How we think about AI at work.
Essays from Rain Ventures on AI strategy, small teams and the line between AI and people. Each one is an argument from work we have built, and each one ends with a next step.
Questions these essays answer
Start with the question closest to yours. Each essay gives a short answer first, then the argument.
The essays
Draw the line between AI and people before you build
The line between AI and people is the list of decisions a system may make alone, and the ones it must hand to a person. We draw it with the client before we write any code, because it shapes everything after.
AI pilots stall. Start with one real job instead
An AI pilot tests whether a tool works. A real job tests whether people will use it on a Tuesday. We start with one job that matters to someone, with a date it must work by, and grow from there.
A small team with AI agents: what to hand over, and what to keep
An AI agent is software that does a defined task, such as answering an enquiry or drafting a follow-up, and hands the rest to a person. A small team can use agents to cover the hours and the volume it cannot staff. The skill is in choosing what to hand over.
Build or buy AI? A fair answer from people who build
Buying means using an AI tool off the shelf. Building means a system made for one job in your business. We build bespoke AI for a living, and we still tell clients to buy first unless one of three things is true.
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