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“Wait, you used AI for that? Shouldn’t this cost less?” If you’re building, prompting, or advising in the AI space, you’ve likely heard this. It’s a fair question—on the surface. But it misses a deeper truth about how real value is created in this new era of speed, automation, and scale. When clients ask, “Shouldn’t this cost less because AI did the work?” they’re often misplacing the locus of value. The implicit assumption is that effort or time equals worth. But in reality, the true value lies in knowing what to ask, how to guide AI to deliver the right outcomes, and how to turn those results into meaningful business advantage. The ability to prompt with precision, discern patterns, and drive decisions isn’t commoditized—it’s elevated. In this new landscape, expertise isn’t replaced by AI; it’s refracted through it, creating leverage that’s worth more, not less. The Classic Story: The Engineer and the Chalk Mark This concept of “knowing what to do” isn’t new. Consider a timeless story: A factory machine breaks down. Production halts. Panic sets in. A specialist is called. She walks the floor, listens intently, then draws a simple chalk “X” on one part of the machine: “Replace this.” The repair is made. The machine roars back to life. The invoice arrives: $10,000. The factory manager objects: “$10,000? But you were only here five minutes!” The specialist revises the bill: Marking the machine: $1; Knowing where to mark: $9,999. This isn’t just a parable—it’s a principle of value. And in the age of AI, it’s more relevant than ever. The Leverage Layer AI, in the hands of a skilled professional, acts as a multiplier—not a discount trigger. Think of it as a force amplifier. The consultant who once took 30 hours to uncover an insight may now do so in three. But what’s been compressed is not the value—it’s the delivery time. Clients aren’t paying for keystrokes; they’re paying for clarity, impact, and momentum. In fact, the faster the insight arrives, the more valuable it becomes. That’s because knowing how to use AI effectively still requires: Contextual Understanding: Will this solution work for your exact situation? Strategic Judgment: Is this the right action, or just a fast one? Implementation Skill: Can this plug into your people, processes, and priorities? Ethical Foresight: What are the risks, trade-offs, and downstream consequences? Continuous Refinement: Can this evolve with you? Without these elements, it’s like having the food ingredients—but no recipe, and no chef. Should We Abandon the Billable Hour? This brings us to a core question: if time is no longer the best proxy for value, why do we still price services that way? The traditional billable hour model—long the cornerstone of consulting, legal, and executive coaching practices—is increasingly misaligned with the realities of AI-enhanced efficiency. As AI automates routine tasks and accelerates service delivery, professionals must pivot to pricing models that reflect not time spent, but value created. The Obsolescence of Time-Based Billing Time-based billing once made sense. It was an easy way to quantify effort. But AI’s capacity to perform complex tasks at unprecedented speeds breaks this equation. For example, AI tools can now draft legal documents, analyze thousands of data points, and generate strategic insights in minutes. A study by the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations and WE Communications found that 88% of PR professionals believe AI will increase task efficiency, and 72% expect reduced workloads as a result (Hawkins, 2023). Similarly, the legal industry has been exploring alternative billing models that better reflect outcomes over effort (American Bar Association, 2017). Understanding Value-Based Pricing So what should replace the billable hour? Value-based pricing—an approach that centers on the outcomes and benefits a client receives, rather than the inputs involved in getting there. This model aligns pricing with the client’s perceived value of the result. A consultant who delivers a strategic insight that transforms a client’s trajectory shouldn’t be penalized for doing it faster with AI; they should be valued for making it possible at all. Implementing this model requires more than changing your invoice. It requires deeper client discovery, clearer articulation of outcomes, and confidence in the transformative potential of your work. AI as an Enhancer of Expertise AI doesn’t replace human expertise—it enhances it. Rather than rendering professionals obsolete, AI takes repetitive, time-consuming tasks off their plate, freeing them to focus on strategic thinking. For instance, a consultant can use AI to process vast datasets and quickly surface meaningful patterns, then use their own judgment to interpret those insights and guide clients forward. In executive coaching, AI tools can help analyze behavioral trends, but it’s still the coach who helps the leader grow. This synergy between AI and human insight enhances service quality and sharpens the value professionals bring to the table. Value Has Always Worked This Way If this feels like a radical shift, remember: we’ve always paid for expertise—not time. The chalk mark wasn’t the beginning of this idea, and it certainly won’t be the end. Picasso & the Napkin: A quick sketch, priced not for the minutes it took—but for the decades of mastery behind it. Top Surgeon: A 15-minute incision, made possible by years of rigorous training and precision. Senior Lawyer: Spots a $10 million flaw in a contract—not because they worked fast, but because they saw what others missed. Cybersecurity Expert: Isolates a critical threat in minutes, averting losses that would’ve taken months to recover. Creative Director: Delivers a campaign-defining tagline—not from hours of effort, but from sharp insight and intuition. These aren’t exceptions. They’re reminders that real value lies in wisdom, judgment, and precision. The Future of Professional Services Pricing As AI continues to evolve, the pressure to adopt value-based models will only grow. Professionals who embrace this shift will position themselves as forward-thinking, client-centered, and impact-driven. In the new paradigm, success isn’t measured in hours logged—but in breakthroughs achieved. Those who master this shift won’t just survive the AI era. They’ll lead it. The Final Thought The integration of AI into professional services is not a threat—it’s a catalyst. It challenges outdated billing models and accelerates a more honest, impactful way to measure and price value. In a world where speed is no longer synonymous with simplicity, and automation delivers at unprecedented pace, it’s tempting to reduce worth to output. But real value lies in expertise—knowing what to do, when to do it, and why it matters. AI doesn’t make that expertise obsolete; it makes it indispensable.  So, the next time you evaluate the cost of an AI-powered solution, don’t ask how long it took to run the prompt—ask how long it took someone to know exactly what to ask in the first place. That’s where the transformation happens. That’s where the magic is.  Here’s to turning your hard-earned wisdom into prompts that delight, ignite, and redefine what’s possible. References Hawkins, E. (2023, August 17). AI threatens the billable hour revenue model. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2023/08/17/ai-threatens-hourly-revenue-model American Bar Association (2017, May). 8 steps for creating value-based pricing that works. American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2017/may-2017/bury-the-billable-hour-and-implement-value-billing-in-your-law-f/   Copyright © 2025 by Arete Coach LLC. All rights reserved.

