Happy Triple Threat Thursday!
Here’s one Signal to notice, one Spark to try, and one Shift to consider.
📡 Signal — What’s Changing
A VP of Sales told me recently that a prospect told him that they had “first heard about his company on ChatGPT.” On the surface, that sounds like a win. But when they checked what ChatGPT actually said, half the details were outdated and their biggest competitor was framed as the stronger option.
That’s the real shift. Not every buyer starts with AI, but enough do that it is quietly reshaping how companies are discovered and compared. AI is becoming the first impression filter, and if it is wrong, you are losing ground before you even enter the conversation.
Where to update it:
Your website: Keep the basics sharp — About page, product pages, FAQs. These are often scraped first.
Your profiles: LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Wikipedia, Quora. These carry weight and get pulled directly into AI answers.
Your authority pages: Publish clear “pillar” content that defines your space. AI prefers to cite sources that look definitive.
For you: If you are not actively shaping what AI engines learn about your business, you have already lost control of the first impression buyers get.
⚡ Spark — What to Try This Week
Most CEOs plan around what they already know: competitor moves, last year’s numbers, market reports. The real risk is what you don’t see.
The 2026 Strategic Planning GPT is built to find the blind spots. It scans beyond your usual inputs—macro trends, talent shifts, adjacent industries—and flags risks and opportunities your team is missing.
One company that used last year’s version, found that new regulation in an adjacent market would soon spill over into their own category. They saw it months before competitors and were able to reposition ahead of the change.
What to try this week: After providing the initial input, ask it: “What is one risk my industry is underestimating, and what would it mean for us if it grew faster than expected?” Use the answer to pressure-test your current strategy before it becomes a blind spot that costs you.
Get it here: 2026 Strategic Planning GPT
🔄 Shift — How to Rethink It
The default story is that AI saves time and reduces cost. And yes, it does. But leaders who stop there are missing the bigger play.
The real winners use AI for leverage. They are not just shaving hours or cutting payroll. They are creating new categories of value:
Faster product cycles that let them outpace incumbents.
New business models competitors cannot easily copy.
New ways of reaching buyers before anyone else.
Treating AI as an efficiency tool is like using electricity only to light candles. The potential is bigger than cutting costs. It is about creating advantages others cannot replicate.
Question to sit with this week: Are you using AI to save money, or to build something competitors cannot touch?
Thanks for reading Triple Threat. See you next Thursday with another Signal, Spark, and Shift.
— Alexandria Ohlinger
p.s. I share quick insights on LinkedIn each week. Connect with me there if you’d like to follow along.