Managing AI Anxiety

AI anxiety is a thing.

From coders to therapists to teachers and telemarketers, many professions have been touted as among the most exposed to the threat of AI. But no matter your field, there are always things you can do to make your offering more resilient if you’re concerned about the impact of AI on your industry. You don’t need to land all available work in the universe to thrive as a business or as a freelancer — you just need enough for you. And that means considering which types of projects or clients in your particular space are going to be more AI resistant.

Let’s take two very different professions as examples: a freelance writer and a financial advisor. As a writer you might try leaning into work that requires a higher level of team integration or other soft skills. If you’re an advisor, it could mean offering a more holistic advisory service — or becoming a thought leader and expert in servicing a highly specific niche market. And there will always be a subset of clients with a “do it for me” mentality who value personalized service over saving with a bare-bones offering. To attract those clients, you can develop an appealing white glove service.

Turn AI Anxiety to a Competitive Advantage

Finally, there’s the “if you can’t beat them, join them” strategy. Consider ways you might integrate AI to enhance your current offering. Spend less time reading doom and gloom prognostications about the havoc AI will wreak on your business and more time understanding the technology (and its limits) and better positioning yourself to take advantage of shifts in the marketplace.