BEYOND THE BUZZWORD

We find ourselves at the newest checkpoint in the evolution of technology. Artificial intelligence has swept the country by storm, and every industry is wrestling with the opportunities and dangers it presents. AI has drawn extraordinary attention and investment at a pace few technologies have ever matched.

The rhetoric around it is often best described as religious. Some see it as the creator of an era of abundance and prosperity that cannot truly be imagined. Others see it as the beginning of the end for mankind as we know it.

Debating these extremes can be entertaining, but it accomplishes nothing for the agency owner looking to grow a 100-year-old agency or college graduates taking their first steps into the insurance industry.

The term AI itself has become a meaningless buzzword. It appears in every article, pitch deck, company website, commercial, and résumé. It’s as small as the spellcheck feature in your email and as big as the superintelligence that will hopefully cure diseases we have been struggling with for generations.

When a term becomes so overloaded that no one can agree on what it means, it helps to step back and look at the patterns we see with AI that have repeated throughout every major technological shift. More important, it helps to remember the fundamentals that have guided us through those shifts before.

Pattern 1: Promises are being made. Like every technology before it, promises are being made and those promises will ultimately either be kept or broken. The companies selling AI products are generally more specific than the AI commentators because they have to be.

The promises usually sound familiar: Save time, reduce costs as a result of the time saved, and improve performance for yourself and your staff. Insurance professionals have heard these promises before. The way to evaluate them is the same way it has always been.

Fundamental 1: First-hand trial and error. It really is that simple: Use the tools and find out for yourself.

AI is both completely new and nothing new at the same time. Do not let the buzzwords get in the way of finding true game-changing value for you and your insurance career.

I can tell you from personal experience that ChatGPT can help a producer cultivate a niche by providing a step-by-step guide that would result in more new business opportunities. That claim can be tested this very moment by any reader asking ChatGPT to create a step-by-step plan for them in a desired niche. Try it and see for yourself. It will still be up to the producer to do the work and bring the plan to life, but the plan itself can be created in minutes.

There are many similar claims being made by tech companies selling products that can simply be tested within a demo or trial period before spending a large amount of money. The key is to force them to specify their claims in a way you can test for yourself.

Here are three more examples that could be tested right now:

• You wrote a plumbing contractor for the first time and want to find more plumbers. Ask an AI platform to identify the closest 25 plumbing companies to your agency and list the contact phone number for each.
• You want your staff to solicit more Google reviews but you are unsure of how to incentivize them. ChatGPT can create an incentive program based on your review goals and your budget for the initiative.
• Your boss wants you to become more active on LinkedIn. Ask an AI platform to create a year’s worth of posting ideas and teach you how to schedule them.

The point is not whether AI succeeds or fails. The point is that many of the claims can be tested before spending significant money or changing the way you do business.

Pattern 2: The types of people involved. Some names are new and some are old, but the types of people involved are remarkably consistent.

The people saying that AI will eliminate the independent agency channel often resemble the people who previously predicted that the internet, direct writers, or online quoting would eliminate the independent agency channel. Likewise, some of the people dismissing AI entirely are the same types who once dismissed agency websites, online advertising, and digital marketing.

The categories remain familiar: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards.

Fundamental 2: Look for the converts. The most valuable opinions often come from people who changed their minds. Talk to the early adopter who invested heavily in an AI tool and later decided the return on investment was not there. Talk to the skeptic who reluctantly tried an AI tool and discovered it solved a real problem. These are the stories that often separate myth from reality.

What does this look like in practice?

Call the agent friend you trust two states over and ask how they are using AI. Attend your state association conference and ask other agents what has worked and what has not. Insurance has always been a relationship business, and trust remains one of the best filters available.

Find the people you trust and let their experience inform your own.

Pattern 3: Technology creates winners and losers. Insurance agents know this pattern well. Every five to ten years something new arrives that is supposedly going to destroy the independent agency channel. Sometimes the prediction fails. Sometimes the technology changes the industry significantly.

What never changes is the need to adapt. Email changed how we communicate. Online quoting changed how we market. Agency management systems changed how we operate.

The agencies that adapted generally became stronger. The agencies that refused to evolve often struggled. AI will likely be no different.

At the same time, there is another reality worth recognizing. The amount of money being invested in AI is staggering. Whether every prediction comes true or not, there will be winners. Some agencies will find ways to create more value for their clients. Some competitors will become more efficient. Some new entrants will build businesses with far fewer resources than would have been required a decade ago.

Fundamental 3: Follow the value. Ignore the headlines and focus on measurable outcomes. Ask three simple questions:

1. Who in my industry is using AI successfully?
2. What specific problem are they solving?
3. What measurable benefit are they receiving?

Then look inward.

Take your current value proposition and write it down. Ask yourself why a prospect should choose your agency instead of the agency down the street. Then paste that answer into your preferred AI platform and ask: “Rewrite this value proposition to better position my agency for my target client and provide three specific ways I could increase my value over the next year.”

You were always going to need to adapt. Now you have a blueprint you can choose to ignore or choose to take some value from. The agent who loses sight of this fundamental will become distracted by sensational predictions, whether optimistic or pessimistic. The agent who follows the value will focus on results.

AI is both completely new and nothing new at the same time. Do not let the buzzwords get in the way of finding true game-changing value for you and your insurance career. Fundamentals keep us grounded, allow us to focus on what matters and reap the rewards.

The author

Bill Brooker is a fourth-generation risk advisor at Brooker Insurance Agency in Strongsville, Ohio. Bill serves clients and non-clients alike, offering third-party insurance reviews, and speaks as a topic expert in the field of risk management. Bill is a firm believer in agents helping agents and welcomes anyone to reach out to him via his LinkedIn profile.