Everyone thinks AI will save them time in their care business. Here's why it's actually doing the opposite.
I have been marketing care homes since the late 2000s & I've noticed something strange. Every time we get a new technology, we save time but actually end up with more work to do.
When personal computers became available on everyone's desktop, we worried that thousands of typists and business administrators would lose their jobs. They did, but employment didn't drop. The jobs just morphed into something different.
In 2008 there was no social media, no Google Ads, no Facebook ads, no Google Business Profile, no SEO, no YouTube for business, no specialist care directories, no blogs... the list goes on and on.
Most of these things are now necessary to compete effectively in 2026 and most of them require a specialism if you want to do them correctly. All of them without exception created new business opportunities and new jobs.
In my view, AI is just the same. Before ChatGPT launched in 2023 we didn't need to know how to prompt, there was no ChatGPT advertising platform, there was no optimising your website and content to get found in AI search.
Now you need to know how to do all these things to stay ahead of the competition. And most companies need experts to show them how to do it, or do it for them. They didn't exist pre-2023 either. The scary thing is, this is just the start of what AI is going to create.
Now don't get me wrong. I love AI and new technology. I'm an early adopter and it saves a shed load of time. It's just that the time saved is now spent keeping up with all the new tech and marketing channels so we can keep our client's beds filled and their competition out!
If you watch the video version of this post (please do, it's fascinating), you'll be seeing my AI avatar, Digital Simon. I created him because I don't have time to produce all the content that's necessary to stay competitive and get noticed in 2026.
The irony is not lost me!
You see, everything's changed, but really, nothing has. I'll leave you to think on that...
