Your GenAI Partner, Competitor, or Replacement: The Business Competition Game Changer

In the 44th edition of this newsletter, entitled “Your AI “Assistant, Co-worker, or Replacement”: Strategies for Winning the Involuntary Game,” it was concluded that individual employees should apply the “Pareto Concept” to their job tasks and understand the different “Types of Competitive Advantages” to recognize where their job tasks fall on the “Spectrum of Know-How, Know-Why, and Know-When Competitive Advantages.” This helps them better assess the level of risk they face and develop their “Winning Adaptable Strategies,” capitalizing on opportunities to gain a competitive advantage over their “Generative AI Rivals” in this “Involuntary Competitive Strategic Game.” They can deliberately transfer to the Gereative AI, their “AI Co-worker, “the 80% of tasks at risk that depend only on a “Know-How Competitive Advantage.” A higher-order strategy is to start considering it as their “AI Assistance,” which can assist them in the 80% of tasks that require higher “Know-Why and Know-When Competitive Advantages” and boost their productivity and efficiency in ways they never thought possible to outsmart and outmaneuver this “Involuntary Competitive Strategic Game.”

Upgrading the discussion from the level of individual employees to the whole business, this edition of the newsletter summarizes my presentation at the “Techne Summit Cairo 2024”, to inspire “Startups” and “Investors” on how “Generative AI” will change the way business competition landscape and game forever. My talk and this edition of the newsletter were titled “Your GenAI Partner, Competitor, or Replacement: The Business Competition Game Changer.” The harmony with the title of the 44th edition and the scope upgrade are evident, of course. 

The reason behind selecting this topic and presentation title is that I received many questions that continuously raised concerns about how  “Artificial Intelligence” in general and “Generative AI” specifically will negatively affect the resilience of currently established businesses, especially the “Startups” in the “Information Technology Industry.” Simply, how many IT startups may lose their already narrow market shares or even be forced to shut down and go out of the market? Or at least what is the percentage of the IT startups that can be threatened and become in an unfortunate position due to these technologies?

Similar to what was discussed in the 44th edition, the current perception of Generative AI’s disruption to the business competition is that it may replace many businesses. A clear example of “Business Replacements by Generative AI” is the ability of Generative AI to replace customer support agent businesses, potentially leading to a significant decrease in employment opportunities within that field. This has sparked concerns about the future of work and how industries will adapt to these technological advancements. 

However, it is essential to note that while Generative AI may negatively impact specific businesses, it also creates new opportunities, as implementing Generative AI to transform the “Business Models” can “Increase Efficiency and Productivity,” ultimately benefiting businesses at risk alike at the end of the day. Therefore, every business must adapt to stay competitive in this disruptive technological landscape.

The first and straightforward “Winning Adaptable Strategy” is to see the Gereative AI as your “Competitor” and understand and benchmark its strengths and weaknesses. This will help you know the routine and daunting services that can automatically be completed to free up your resources to focus on more complex services that require “Human Intelligence.” This approach not only boosts your “Business Resilience” against the competition from the Generative AI but also enhances your survival chances.” This means that you deliberately “Opt-out from Competition” in the “Red Ocean” to your AI competitor, which contains the 80% of the value-added services that depend only on the “Know-How Competitive Advantage.”

Upgrading the “Competitive Strategic Game” to the next level shifts the focus of the discussion to the second winning adaptable strategy. This strategy involves actively seeking and capitalizing on opportunities to be more competitive than your “Generative AI Rivals.” Instead of considering it as your competitor who can provide routine and daunting value-added services, you may start considering it as your effective “AI Partner” that can boost your productivity in ways you never thought possible. This means not only utilizing its capabilities to streamline your routine and daunting value-added services but also proactively looking for ways to outsmart and outmaneuver this competitive game. For example, your AI Partner can help you to “Enter New Markets” and “Provide More Complex Value-added Services,” such as analyzing market dynamics and competitor strategies to help your customers and yourself stay ahead of the competition curve. This means that you deliberately “Opt-in into Competition” in the “Strategic Blue Ocean” with your AI Partner to help you provide the 80% of the value-added services that require the higher “Know-Why and Know-When Competitive Advantages.”

Hence, and to conclude, every business, especially startups, should apply the “Pareto Concept” to their value-added services and understand the different “Types of Competitive Advantages” to recognize where their value-added services fall on the “Spectrum of Know-How, Know-Why, and Know-When Competitive Advantages.” This helps them better assess the level of risk they face and develop their “Winning Adaptable Strategies,” capitalizing on opportunities to gain a competitive advantage over their “Generative AI Rivals” in this “Involuntary Competitive Strategic Game” induced by the “Generative AI as a Competition Game Changer.” They can deliberately “Opt-out from Competition” in the “Red Ocean” to their AI Competitor, which contains the 80% of the value-added services that depend only on the “Know-How Competitive Advantage.” A higher-order strategy is to start considering it as their “AI Partner,” which means that they deliberately “Opt-in into Competition” in the “Strategic Blue Ocean” with their AI Partner to help them in the 80% of the value-added services that require the higher “Know-Why and Know-When Competitive Advantages” and boost their competitiveness in ways they never thought possible to outsmart and outmaneuver in the age of the “Genrative AI as the New Business Competition Game Changer.”