creating a competitive advantage rooted not just in a superior AI system, but in a fundamentally more intelligent

of prompting is not just about getting answers; it's about engaging with AI to generate meaningful, intelligent

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping leadership development by offering innovative AI as an Amplifier of Human Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just a technology trend—it Rather than replacing human intelligence, AI is increasingly seen as a tool that amplifies it. In fact,  75% of CX leaders view AI as a means to enhance human intelligence, not replace it  (Zendesk

Headlines warn that artificial intelligence (AI) will take all the jobs.

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In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer in this quest for efficiency

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Previously, education was considered the “great equalizer of the conditions of men” (Duncan, 2023). However, recent research from BCG has indicated that generative AI could be considered the next great equalizer among novices and experts in the workplace (Candelon et al., 2023). Below we examine the research supporting this conclusion and its implications for the modern business. The great equalizer In a research study examining the effects of generative AI on both creativity and complex problem-solving tasks, researchers concluded that in a creativity/innovation-based task, “nearly all participants (around 90%) irrespective of their baseline proficiency produced higher-quality results when using GPT-4 for the creative product innovation task.” Additionally, they found that those with lower “baseline proficiency” levels performed at similar levels to “those with higher baseline proficiencies” when using ChatGPT-4. This ultimately led to participants using ChatGPT-4 to have reduced performance variances between participants. The researchers state that “a much higher share of our participants performed at or very close to the average level” when using ChatGPT (Candelon et al., 2023). Implications for business Due to the equalizing effect that ChatGPT-4 has between novice and experienced participants alike on creative tasks, raw talent might now be less predictive of success with creative tasks. This implies that when hiring for creative roles, managers might consider being a skilled user of ChatGPT-4 and/or other generative AI as more important than direct experience or expertise. Furthermore, this access to increased performance can benefit smaller corporations with less budget and less access to experienced new hires who often request higher salaries. Therefore, transitioning to an AI-skills-focused hiring strategy for creative positions might be the next trend in hiring. This also has implications for training programs. Businesses might incorporate AI-skills training into their new-hire onboarding. Likewise, they could incorporate AI-skills training into their staff management (Candelon et al., 2023). Potential downsides The equalizing effect of ChatGPT-4 has a few downsides that should be taken into consideration. First, because novice creatives are propelled to expert performance levels with the use of ChatGPT-4, individuals could experience a reduced incentive to develop expertise. Additionally, 70% of research participants expect that an overreliance on ChatGPT-4 in creative tasks could reduce the creative abilities of staff. Lastly, while individual performance is improved, “collective creativity” or the overall creativity of the group is largely reduced. Researchers stated that ChatGPT-4 responds “with very similar meaning time and again to the same sorts of prompts” and performance was “individually better but collectively repetitive” (Candelon et al., 2023). Their study indicated that when using ChatGPT-4 as a group, collective creativity and diversity of ideas were reduced by 41%. This is potentially hazardous when considering the impact between organizations or firms. If two or more firms are addressing the same challenges and all using ChatGPT-4, they will likely produce similar solutions, products, and services based on the repetitive nature of ChatGPT (Candelon et al., 2023). Key takeaways Generative AI might be the next great equalizer in the workforce and, business leaders and executive coaches alike need to understand the benefits and consequences of this. By addressing the impact that AI can have on talent search, firms with smaller budgets can expand their new-hire’s capabilities and performance. Firms can also integrate AI-skills training into their management to expand current employee performance on creative tasks. However, business leaders should take care to mitigate the downsides such as a loss of collective creativity to use AI most effectively. Read the original research article here. References Duncan, A. (2023, August 28). Education: The ‘Great Equalizer’ | Essay by Arne Duncan. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Education-The-Great-Equalizer-2119678 Candelon, F., Krayer, L., Rajendran, S., & Martínez, D. Z. (2023). How People Can Create—and Destroy—Value with Generative AI. BCG Global. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/how-people-create-and-destroy-value-with-gen-ai Copyright © 2023 by Arete Coach LLC. All rights reserved.

