AI Field Notes – Issue No. 4

1. Everyone’s using ChatGPT. Almost no one understands it.

Yes, OpenAI says ChatGPT has over 500 million weekly users. But based on what we see in strategy meetings, most people are using it for surface-level tasks—emails, blogs, light research. The intelligence layer? Untouched.

Why? Fear? Lack of knowledge? Maybe both. But every time we show someone what a custom GPT can actually do, they’re stunned.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: It’s already smarter than you. Smarter than me. Smarter than 99% of your organization.

The gap between “using AI tools” and understanding AI intelligence is where all the competitive leverage sits right now.

2. This isn’t two years from now. This is happening right now.

We’re not futurists. We’re field reporters. Watching the tools evolve, watching the builders react, watching real businesses adapt—or not.

This moment isn’t about potential. It’s about awareness. AI is happening in real-time, and it’s reshaping everything faster than the digital wave ever did.

Our goal is simple: Convert companies from traditional digital marketing and customer service to AI-first organizations.

Will there be resistance? Of course. It took 25 years to build the digital world. But unlike then, there’s no novelty here. Only outcomes.

3. Agencies are selling you AI… but they don’t believe in it.

Here’s the dirty secret: Most agencies are just using AI tools to prop up old models—SEO, retargeting, “content.”

They say: “We use AI to optimize your search campaign.”

We say: Why are you still optimizing for a declining behavior?

Search and Retrieve is dying. Solve My Problem is here.

If you’re not training GPTs to replace strategists, if you’re not rebuilding workflows around intelligence, then what are you actually preparing your clients for?

This half-step embrace of AI is unethical. It’s a stall tactic. A delaying mechanism for agencies clinging to retainers.

Yes, you still need search marketing. But it’s no longer the foundation. It’s a bolt-on. The base layer now is AI infrastructure—custom GPTs, autonomous agents, intelligent workflows.

4. What comes after search?

If search is fading (and the data says it is), what’s next?

Answer: Brand. Influence. Story. Distribution.

We’re already seeing the signs. Check this out: QVC is betting on TikTok.

Live shopping, influencer commerce, audience-as-distribution—these aren’t gimmicks. They’re the new go-to-market models.

If you’re not rebuilding brand with an AI-native lens, you’re toast.

5. Still want to wait? Here’s your wake-up call.

This report is making waves: ai-2027.com.

You can ignore early signs. You can delay hard decisions. But you can’t avoid what’s coming.

The flushing out of this market has already begun.

Get smart. Get first-mover advantage. Or get left behind.

We don’t sell hype. We report reality.

If you’re a business leader trying to make sense of AI, stop listening to people selling you tools and start talking to people using intelligence.

Until next week,

Len Ward
Managing Partner, Commexis
AI is not a tactic. It’s the shift.