Why AI might be lying to you....

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As the car sped along the deserted mountain road, the driver glanced across at his wife who was sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat beside him, and allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction.

Everything was perfect.

The stunning scenery...

The empty road...

The smooth ride of the car...

The peace and tranquillity that comes from being the only people for miles around.

And then it happened....

Squeak... squeak...

Squeak-squeak.

A small but repetitive noise shattering the stillness like a high-pitched morse code signal.

Unsure where the noise was coming from, the driver pulled on the door handle and pressed on bits of interior trim, trying to locate whichever part of the car had come loose and started squeaking.

But all in vain.

And the more he tried to find the source of the noise, the louder it seemed to get.

Eventually, the man spotted a petrol station and pulled in to see if anyone could help.

An elderly mechanic emerged from the workshop out the back and walked slowly towards the car.

He poked around inside the car and heard....

Nothing.

He rummaged under the bonnet...

Nothing.

He opened and closed the doors...

Nothing.

Finally he stood by the car and rocked it gently from side to side whilst peering in through the window.

Squeak.... squeak...

And then, his old eyes lighting up and a smile spreading across his wrinkled face, the mechanic walked back into the workshop.

Moments later he returned.

In his hand he was holding an old fashioned oil can.

Without a word, he leaned into the car where the female passenger was still sleeping.

He held the oil can up to her ear and dispensed a small drop of oil onto her dangling earring.

Once more, he stood outside and rocked the car from side to side.

And this time, there was the sound of...

Silence!

If this story sounds familiar, it's because it formed the basis of a VW Golf advert in the early 90s.

And I was reminded of it a few weeks ago when one of my new coaching clients, Peter, showed me the landing page he'd created for his lead generation campaign.

Prior to meeting me, Peter had spent weeks working on this page. He'd written and rewritten it countless times, tweaked the design, and was running Google Ads to drive traffic to it. But despite getting plenty of visitors, the page just wasn't converting them into enquiries.

"What do you think is wrong with it?" he asked me.

It took me all of 30 seconds to spot the problem. His call-to-action button was almost invisible – small, grey, and buried at the bottom of the page after paragraphs of text.

To Peter, this critical element had become invisible because he'd been staring at the page for so long. He was too close to see the bigger picture.

And this is where the true lesson of the VW ad story lies. Sometimes, we all need an outside perspective – someone who isn't immersed in our work and can see what we're missing.

Traditionally, that perspective might come from a coach, a colleague, a friend, or a partner. But nowadays, we have another option: artificial intelligence.

AI tools like ChatGPT can serve as that "mechanic" for our business – spotting things we're too close to see ourselves.

However, there's an important caveat. By default, most AI tools are programmed to be supportive and agreeable rather than critical. Ask ChatGPT what it thinks of your work, and you'll likely get a response like:

"This looks great! You've done an excellent job explaining your services."

In other words, you'll get the equivalent of a friend who doesn't want to hurt your feelings, not an honest mechanic who immediately spots the problem.

The good news is that a small adjustment – like that drop of oil on the squeaky earring – can transform AI from an arse-licker a yes-person into a valuable critic who can identify your blind spots.

Here's a prompt I've found incredibly effective:

"I want you to act as an experienced [industry] consultant known for brutal honesty. Review the following [content/strategy/copy] and identify:

1. The three biggest weaknesses that I'm probably missing

2. Assumptions I'm making that might not be true

3. Missed opportunities that are hiding in plain sight

Be direct and honest. Don’t flatter me unnecessarily. And don't soften your critique to spare my feelings."

When you use this prompt, the difference is remarkable. You'll get specific, actionable feedback that helps you see what you've been missing because you're too close to your own work.

I've found this approach particularly useful for reviewing marketing copy, business strategies, and ideas for new products or services – all areas where our proximity to our own ideas can create serious blind spots.

Give it a try and let me know how you get on and what sort of difference it makes.

And finally….

If you're looking for more practical AI ideas like this one, The Rundown AI newsletter offers daily tips that will help you use ChatGPT and other AI tools more effectively in your business. They're sponsoring this week's newsletter, so do check them out using the link below.

All the best,
David.

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