The market is moving into the second phase of the AI trade, says Plexo's Lo Toney - CNBC

The AI hype cycle just quietly shifted. And if you missed the memo, you're not alone. Most business owners I talk to are still stuck in phase one — evaluating tools, sitting through demos, and paying

The AI hype cycle just quietly shifted. And if you missed the memo, you're not alone.

Most business owners I talk to are still stuck in phase one — evaluating tools, sitting through demos, and paying for subscriptions nobody opens. That "$200/month nobody uses" feeling is more common than any vendor will admit.

Here's what's actually happening right now.

Investors and market insiders are calling it "phase two" of AI — the shift from building AI infrastructure to actually deploying it inside real businesses. That means the window for first movers in your industry is open right now, not two years from now.

This is genuinely good news for you. Phase two rewards the business owner who picks one specific problem and solves it cleanly — not the one who buys the most sophisticated platform.

You don't need a full transformation. You need one repeatable task in your business that eats time, and one tool pointed directly at it.

Pick something your team already complains about. Start there. Prove it works in 30 days. Then build.

That's how you become the innovator in your space — not by moving fastest, but by moving first on something that actually sticks.

What's the one business task you wish AI could take off your plate right now?

#AIStrategy #SmallBusiness #BusinessGrowth #AIImplementation

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