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Hey, it’s David

Welcome back to M&A from the Plane with quick stories and insights drawn from the many miles I log in the air talking to business owners, founders, and dealmakers.

This time: With ChatGPT 5 being recently released, and it being a big topic, let’s focus on how to extract benefit from AI tools.

So how do I pilot this thing…?

Earlier this year, I was on a flight and overheard a boarding agent talking to a first-time traveler. The guy looked a little unsure, and she told him with a smile:

“You don’t have to fly the plane. You just have to follow the signs and get to your seat.”

That’s exactly how AI feels in business right now. It’s not there to replace you, tell you what your vision should be, or magically run your company. But it will help you get where you need to go faster, without wasting steps or making wrong turns that cost you time, money, or both.

And right now, time and money are two things no one has the luxury to waste.

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Your Product Isn’t the Problem, The Process Is

Here’s the thing: most businesses aren’t losing revenue because the product or service is bad. They’re losing it because the way they get that product into someone’s hands is full of leaks.

Ever had a warm lead just… disappear?
Or a loyal customer leave for a competitor, and you only found out when you saw their announcement on LinkedIn?

Or that big upsell opportunity that died because no one circled back at the right time?

It’s not that you didn’t have the ability to win those deals. It’s that you didn’t have the right nudge, at the right moment, to act before it slipped away.

That’s where AI changes the game. It’s like having a co-pilot who’s watching all the dials and saying, “Hey, over there… that’s the one you want to talk to today.” It’s not doing the selling for you. It’s clearing the noise, so you see the opportunity sooner.

Where AI Actually Helps You Spot the Opportunities

The smartest teams I see aren’t trying to make AI do everything. They’re not asking it to run the whole sales process or predict every move. Instead, they’re using it for the boring-but-critical stuff that ends up making the biggest difference.

It can show you which customers are quietly sending all the buying signals.
It can catch when a great client starts pulling back before they even say a word.
It can scan your pricing against market trends and flag where you’re leaving margin on the table.

It can make sure no follow-up falls through the cracks, ever.

And the crazy thing? Most of this isn’t complicated. You don’t need a data science team in the back room. You just need to tell the tool what you care about, and it can keep an eye on it while you focus on running the business.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

You know that moment when a key customer quietly cuts their order in half… and you do not find out until its shipped?

Or… when a referral source sends their next referral to a competitor because you did not follow up fast enough?

Or… when a supplier quietly drops a discount tier because you missed the renewal window?

That is where the opportunities (and money) leaks.

AI can flag those moments while they are happening.
Not at the end of the quarter. Not after the damage is done.

It is like getting a ping that says:
“Your top account just paused an order, check in before they buy somewhere else.”

Or

“Your best patient has not scheduled their follow-up, want to send them a reminder right now?”

Catch it in the moment, and you keep the opportunity, protect the relationship, and sometimes even turn it into more business.

It is not about replacing your people. It is about making sure the right person gets the right nudge at the right time before the opportunity slips away.

Final Thought

You don’t need a bigger market. You don’t need a new sales team. You just need to stop letting the opportunities you’ve already earned slip through the cracks.

AI isn’t going to replace your judgment, your gut, or your relationships. But it can make sure you get in front of the right opportunity before someone else does.

And in this market, that’s the edge worth having.

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David