Does the topic of "AI" come up inevitably for you in all your social and professional conversations these days?
It has been happening more frequently for me.
I was talking to a group of friends at a dinner party over the weekend, and "AI" was one of the first few topics — after the pleasantries. This conversation stuck with me until the next day. I kept going back to similar conversations I have had with colleagues, family, friends, and customer teams. The same patterns keep showing up and I grouped AI users into four types based on my own experiences over the past few months.
The Critics. These are people who have chosen not to use AI. Some have thought carefully about it and have real concerns — around accuracy, around bias, around how fast this is all moving. Others just do not want to change how they work or do not want to adopt for various personal beliefs. The first group, in my experience, asks the sharpest questions.
The Observers. They are trying things out. Usually one tool, a few times a week. They are watching to see where this is heading before they commit further. A lot of the people I talk to are here. I was here myself not that long ago.
The Power Users. AI is part of their everyday routine. They use it for writing, for meetings, for research, for code. When I ask them how much faster they are now, many have to stop and think — the benefit has become invisible to them.
The Experts. These people are all in. They track new model releases. They run multiple tools side by side. They are not only using AI to be more productive — they are also building workflows and small creative products on top of it (which was not possible not that long ago!). The productivity gains can be significant. So is the effort of keeping up.
Having said that, where each of us sit today is less interesting than which direction we are moving.
Every Power User I know was an Observer two years ago. Most Experts were Power Users. A quiet number of Critics have slid into the Observer column without announcing it.
Experts pay a real cost in context-switching and tool churn. Power Users risk false leverage — output up, judgment unchanged. The right position is not "furthest right on the diagram." It is "one step further than I was six months ago, with my judgment sharpening alongside the tools."
Which column are you in today? Which one were you six months ago?
Originally published on LinkedIn.