The Only 3 Things You Should Know About AI

You Can Build It

This is the most technical role. Building AI means you are developing the actual systems, models, or platforms that power other tools. It involves engineering, data science, machine learning, and a deep understanding of how the technology works under the surface.

When I first became interested in AI, I was still in university. I could already see that AI was going to play a huge role in the future, and I wanted to learn it as early as I could. But once I started studying it more closely, I realized something important. I didn’t actually enjoy the technical side of it. I didn’t want to build models or spend my time working deep inside the systems.

The people who build AI are doing valuable work, but I knew that wasn’t the space for me. It didn’t match the kind of thinking or problem solving that I enjoy. What I wanted instead was to find a way to work with AI that felt practical and creative, without needing to be a builder myself.

You Can Sell It

Selling AI means you are using the technology to create something that other people want. You might build your own product on top of existing models. You might personalize a tool and offer it to a specific audience. You could even take an existing system and rebrand it for your own market. The core technology stays the same, but how you shape it is what makes it valuable.

This is where I have spent most of my time. I have used AI to automate internal systems for companies I work with. I take existing tools, tailor them to a business case, and turn them into something that solves a real problem. It works because the value isn’t just in the tool. It is in how the tool is used.

With Intellectual.Dating, the dating app I am building, we use AI in two ways. Inside the chat, we offer suggestions to users through a personal dating coach. In the background, we also use a learning algorithm to improve match quality over time. We did not build these systems from scratch, but we applied them in a way that fits the experience we want to create.

That is what it means to sell AI. You are not offering the technology. You are offering the result that technology makes possible.

You Can Use It

The third option is the simplest. You can use AI tools to help you with your own work. This could mean writing assistance, content generation, research summaries, or automation in your day-to-day tasks. You are not turning it into a product or a service. You are using it to be faster, clearer, or more organized.

This is how I use ChatGPT and other AI tools in my personal workflow. I use them to outline ideas, draft messages, and plan creative work. It helps me focus and save time. I am not trying to turn every task into a business. Sometimes I just want to do the work better.

Many people stay in this layer. And that’s completely fine. But it is helpful to know that using AI is different from selling it. When you use it, you improve your own output. When you sell it, you create value that can scale.

Conclusion

You do not need to become an expert in AI to benefit from it. You do not have to build your own models or understand every part of how they work. What matters is knowing how you want to interact with the technology.

You can build it.
You can sell it.
You can use it.

Each path has its own kind of value. What helps most is to be honest about which role makes the most sense for you. Once you know that, the rest becomes easier to navigate. You stop chasing every new tool, and you start focusing on what you actually want to create or improve.

That clarity is where the real opportunity begins.