AI has entered the building
The question is; Do you know where AI has entered?
One of my favourite sequences in Fantastia, the Disney classic, is the scene in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Mickey Mouse is given a little power and decides to use it to make his life easier. Great idea of course, so he gets the brooms to do all the hard work for him.
All goes well until the brooms keep doing exactly what he told them to do… fill the well with water. Mikey falls asleep and suddenly the room is filling with water and Mickey wakes to discover something rather important:
Starting something is considerably easier than controlling it.
Does any of this sound familiar?
AI has arrived
Unlike many projects, the adoption of AI in most businesses didn’t start with a board meeting, a strategy document or somebody announcing: “Today, we begin our carefully governed AI transformation programme.” (I don’t think ANYONE has uttered these words… certainly not in my earshot anyway!)
No, the use of AI didn’t start that way. It started with someone opening ChatGPT. Someone else discovered Copilot has AI in it, and Marketing started using AI to create content.
Very quickly, Sales used it to improve a proposal or to create a slide-deck for a client presentation. Then someone pasted a document into an AI tool and asked, “Can you summarise this for me?”
And before you know it, AI is everywhere (it’s probably been used (more than once) by your kids to help with their homework too!)
Now, none of this is necessarily a bad thing because used properly, AI can help businesses work faster, remove repetitive tasks and do things that previously required considerably more time and effort.
The problem is that most businesses have started using AI before they’ve worked out the rules. That’s why we’re looking address this topic head-on in our AI for SMEs Masterclass. (go.consultantslikeus.co.uk)
Here’s a question for you about AI
Could you list every AI tool currently being used in your business?
Not just the ones you’ve personally approved. The ones you and your teams are actually using.
Here’s a couple more questions for you to ponder; What are they using them for and what information are they putting into them?
Customer information? Contracts? Financial information? Meeting notes? Employee information? Intellectual property?
Our new AI Governance & Security paper starts here deliberately. Because before you can govern AI, secure it or improve how it’s being used, you first need to understand it.
As I say in the paper: You can’t manage what you don’t know exists, and you can’t secure what you don’t understand.
The Six Questions I’d ask first about AI
We’ve created a simple AI Governance & Security Checklist for SMEs.
The first part doesn’t ask you to become an AI expert or create a 147-page governance strategy.
It asks six deceptively simple questions.
They explore whether you actually know which AI tools you’re using, why you’re using them, what data is going into them, whether customer data is involved, whether you’re relying on AI to make decisions, and whether AI is actually delivering what you need from it.
They’re simple questions, But I suspect some of the answers may be uncomfortable. And that’s OK. The purpose isn’t to stop people using AI.
Quite the opposite.
I want SMEs to benefit from AI! AI is an amazing tool but if it’s too complex to understand how it works, we need to understand how we’re using it (and controlling it).
We need to understand the risks, put sensible controls around its use, and make sure the technology remains the servant rather than becoming the ‘broom’ in the ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Remember, AI isn’t waiting for us to catch up.
You’re using it. You’re teams are using it. Your suppliers are using it. Your customers are using it. Your competitors are using it!
And, unfortunately, criminals are using it too. (go.consultantslikeus.co.uk)
So perhaps the question is no longer: “Should we be using AI?”
It’s: “How do we use it without getting caught out or left behind?”
And that starts by understanding how you’re using it right now.
Where to go from here
👉 Download our AI Governance & Security Checklist and score your business.
👉 Read Chapter One: Understanding Your AI Use for a deeper explanation of the first six questions and why they matter.
And if you’d rather have me explain all of this without the jargon, scare stories or technical waffle, I’m running a practical AI for SMEs Masterclass: The Reality Check, specifically for small business owners. We’ll look at what information you should and shouldn’t give AI, the risks worth worrying about, simple security measures and the new generation of AI-powered scams. (go.consultantslikeus.co.uk)
AI is an incredibly powerful tool.
Let’s just make sure we’re holding the broom — rather than desperately trying to stop it flooding the building.
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More questions?
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No jargon.
No compliance theatre.
Just practical guidance to help organisations become secure, confident, and audit-ready.
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, “The Real Easy Guide to ISO27001” which is available on Amazon.
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