Matt Shumer, CEO of HyperWrite AI, six-year AI startup founder and investor, recently published a piece that cuts through the noise about what's actually happening with artificial intelligence right now. It's one of the clearest, most honest assessments I've read, and I think it's essential reading for anyone running a business today.
Here's the short version, and what I think you should do about it.
AI just crossed a threshold most people haven't noticed yet. As of February 2026, the latest models from OpenAI and Anthropic aren't just helpful tools. They're independently completing complex, multi-day work that used to require senior professionals. Software engineers are describing finished products built entirely by AI. A managing partner at a major law firm says it already rivals his associates. And the AI is now helping build the next version of itself, accelerating the pace of improvement in ways that even people inside the industry find hard to fully absorb.
Why it matters for you: The author's core message is that the single biggest advantage you can have right now is simply being early. Most people are still judging AI based on an experience from a year or two ago that is no longer remotely relevant. The gap between what AI can actually do today and what most professionals think it can do is enormous, and that gap is where opportunity lives. Whether you're running a business, managing a team, or building a career, the people who start engaging seriously now will be the ones best positioned when the disruption hits their industry. And according to the people building this technology, that's not "someday." It's already underway.
5 Things You Should Do Right Now
Reading the article is step one. Here's what comes next.
Stop experimenting alone. Get someone who's already tracking this.
The article says "spend one hour a day experimenting with AI." But most people waste that hour because they don't know where to aim. A single working session with someone who understands your business can collapse weeks of fumbling into one afternoon of real results. You don't need a hammer. You need someone to help you find what matters first.
Find your first "6 hours → 40 minutes" win.
You have repetitive, time-consuming work hiding in plain sight: proposals, intake, reporting, client follow-up. AI can already handle 80%+ of it. Identify the bottleneck that hurts most and automate it this month, not "someday."
Get your whole team AI-fluent, not just AI-curious.
YouTube tutorials and casual ChatGPT use won't cut it. The article is clear: the people getting ahead are the ones using AI deeply in their actual work. Your team needs hands-on training tied to their real workflows, not slides and theory. The kind of skills they'll actually use Monday morning.
Make AI know your business, not just generic answers.
Out-of-the-box AI is impressive. AI trained on your voice, your processes, your client history, and your standards is transformative. That personalization is the difference between a novelty and a competitive edge.
Move now. The window is closing.
The article says it plainly: "the person who walks into a meeting and says 'I used AI to do this in an hour instead of three days' is the most valuable person in the room." That advantage disappears once everyone catches up. The time to act is before your competitors do.
You don't need to have it figured out.
That's literally my job.
I help businesses diagnose where AI fits, prove the value with a quick win, and make sure their team can own it going forward. No pitch. No pressure. Just a real conversation about what's slowing you down.
Tell Me Where It Hurts