The camera test

Before anything goes out with my name on it, I ask 1 question: would I say this on camera, with my face, and could I explain where it came from? If the answer is no, it stays in drafts.

That question is how I use AI for almost everything in my business and still sound like me. Most of what owners hear about AI falls into 2 camps. AI writes everything for you, or AI is soulless and you should stay away. I hand off the busywork and keep my opinion, my no and the hard conversations.

1. What I hand off

Meeting notes come first. In a meeting I steer as fast as I can to 3 things: what needs to get done, who owns it, and when it's due. A note taker captures all 3, so I can listen instead of typing. The worst meeting is the one where everybody logs off and wonders, "What was I supposed to do?" So the summary goes out right after, and nothing falls through the cracks.

Then first-draft decks, reports, and every version of the same file I used to email back and forth. I know what good looks like in each of those, so I let AI take the first pass and I check it.

Shoppers draw a similar line. Infobip's survey says shoppers are more willing to let AI compare products or find deals than let it make decisions or handle complaints. For a small business, that split is a good place to start: automate the lookups and keep a person on the complaints.

2. What I keep

• My opinion. AI knows what has already happened. It can't tell you what I think about it.
• Replies to people I know. If we've had coffee, you get me.
• Complaints, a no, and the hard conversations. Those carry my name and my relationships, so they come from me.

3. Make AI argue with you

Most people want to be agreed with, and AI will happily agree with you. So when it tells me a plan is bad, I ask what it drew that from. I ask it to source and explain it. Then I ask how it would do the thing differently.

You can do this today with the AI you already have. Get comfortable probing. I'd rather find the hole in my thinking in a chat window than in front of a client.

4. Run the camera test

The test has 2 parts.

Would I say it on camera, with my face? A typical AI first draft opens with something like "In today's fast-paced business landscape…" I wouldn't say that on camera, so the line goes, and I start with the fact instead. [MEL TO CONFIRM: this example is June's illustration, not from your vault. Keep it, or swap in a line AI actually gave you.]

Could I explain where it came from? Every stat gets a source. If I can't name it, I don't use it.

I hold other people to the same bar. I trust a consultant more when I can see their face in the corner of a screen share, clicking through the example. The camera test asks the same of my own content.

Where's your line?

Everyone's list will look a little different. Pick 1 thing you'll hand off this week and 1 thing you'll always keep, and write both down. If you want help drawing that line across your whole business, grab a time with me.

Source: Infobip, "Black Friday and Cyber Monday predictions", Sep 22, 2026.