Tim Lumsden

05/01/2026

I’ve been tracking AI since ChatGPT launched, and let’s be honest...

90% of it has been noise.

Hype. Gimmicks. Features that give you a headache instead of a hand.

But 2026 is where the "experimental" phase ends and the "operational" phase begins.

The landscape is splitting open, and most small service businesses (teams of 5–50) are looking at the wrong things.

I’ve just published a deep dive into the 5 massive shifts happening right now that will dictate who wins and who gets left behind next year.

Here’s a glimpse of what’s changing:

OpenAI’s Monopoly is Ending: Why relying on one AI supplier is now a major business risk.

The 800ms Rule: Voice AI finally works, but if yours is slow, you’re losing 40% of your callers.

Choice Over Speed: How giving prospects two simple options (SMS vs. Voice) is doubling conversion rates.

AI-First Discovery: People are asking chatbots for recommendations instead of Googling. If AI can’t "read" your business, you don't exist.

The businesses that act on these shifts in 2026 will spend less on admin and more time growing.

The ones that wait will spend 2027 trying to catch up.

Read the full breakdown here: 👉 https://timlumsden.com/five-ai-shifts-thatll-change-how-service-businesses-operate-in-2026/

04/12/2025

02/12/2025

Don't let Australia's 'voluntary' AI plan become another confusing chore for your business.

Transform it into a clear roadmap for smarter, more efficient operations.

The government released the National AI Plan yesterday.

37 pages of strategy.

Let’s be real...

You probably haven't read it.

You’re busy running a business. So I went through it to see what actually matters for the likes of us.

Here’s the truth.

They haven’t gone down the European route.

There’s no massive, heavy-handed "AI Act" coming to drown you in paperwork.

Instead, they’re leaning on "voluntary transparency" and existing laws.

This is good news.

Seriously.

It means the handbrake is off.

You don't have to wait for complex permissions to start fixing your admin bottlenecks.

You can use AI to capture leads, answer common questions, or organise your schedule right now.

The only condition?

You need to be upfront about it.

And that’s fair enough.

If you’ve got a bot handling booking enquiries at 10pm, just label it.

A simple "I'm an AI assistant helping you book faster" does the job.

It builds trust. Hiding it does the opposite.

The government is essentially saying they trust the market to sort out the everyday stuff.

And in our world, the market is just your customers voting with their feet.

If you use AI to reply to a lead in 30 seconds while the clinic down the road takes 24 hours...

You win.

If you’re honest that it’s an automated system, customers usually appreciate the speed more than they care about the human touch for a simple booking.

You’re not dodging the rules.

You’re just getting on with it.

Don't overthink the "AI Safety Institute" stuff mentioned in the news...

That’s mostly for the tech giants building the models, not for us using them to run a better shop.

So take this as a green light to move.

- Check where you’re using automation
- Slap a clear, friendly label on it
- Keep improving your speed

The owners who see "voluntary" and think "I'll ignore it" are missing the point.

The ones who see it as "start now, but be decent" are the ones who will scale.

What do you reckon?

Is the voluntary approach the right move for small biz, or too risky?

Like & Comment if you prefer speed over red tape! 👇

01/12/2025

Is your AI just a fancy calculator?

Let me tell you what I keep hearing from business owners.

They've got AI chatbots that need more babysitting than their actual staff.

"Smart" marketing tools where they're still writing every email, picking every send time, second-guessing every decision.

Scheduling software that's somehow more complicated than just picking up the phone.

Helpful?

Maybe.

Transformational?

Not even close.

The problem isn't the technology...

It's how we're using it.

Most AI just sits there waiting for you to tell it exactly what to do.

Step by step. Decision by decision.

You're still doing all the thinking, just with a slightly shinier tool.

Agentic AI is different.

You tell it something like: "Get my old clients back. Haven't seen them in 90 days. Got $800 to spend. Need 15% of them to rebook."

And then?

It actually does the work.

Sorts through your client list.

Figures out why people dropped off.

Writes messages that actually sound personal (not like those awful template emails).

Sends them out through text and email.

Watches what's working. Tries different angles. Moves money to whatever's getting results. Makes adjustments on the fly.

You set the destination. It drives.

Here's what people get wrong about this.

You're not losing control.

You're not handing your business over to some robot.

You're still calling the shots...

Setting the rules, making sure it sounds like your brand, checking the big decisions, teaching it what good looks like for your business.

You're just not stuck doing every tiny task anymore.

