developing what researchers call an AI suspicion penalty. They are disengaging from anything that feels automated.

You’ve probably seen it on LinkedIn. Someone sends you a connection request, you accept, and immediately you get a pitch. That is automated. There’s no relationship, no context — just a pitch. That erodes trust before it even begins.

Automated, AI-generated content reduces engagement. We know this. Speed cannot replace trust. For solopreneurs who are the brand, trust is everything. Your audience doesn’t need more content from you. They need you — your voice, your stories, your point of view.

What to Do Differently

Stop using AI to produce more of the same faster. If it’s working for you, keep going. But if it isn’t, let AI help you analyze why and find a better path.

Start using AI to make better decisions and to systematize what you’re already doing.

One action you can take this week: find one thing you’re doing right now — on the backend or otherwise — and ask AI, is there a better way to do this? Is this the best use of my time? Is it generating leads? Audit one thing and see what comes back.

About the AI Lab for Solopreneurs

I have a private membership called the AI Lab for Solopreneurs. We use AI ethically. I show members how to communicate with AI — whether that’s Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT — to grow their business.

It comes from a solopreneur, for solopreneurs. We focus on strategy, backend systems, and the time-consuming tasks. You get custom prompts, Claude Skills, graphic templates, mini courses, and live coaching calls.

The current price is $37 per month. It goes up to $49 in April, and it will increase again in the fall as we continue adding more.

Join here: marisashadrick.com/community

Closing

AI is only as strategic as the person directing it. Point it at captions, and it writes captions. Point it at your business, and it builds systems. The tool hasn’t changed — but the question you bring to it can change everything.

If you found this episode helpful, please rate and review the podcast. And if you’re watching on YouTube, subscribe. Until next time, take care.