NEWSFLASH:

AI Will Not Save YOU

If you have been anywhere near the business world or tiptoed even one millimeter into the LinkedIn jungle lately, you have heard and seen it a thousand times:

“You need to adopt AI or be left behind.”

“AI is transforming businesses like the Internet did!”

“AI is your new sidekick!”

Thought leaders, consultants, analysts, and LinkedIn keyboard warriors have one after one hammered home the message that AI is the future, and companies that fail to integrate it will become obsolete.

Every sector is rushing to integrate AI-powered tools. Automating processes, streamlining operations, and crunching massive datasets. Reports from McKinsey, Gartner, and every major consultancy all confirm that AI adoption is skyrocketing.

AI is the new electricity, says Dr. Andrew Ng.

Jeff Bezos has said that AI-powered assistants will make our decisions easier and more efficient.

And they are both so right.  

But that is exactly the problem.
Which is why there is more to this story.

AI will not save you.

Now I know what you are thinking. Who is this Thomas guy to sit in Norway and throw rocks at titans of tech like Ng and Bezos?

They have of course also thought about what I´m going to write, and yes, I’ve taken their quotes out of context. But hey, you’re still reading.  

So, let us throw metaphorical rocks at the titans. 

They’re big boys, they can take it. OK, hear me out for a second….

The Problem

When everyone is adopting the same AI tools, what happens to your competitive advantage? 

Sure, businesses that harnessed electricity early gained a competitive advantage. 

Until they did not. Because before long, electricity became universal. It was not a differentiator anymore; it was a baseline requirement. 

The same thing is happening with AI. 

When everyone has access to the same technology, it stops being an advantage. 

Back to Jeff Bezos. If everyone is using the same AI-assistants, from the same AI-models, trained on the same data, how much of an advantage do they really provide?

The Coming “Sea of Sameness”

“AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on.” 

And right now, most AI tools rely on publicly available or widely shared datasets. This means companies are increasingly drawing insights from the same pool of information as their competitors. 

I would like to propose a revised version.  

“Your AI is only as valuable as YOUR data.” 

In the early days of AI adoption, having access to data-driven decision-making provided a serious edge. But now, the playing field is leveling. If every restaurant chain, grocery store, and canteen is using the same AI-powered analytics based on common industry data, they will all make similar decisions.  

The result?  

A sea of sameness. 

You are not differentiating. 

You are simply keeping up.

And actually, you’re already falling behind. 

Your AI Is Only as Valuable as Your Data 

Am I starting to make some sense? 

The future isn’t about using AI. It is about feeding AI with exclusive, high-quality data that no one else has.  

That is where proprietary customer insights come in. Imagine an AI assistant trained not in generic market trends, but in data collected directly from your customers.  Insights unique to your business, shaped by real customer preferences.  

Insights your competitors will never have access to, no matter how smart Deep Seek or ChatGPT become.  

Insights that are immediately available and easy to use.

Because at the end of the day it is not the data itself, it’s what you do with it. That’s how you can create AI-powered decision-making that truly sets you apart.

The takeaway here? If you have not already started, you are already falling behind.

The more unique proprietary data you collect, starting not tomorrow, not today but ideally yesterday, the better.

Your competitive advantage will not come from adopting AI, but from giving AI models access to proprietary data others don’t have. 

At Foodback, we have spent years helping businesses collect, analyze, and act on proprietary customer feedback. And soon, we are taking that to the next level. 

Introducing: Foodback Intelligence: AI-Powered, Business-Exclusive Insights

We are about to launch Foodback Intelligence, a groundbreaking tool that combines AI with your own proprietary customer data. Instead of relying on the same data sources as everyone else, it will transform your unique feedback into actionable, AI-powered insights. Insights that no one else can replicate.  

• Truly tailored decision-making – No more generic AI outputs. Every insight is based on the real voice of your actual customers. 

• Exclusive competitive advantage – Your AI works for you and only you, using data that competitors cannot access. 

• Future-proofed strategy – The more proprietary data you collect now, the smarter and more valuable your AI-driven decisions will become. 

AI Will Not Save You

So, we come back to it.  

Newsflash: AI will not save you.  

AI is not the differentiator, your data is.  

The businesses that will win in the coming years are those that own and control their own data streams. If you are relying on the same AI tools as everyone else, and not feeding them with exclusive, customer-specific insights, you are not even keeping pace, you are already starting to fall behind. 

To put it bluntly: If you are not collecting proprietary data now, you are already behind.

The good news?

It’s not too late to change course.

The more worrying news?

You should have started yesterday. 

Thomas Løkling Pedersen

Founder & COO

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