AI has exploded onto the technology scene with tools like ChatGPT from companies like OpenAI. Since then, we’ve seen new and different versions coming at us fast such as support for APIs, browser plugins and even AutoGPT. These tools are aiming to change everything about the way we leverage technology.
I’m sure you’ve also noticed that B2B SaaS builders (like us) have taken notice of the capabilities of these tools which has led to another explosion of SaaS products hitting the market promising all kinds of capabilities based on what these AI tools can do.
This is quickly becoming a vast world where it’s easy to get lost. I want to help guide you through it with my recommendations on how entrepreneurs building B2B SaaS products can best leverage these technologies to increase their odds of success.
Background
AI is here to stay and likely to remain in the spotlight for the foreseeable future. As such, you need to become familiar with what these tools can do. That will enable you to understand how to best leverage them to accelerate your progress. This should also help you understand where NOT to focus so as to not reinvent the wheel because you’ll know that AI can already do something better, faster or cheaper.
The long and short of it is that AI can do more, MUCH faster than before. As such, you can now make more progress much more quickly than before. They key will be knowing what to use it for to put your B2B SaaS in a position to achieve greater success more quickly.
Let’s talk about three key points you need to understand to successfully leverage AI to succeed in the world of B2B SaaS.
Major Disruption is Already Underway
BIG companies are already facing unique challenges due to AI, especially if they aren’t already evolving. AI has significantly raised the competitive bar for B2B SaaS application capabilities. These tools can not just come up with the idea for your new SaaS, but build it as well. As such, everything is moving further, faster.
This means BIG companies like Salesforce are losing what used to be a competitive advantage – the capabilities of their software. In the right hands, savvy entrepreneurs will be able to replicate similar capabilities in a fraction of the time it took Salesforce to do the same thing. This has big companies worried.However, many of them aren’t sitting around waiting for you to disrupt them either. Hubspot for example, has leaned into AI to begin building cool new tools like this content assistant. Hubspot has been eating Salesforce’s lunch for some time now and it looks like that may be likely to continue.
The point is, the game is on and if you’re unaware then you’re already late. Good news is that you can catch up now by diving in and this article is a great place to start.
If You’re Not Moving Forward, You’re Moving Backwards
These changes and updates are coming at us FAST. As such, you need to be tuned in or you could miss something big. OpenAI (makers of ChatGPT) seem hellbent on maximizing worldwide exposure of their tools and so far they are doing a great job at it. With the help of their recent release of browser plugin support accessing their AI tools is easier and more flexible than ever. They want you using them all the time for everything.
The biggest problem with not knowing what these tools can do is that you may end up reinventing the wheel. I work with many entrepreneurs coaching them on how to successfully build B2B SaaS businesses as a product coach. As such, several of the common mistakes I often see them make are now getting worse because of how much AI can already do. Many of them are spending BIG money building something AI can do easily and often for free. Now more than ever, you need to be hyper vigilant that what you are building can’t easily be replaced by AI or your value proposition could quickly become obsolete.
The best thing you can do is stay tuned to the latest development by companies like OpenAI and others to make sure you understand what the latest tools can do. This will also help you get a feel for the new pace of change in the industry for which you are building your B2B SaaS. If the developments are moving too fast for you, you can niche down or pivot.
Let’s talk about how to position yourself for success amidst this crazy pace of AI development.
Position Yourself to BE the Disruptor (Not the Disrupted)
Understanding the most effective way to leverage any tool begins with understanding what it can do. This new wave of AI tools from companies like OpenAI are great at doing more, much faster. If you understand that, you can position yourself and your B2B SaaS in a way that protects your value proposition from significant disruption.
The more you learn about what these tools can do, the more ideas you will uncover about how to strengthen your B2B SaaS value proposition with the help of their capabilities. I’m closely watching this development across industries at B2B SaaS companies who wish to extend the capability of their tools with the help of AI. Companies like Intercom which already offer strong chat solutions to the market are going further with the help of AI by enabling you to build custom chatbots based on your own library of information.
Examples like those are the way forward here. Understand the strengths of these tools so you know what they can and can’t do is the key. Then you can plan to leverage those strengths to enable your B2B SaaS to be able to do more, faster. If you follow that strategy you will further protect your company from disruption and strengthen your value proposition.
Real World Example
I want to share a recent example of a B2B SaaS product that I’m currently building to solve a specific problem of my own. I’ll share both the before and after scenarios now that AI is on the scene. I hope this will help you understand how you can leverage what these tools can do to improve the strength of your B2B SaaS product.
Podcasting
I enjoy and have had a lot of success with podcasting. It’s an excellent way to grow your network virtually. As such, I built a podcasting agency called Podcast Chef to help with generating referrals for business.
As part of what we do at Podcast Chef, we create what we call ‘show notes’ for each episode we produce. This includes titles, summaries, key points, quotes, etc. Now before these AI tools were developed, we had people dedicated to this work. That was somewhat inflexible and time consuming. It could take a few hours to create notes from any given episode.
After the development of these AI tools, this whole process can now be done in minutes. That product has become Podcast Show Notes which automates the process almost entirely increasing our leverage considerably.
As such, anyone trying to do this process manually (still) is wasting valuable time and money. There’s no way this process can be done better, faster or cheaper than it can be with Podcast Show Notes.
Summary
AI is attempting to disrupt just about everything. You need to learn what the capabilities are so you can use them to your advantage and not have your B2B SaaS business turned upside down because of them.
Your focus should be on learning how to leverage these tools to strengthen the value proposition of your B2B SaaS business so you can remain the disruptor and not become the disrupted.
If you would like help figuring out how to leverage AI to supercharge your B2B SaaS product, schedule time with me to discuss.
You may also be interested in my free 5 day email course on finding product-market fit.
