How AI Is Really Changing the Online Business Industry

In this episode, I’m exploring the role of AI in online business growth—and how to use it without losing what makes you unique. I talk about how AI can support faster content creation, simpler systems, and more personalized marketing when used intentionally. I also unpack the challenges AI brings, including over-commoditized content, increased competition, and the risk of expertise feeling diluted. We look at why more content isn’t the answer—and what actually helps you stand out. Finally, I share practical strategies to navigate this shift with confidence, focusing on delivering real transformation, grounding your work in lived experience, and strengthening your personal brand so your expertise remains clear and trusted.   3 Key Takeaways: AI can accelerate growth—but it can’t replace expertise AI is powerful for execution and efficiency, but your lived experience, insight, and judgment are what create real value. Tools don’t build trust—people do. Over-commoditized content makes transformation the differentiator When content is everywhere, results matter more than information. Focusing on clear, fast wins helps your audience experience your expertise—not just consume it. Personal branding builds trust in an AI-heavy world Your voice, stories, and perspective are what set you apart. The stronger your personal brand, the easier it is for people to choose you—even in a crowded market.   LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE Connect with Teresa on Website, (Grow, Launch, Sell), Sign up to Teresa's email list,  Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, Subscribe to my Youtube   Transcript AI has changed the online space as we know it, but is it all good or are there some things that we need to look out for? In today's episode, I'm gonna take you through the good and the not so good that AI has given us in the online space and things that course creators, membership owners and coaches can be doing in order to help them grow their business with ai, but also came to act some of the problems that it brings us. If we've not met, my name is Theresa Heath wearing, and every single week I bring you an episode that helps you grow your online business. So if you are a course grader, a membership owner, or a coach, then you are exactly in the right place because I'm gonna be sharing with you real tactical and strategic things that you can do in your online business to help you grow. Having been in marketing for over 20 years and been in the online space for about nine of those, I help every single day, course creators, membership owners, and coaches create an online business that [00:01:00] they love. And in these videos, I hope I can help you do the same. If you haven't already hit subscribe on where you are listening, or if you're watching this on YouTube, then I would really encourage you to do so and that way you'll be notified next time I do a video. Let's talk all things ai. I'm gonna be sharing with you the benefits of having AI in our life, the problems that it might cause us, and the solution to those problems. So let's start with the good thing and some of the most obvious, one of the huge benefits of having AI is that it helps us create content quicker and easier. I am in AI every single day. My favorite is chat, GBT, and I am constantly dipping in and out of there, talking about ideas for YouTube videos, asking its thoughts on various different things. So it is. A hugely sped up the work that I do. In fact, as a marketer with over 20 years experience, I can't actually imagine how we survived without it for this long and how long things used to take. So [00:02:00] when it comes to creating an online business, the main part of an online business is that content creation piece. Not only. The content you are creating that you sell in your offer, but also one of the most important things of being an online business owner is that you have a personal profile and you have a personal brand. And one of the really key ways of doing that is creating content. So like me creating these videos, standing on stages, guesting on other people's podcasts, you need to be creating content. And AI has made this so quick and so easy. Even within some of the platforms themselves, they will map out whole courses for you or they will help you create that content a whole lot quicker. One of the other really good benefits to having AI in our world is that it is a low barrier to entry. So AI has given us. Tools and technologies that again, even like two, three years ago, we couldn't have imagined having. So being able to put [00:03:00] yourselves out there, create videos, edit videos, create podcasts, edit them, come up with blog ideas, put blogs out on things, create actual platforms or tech solutions for things, it has helped. A real even playing field out in the online space, because no longer do you have to have a tech part of your business that helps you create these things. You can come into this space for relatively low cost and create an online business and put yourself out there. So. If you are new to the online space, then you are coming in at such an amazing point because you have got things available to you that people just didn't have two, three years ago. And the last benefit that I want to talk about is the personalization when it comes to ai being able to personalize things. And I'm gonna give a really like simple thought, but one of the things that is so helpful is when I'm doing a launch for myself or helping someone in Grow launch sale or one of my consulting clients, and we are doing. Let's say sales [00:04:00] emails, and we have people who came to a webinar, people who didn't come to a webinar, people who have bought this thing in the past or didn't buy this thing in the past. Whereas in the past, writing emails for all of those different audiences would've taken a lot of time, and in most cases, people don't do it now. It's so much easier. You create one template for your sales emails and then you say to ai. Recreate these sales emails, but aimed at people who came to the webinar, recreate these sales emails, but aimed at people who didn't come to the webinar. And with a matter of minutes and tweaks, you have got all these different varying sales emails that are personalized. And that's not even to mention the tech that you have with AI where you can personalize things. For instance, some of the really cool platforms out there that enable really smart personalization, and the more that we can personalize things in the online space, the better. The more someone feels like we are talking directly to them, the better. So these are amazing features and have really [00:05:00] helped. Even the playing field have that online business be available to pretty much anyone. But there are some downsides and some things that we need to consider. So the downside and the problem of having content creation be so very easy is that content has now become over commoditized. And what I mean by that is there is so much content and actually there are plot. Forms out there that, well, for instance, I could go to chat GBT and I could ask it to create me a course that teaches me something based on what it knows about me, and it could basically create me a course. It's quicker and easier for people to go to something like a large language model and ask a question than necessarily head into your membership and log in and go and find the question. So how do we compete when there is content? Everywhere. So one of the problems is how do we compete where there is literally content everywhere. When we look at the next benefit of a low barrier to entry, the problem that that [00:06:00] gives us is that you are going to have more and more and more people entering this space. Now the online space is due. To grow phenomenally over the next 10 years, and that's great news for all of us in the online space because we are in it in fairly early doors, even though it's been around for at least nine, 10 years. Actually, it's still in its infancy. So if you are here, brilliant, keep going. Keep doing it because this is only going to grow. But because of how easy things are, it means that more people are going to be coming in. And it means that more people are gonna be coming in who aren't necessarily experts in their field. So this is a potential problem when we look at ai because anyone could go to AI and say, write me a course on how to start piano. I have no idea how to play piano. I. But technically I could create a course and...