And let's be honest, that's where most of us are drowning anyway.

The conversations I'm having with business owners have changed.

It used to be "Can AI write an email that doesn't sound robotic?"

Now it's "Can AI handle my entire client retention strategy so I can actually focus on doing the work I'm good at?"

That's the upgrade.

From tool to teammate.

From assistant to someone who actually gets stuff done.

Your AI should deliver results, not just wait around for you to micromanage it.

Like this if you're tired of AI that creates more work than it saves.

Comment 'READY' if you want AI that actually pulls its weight.

27/11/2025

26/11/2025

Google's image AI is a game-changer.

Here's the truth...

Google's Nano Banana Pro isn't just another image generator...

It's a tool that can help small service businesses create consistent, professional branding without breaking the bank.

I've tested it properly, running it through real scenarios that service businesses actually face,...

And here's what matters.

You know that moment when you need three more images for a Facebook campaign and your last photoshoot was six months ago?

Or when you're trying to build a website...

But all your photos look like they're from five different businesses because they were taken at different times with different lighting.

That's what this solves.

The standout feature is character and product consistency.

Upload a photo of your team member, your clinic space, or your branded vehicle...

Then generate multiple images that maintain the same look, same lighting, same professional quality across the board.

I tested it with actual service business needs.

- Creating treatment scenario posts for a physio clinic without booking another photoshoot
- Generating consistent team imagery for a tradie's website when everyone's on different job sites
- Building promotional materials for a gym that needed fresh content but didn't have the budget for a photographer

Worked.

The texture quality is genuinely impressive too...

Skin looks like actual skin, fabric has realistic texture, and lighting behaves naturally instead of that obvious "computer generated" flatness you see in cheap renders.

Now...

The limitations, because there always are some.

Text rendering still needs manual cleanup.

If you're trying to generate images with detailed logos or complex typography, you'll probably need to add those afterwards in Canva or similar.

It's improved from the previous version but not foolproof yet.

And here's what most tech reviews won't tell you because they're focused on creative professionals and agencies.

This costs less per month than hiring a designer for a single afternoon session, and you can generate professional promotional materials, consistent social content, and on-brand imagery whenever you actually need it...

Not whenever your budget allows or you can organise everyone for a shoot.

For small service businesses owners wearing multiple hats, that changes what's possible.

The real value isn't replacing photographers or designers completely (you'll still want proper shoots for hero content)...

It's filling the gaps when you need marketing materials and life is just too busy to organise everything properly.

Those moments when you're running a promotion next week and realise you've got one decent photo and need four more.

Or when your website looks patchy because half the images are professional and half are iPhone shots from 2019.

Tools like this give you options without blowing the budget.

Worth testing if you're tired of using generic stock photos that don't represent your actual business or team.

What do you think...

Would you actually use something like this?

Comment below if you're already struggling with consistent imagery for your marketing.

25/11/2025

20/11/2025

Is your inbox a productivity black hole?

I've watched this pattern play out with dozens of clinic owners and service businesses over the years.

They're good at what they do, growing steadily, hiring people...

And then they hit a wall.

Not a revenue wall.

A time wall.

Because they're spending entire mornings just responding to things.

Customer enquiries that follow the same pattern every time.

Appointment requests that their booking system should handle.

Vendor questions that any team member could answer.

Internal Slack messages about things that aren't actually urgent.

And here's the part that stings...

None of it requires their expertise, but all of it demands their attention.

The business owner I spoke with last week said something that stuck with me..

"I'm constantly busy but never actually working ON my business anymore."

She's spending roughly 2 hours every morning just clearing her inbox before she can start her actual work.

That's 10 hours a week minimum...

Just responding.

What if you had an AI filter that could make decisions on your behalf?

Not sort your emails into folders (that's still you doing the work later).

I mean actually handle routine enquiries with context-aware responses, qualify leads before they reach you, manage standard appointment logistics, and prioritise what genuinely needs your brain.

The filter learns your decision patterns...

Which enquiries you typically say yes to, which ones get a standard response, which ones need immediate attention versus tomorrow morning.

Then it starts handling them autonomously.

While competitors are still treating their inbox like a full-time job.

The interesting bit isn't just the time saved, it's what becomes possible when you're not constantly context-switching between admin and strategy.

You can actually think again.

Plan. Build systems instead of just running on the hamster wheel.

Most service business owners won't explore this for another year or two. They'll keep "getting better at email management" while their competitors implement filters that actually protect their time.

That gap is going to matter.