Bing is making waves in the search engine space by introducing a notable feature: integration with Chat GPT. This allows users to explore a wide array of information from post-2021 without the need to fuss over plugin functionality, presenting a subtle challenge to Google by launching a feature they have not fully implemented yet. In this piece, we'll explore how to use Bing’s new search tool, discuss its various applications, and understand why it's gaining popularity so quickly. Bing's integration not only simplifies the user experience but also enhances it, providing a smooth route for knowledge exploration in our digital world. Navigating Bing's new chat feature with ease When you visit Bing.com, you'll notice a familiar setup with a new feature: a “Chat” option at the top of the page. This lets you start your search either the usual way, in the search box, or by clicking the “Chat” button, giving you the freedom to search how you prefer and switch between methods as you go. If you’re new to Bing, you’ll have a few chats before being asked to log in. Don’t worry if you don’t have a Microsoft account - you can quickly set one up with your preferred email address and then get right back to your search. One thing to keep in mind: you can use up to 5 prompts in a single chat. After that, you’ll need to clear the chat to keep searching. This new feature offers a blend of traditional and chat-based search to make finding what you need even easier. Revolutionizing real-time research Bing Chat, empowered by GPT-4—the latest and most advanced language model from ChatGPT—delivers responses that are strikingly human-like. The intriguing aspect of ChatGPT's integration into search results lies in its ability to facilitate real-time research based on the most current information published by online publications. Take, for instance, posing the question, “What are the top 5 things I should know about today’s economy?” Bing provides a response, offering clickable items (refer to #1 below) that directs you straight to the source for further reading. Enhancing the user experience, the platform explicitly indicates where the updates have been sourced from (see #2 below). Moreover, if you wish to explore further and are unsure how to proceed, conveniently placed prompts are available for immediate deeper exploration (refer to #3 below). Exploring Bing Chat’s Capabilities Bing Chat introduces users to a suite of new capabilities, offering a distinct experience that sets it apart from the conventional Bing Search and ChatGPT. Below are three immediately noticeable differences. Continue reading for additional capabilities Bing Chat offers users. Bing Chat provides access to web results and real-time information. Bing Chat operates without an account, allowing up to five prompts. Bing Chat grants free access to the advanced GPT-4. Interaction styles Bing Chat empowers users with the flexibility to select their preferred conversation style, thereby eliminating the necessity for lengthy, detailed prompts. To evaluate the efficacy of the “conversation style” feature, we posed a question to Bing Chat: “How might you recommend I grow my executive coaching business?” Below, we explore the results yielded by the three available conversational styles. Creative conversational style Results are expanded, detailed, and provide color commentary. Balanced conversational style Results are consolidated and include links to credible sources with actionable insights. Precise conversational style Results are strategic, actionable, and business-oriented. Upload images to Bing Chat Bing Chat offers the capability to upload images and inquire about them directly. In an experiment, we uploaded an unlabelled diagram and posed the question, “What model is this depicting?” The platform promptly identified the model as the Big Five Personality Traits model; the results of which can be viewed below. Bing Search's image search functionality offers a versatile array of applications, including the ability to identify objects or landmarks, locate higher resolution or visually similar images, and trace the original source of a picture. Additionally, it proves useful for shopping by identifying purchasable products seen in images, and serves as a valuable learning tool, for instance, aiding in identifying various bird species for study purposes. Generate images Bing Chat introduces the capability to instantaneously generate images, providing a seamless and expedient user experience right within your browser. While it may not yet mirror the professional and sophisticated offerings of tools like MidJourney, the sheer convenience of crafting an image in mere seconds without the need to navigate to a separate platform presents a valuable proposition, especially for those new to AI. To utilize this feature, simply inform Bing Chat of your desire to create an image, and watch as it is generated promptly on the spot. Five unique applications of Bing Chat Leveraging the real-time search and information retrieval capabilities, we delve deeper into exploring Bing Chat, spotlighting five distinctive ways in which it can be utilized—opportunities that were previously inaccessible when using Chat GPT in isolation. Bing Chat not only enhances the user experience by providing instant access to a wealth of information but also