Don’t Open ChatGPT Until You Read This!

Issue #97 - June 3, 2026

Author

Atiba de Souza
June 03, 2026

Let me start with something that might sound a little harsh.

Most people are using AI at a kindergarten level.

Not because they're unintelligent.

Not because they're doing something wrong.

Simply because they don't realize how much more is possible.

Now before you get mad at me...

Let me explain.

If your entire AI workflow looks like this:

Open ChatGPT.

Type prompt.

Get answer.

Copy.

Paste.

Repeat.

Then yes...

you're still in kindergarten.

And honestly?

Most people are.

The interesting thing is that we've become so impressed by what AI can do...

that we've stopped asking what else it could do.

Think about it.

Five years ago, if someone told you that you could type a question into a computer and get a well-written response in seconds...

you would've thought that was magic.

Today?

We barely think twice about it.

And that's the danger.

Not because AI is bad.

But because familiarity creates blindness.

We stop seeing the opportunity.

I caught myself doing this recently.

We're working on an application that's already live.

Real users.

Real data.

Real consequences if something breaks.

And like many projects...

we moved a little faster than we probably should have.

So now we're in that awkward stage where we're making changes directly in production.

Not ideal.

Not recommended.

But reality doesn't always wait for perfect systems.

A few years ago, solving the next problem would've looked something like this:

Open a whiteboard.

Map everything out.

Review hosting.

Review infrastructure.

Figure out development environments.

Figure out staging environments.

Research best practices.

Spend hours trying to determine the safest path forward.

And honestly?

That's probably how most people still approach it.

But this time I did something different.

I went to my AI thinking partner.

Not my chatbot.

My thinking partner.

There's a difference.

I simply explained the situation.

Here's where we are.

Here's what exists.

Here's what needs to happen.

Can you create a plan?

And then something interesting happened.

It already knew the application.

It already knew the hosting setup.

It already knew the architecture.

It already knew the files.

It already knew the dependencies.

It already knew the current environment.

So instead of me spending hours trying to figure out the path...

it started figuring out the path.

For me.

And while it was doing that...

I went for a walk.

That part hit me.

Because most people think AI saves time by doing tasks.

I think the bigger opportunity is that AI saves thinking bandwidth.

Not all thinking.

Important distinction.

I'm not talking about becoming lazy.

I'm talking about freeing yourself from the operational thinking that keeps you stuck in the weeds.

The best leaders I've met don't spend their lives solving every tiny problem.

They build systems.

They build people.

They build leverage.

And increasingly...

AI is becoming part of that leverage.

The real shift isn't:

"Can AI create this document for me?"

The real shift is:

"Can AI help me solve this problem?"

Those are two completely different questions.

One creates output.

The other creates outcomes.

And I think that's where a lot of people are stuck right now.

They're focused on what AI can produce.

Emails.

Posts.

Reports.

Documents.

Presentations.

Which is useful.

But it's also the shallow end of the pool.

What happens when AI starts helping you:

  • Think through decisions

  • Design systems

  • Troubleshoot problems

  • Build workflows

  • Create plans

  • Execute tasks

  • Monitor outcomes

Now you're playing a completely different game.

And honestly...

that's where I think this is all heading.

Not AI as a tool.

AI as a collaborator.

That doesn't mean replacing humans.

It means augmenting humans.

Giving people more leverage.

More capacity.

More ability to focus on what matters most.

And if I'm being completely honest...

I think we're still incredibly early.

Most people haven't even scratched the surface.

The crazy part?

We're all looking at the same technology.

But some people are using it to write social media captions.

And others are using it to build entire systems.

That's a pretty massive gap.

And the gap isn't technical skill.

It's imagination.

It's asking:

"What else could this do?"

That's the question I've been asking myself a lot lately.

And every time I ask it...

I discover something I didn't know was possible.

If you want to see exactly what I mean...

I recorded a quick Loom walking through it here 👇

This is just Part 1 and I think it'll change the way you think about AI.

We've already started building something special for physicians 👨‍⚕️

Over the last few months, we've built a community where doctors exchange ideas, questions, experiences, and lessons around AI and marketing.

Not surface-level conversations.

Real ones.

The kind where people ask:

  • "How are you actually using AI in your practice?"

  • "What's working right now?"

  • "How are other physicians thinking about this?"

  • "What should I avoid?"

And honestly...

that's become the most valuable part.

Doctors learning from doctors.

Sharing what works.

Sharing what doesn't.

Helping each other navigate a world that's changing faster than ever.

It's called AiM (AI & Marketing) Rounds.

If you'd like to join the conversation—

Just reply "JOIN AIM" and I'll send you the WhatsApp link.

Simple as that. 😉

A few things worth checking out 👀

Just sharing a few things I've been exploring lately:

One question before you go...

🤔 What is the most advanced thing you've actually used AI for?

Not what you've heard about.

Not what you want to do.

What have you actually done?

👉 Hit reply and let me know.

I read every response.

And honestly, some of the best ideas for future newsletters come from those conversations.

And if this made you think...

Share it with someone who's still treating AI like a chatbot.

Because I think the next few years are going to belong to the people who learn how to think differently.

— Atiba

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