What's your biggest time drain right now?

Comment below - genuinely curious what's stealing focus from the work that actually grows your business.

17/11/2025

Most service business owners ask, “Which AI tool should I buy?”

But that’s the wrong question.

The businesses winning with AI aren’t obsessing over features..

They’re redesigning how their work actually flows so AI can support it.

If you're comparing tools without mapping your processes first, you're setting yourself up to join the 95% who see no real benefit.

Here’s how to get AI working with your team instead of becoming another unused subscription:

👉 https://timlumsden.com/service-businesses-are-asking-the-wrong-ai-question/

13/11/2025

Is your AI strategy already obsolete?

OpenAI just released GPT-5.1 and it changes everything about how your AI chatbot connects with customers.

I'm not talking about incremental improvements here.

GPT-5.1 Instant communicates with genuine warmth and empathy.

It adapts its thinking based on what you're asking...

Spending time on complex queries, moving fast when you need quick answers.

GPT-5.1 Thinking processes simple tasks twice as fast whilst investing double the effort on difficult reasoning problems.

Both variants now speak like actual humans, not technical manuals.

The personalisation options expanded too.

Professional. Candid. Quirky.

Plus fine controls for how concise or warm your AI sounds, even how it uses emojis.

For local service businesses running AI chatbots, this matters more than you might think.

If you implemented your system 6-12 months ago using GPT-4 or early GPT-5...

Your AI probably sounds mechanical compared to what prospects now expect.

That "I'm talking to a bot" feeling just got much easier to eliminate, but only for businesses that upgrade their systems.

Lead conversations can feel natural now.

Customer interactions that actually build trust instead of triggering scepticism.

Here's the timing challenge though.

The API access launches this week, phased rollout has already started.

Some of your competitors will move quickly and their AI will simply connect better with potential customers. Others will wait, assuming their current setup is "good enough" until they notice the difference in their conversion rates.

I work with allied health clinics and professional service businesses on their AI systems.

The businesses that adapt quickly to major improvements like this tend to capture more leads and keep customer satisfaction higher...

Whilst others spend months wondering why their chatbot suddenly feels outdated.

You don't need a massive budget to implement GPT-5.1.

You need a clear strategy for upgrading your current AI infrastructure to take advantage of these conversational improvements.

Most businesses I speak with say they'll "look into it later."

Later usually means after competitors have already gained the advantage.

Your current AI investment doesn't have to become a sunk cost.

But adaptation matters more than ever when the technology takes this kind of leap forward.

What's your plan?

Comment UPGRADE if you're planning to enhance your AI systems in the next 30 days, or WATCHING if you want to see how this plays out first.

06/11/2025

04/11/2025

From content drought to daily creative flow

There's a shift happening in how local businesses create UGC ads.

From last-minute scrambles to a pipeline that delivers fresh content every day.

Lower costs, less stress, more predictable results.

Here's what's changing.

Traditional UGC production?

You find creators, ship products, wait three weeks, manage revisions, hope the final content actually converts.

By the time you've tested one creative, your competitor's already found the angle that works and scaled it.

Then there's AIUGC platforms like Arcads.

You upload a product image. Select an actor from their library (filter by demographics, environment, whatever matches your audience).

Customise voice parameters. Generate the video.

Minutes, not weeks.

The realism is surprisingly convincing.

Businesses are testing these against traditional UGC and finding they perform just as well, sometimes better because you can test five demographic variations in the time it used to take to produce one generic piece.

What matters here isn't the technology itself.

It's speed to test.

If you're running a physio clinic, plumbing business, or consulting firm, you don't have endless creative budgets or massive marketing teams.

You need to find what resonates with your specific audience fast, then scale that exact angle.

Traditional UGC production makes that nearly impossible when you're waiting on creator schedules, managing shipping logistics, dealing with revision delays that stretch into weeks.

AIUGC removes the entire bottleneck.

This isn't about replacing all human content, that would miss the point entirely.

But when you need to test different messaging angles, demographics, or offers quickly, this approach gives you control you've never had before.

Your content pipeline becomes predictable. You can generate, test, and optimise daily instead of monthly.

For small teams trying to keep up with relentless content demands, that shift could mean more consistent lead flow and far less stress.

The production barrier's gone. The cost barrier's gone.

The question is whether you're still running the old playbook whilst others are testing ten variations before you've even briefed your first creator.

Like this if you're tired of content production chaos.

Comment "curious" if you want to know more about how this works for local service businesses.