opens up new avenues for exploration and discovery, thereby enriching the interactive journey of users who seek more than just answers. Continue reading to navigate these five unique applications, each demonstrating Bing Chat’s prowess in delivering a more comprehensive and interactive user experience. “Can you create a table that…” Using a query like “Can you create a table that…” in Bing Chat lets you quickly build data sets with real-time online information. For example, if you’re exploring continuing education opportunities and ask Bing Chat to list the top executive coaching programs in a table with specific columns, you get results in just minutes—a task that could take an hour otherwise. This is impactful because it not only saves a lot of time but also ensures you’re using the most up-to-date information available, making your research or decision-making process both efficient and reliable. It's a handy tool for anyone looking to streamline their research and get quick, accurate data. “Can you aggregate the top [topic] news of today…” Requesting the top news of the day on specific topics offers pivotal advantages for business leaders, including staying abreast of industry developments and trends, gaining a competitive edge through understanding market dynamics and competitor actions, aiding strategic planning with fresh insights, managing risks by identifying potential challenges early, and spurring innovation and growth by spotting emerging trends and technologies. In essence, accessing daily news summaries equips leaders with crucial information, enhancing decision-making, strategy formulation, and innovative endeavors. “What are the latest market trends in [industry]?” Using Bing Chat to ask “What are the latest market trends in [industry]?” gives business leaders quick and current insights, helping them make smart, timely decisions and stay competitive. This easy access to the newest market trends helps with planning strategies, aligning marketing efforts, and sparking innovative ideas while also helping to spot and manage potential risks early. The option to compare trends year over year also helps leaders see how stable trends are and predict where they might go in the future, aiding in future planning, resource allocation, and keeping offerings in line with what customers want, all while keeping an eye on the global market. “What are the latest regulatory changes affecting [industry]?” Utilizing Bing Chat to inquire “What are the latest regulatory changes affecting [industry]?” proves to be impactful by providing instantaneous updates, ensuring businesses stay compliant and navigate away from potential legal hurdles. This immediate insight facilitates proactive strategic planning, allowing businesses to swiftly align with new regulations, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and maintaining a smooth business trajectory. Moreover, it aids in safeguarding financial health by avoiding penalties and ensuring eligibility for any regulatory incentives. In a nutshell, leveraging Bing Chat for regulatory updates equips businesses to make informed decisions, manage risks effectively, and uphold a robust operational and strategic stance in the face of regulatory shifts. “What are the recent mergers and acquisitions in [industry]?” Inquiring Bing Chat about "What are the recent mergers and acquisitions in [industry]?" holds substantial impact, particularly in the fast-paced business environment where understanding the shifting landscapes is pivotal. This question enables businesses and investors to swiftly grasp the current dynamics and alterations within a specific industry, providing them with insights into potential market consolidations, emerging players, or any shifts in market leadership. Having this information at one's fingertips not only aids in making informed strategic decisions but also in identifying new opportunities or foreseeing potential threats, thereby enabling businesses to navigate through the industry with enhanced foresight and preparedness. Furthermore, it allows companies to stay agile, adapting to or even capitalizing on the changes in the market, ensuring they remain competitive and strategically aligned with the evolving industry trends and shifts. The main takeaway Bing Chat, with its integration of Chat GPT, has emerged as a potent tool, offering a myriad of functionalities that streamline and enhance the user's search and research experience. From enabling real-time information retrieval and facilitating in-depth research with its ability to generate tables and aggregate news, to providing insights into market trends, regulatory changes, and recent mergers and acquisitions, Bing Chat has proven to be a valuable asset for various users, including business leaders, researchers, and the general public. Its capabilities in providing swift, comprehensive, and up-to-date information not only save time but also ensure that decisions, whether they be business strategies or investment moves, are made based on the most current and relevant data available. In a world where information is paramount, Bing Chat stands out by providing a seamless, interactive, and enriched user experience, bridging the gap between query and knowledge in an efficient and user-friendly manner. Copyright © 2023 by Arete Coach LLC. All rights reserved.