“Have you used ChatGPT?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Was it helpful?”

“Yes and… while I’ve read journalists’ accounts of extensive and “just like human” conversations with large language models, I hadn’t experienced one of those until last week.

Wow…

I engaged with an AI platform that provides business management and leadership guidance and coaching to small business owners. For an hour.

During that hour, I experienced the interaction as a conversation with a thoughtful, knowledgeable human … an expert that earned my interest and my trust by “listening” and responding during an evolving conversation with well-targeted questions and appropriate recommendations. Seriously… I felt like I was interacting with an expert human.

I’m sharing this to say, “As bankers, consultants, and salespeople, we need to be thinking NOW about our value propositions – why a client would want to speak with us in addition to or instead of engaging with an AI platform which is available on demand, 24/7, offering access to more expertise and content than we’ll ever have or master?”

Why would they?

If you’d like to get a flavor of this: Here are a few snippets from the dialog… followed by a link to this specific platform if you’re interested in experimenting.

I started the conversation with a hypothetical situation: “I’m planning to hire two salespeople so we can penetrate our market faster.” The platform’s response:

Platform: “Hiring two salespeople to accelerate market penetration is a critical move, and we emphasize the importance of thoughtful preparation. First, it’s essential to define your specific needs: identify which market segments you’re targeting and what skills or experience your sales hires should possess. Be careful about rushing; poor hires are costly and exhausting to fix, especially in the early stages.

Focus on candidates who not only have proven sales skills but also align with your business values and mission—this ensures they’ll be motivated and buy into your vision.

During interviews, share your company’s strategic goals and assess candidates’ reactions to gauge cultural fit. Structuring an onboarding plan, including clear employment agreements, cultural orientation, and training, lays the foundation for long-term success.

Are you looking for candidates with industry-specific experience, or are you open to sales talent from other backgrounds if they share your values?

Little new content for me in that first response and I was surprised by the follow-up question.

I answered that question and we continued for a while, each AI answer concluding with a next provocative question, discussing how to source and evaluate candidates. About 20 minutes into the discussion:

Platform: Would you be open to piloting a simulation or work sample as part of your hiring process? What might that look like in your context?

Nick: Yes, we would be open to it. The scenario would be a client that’s asking for a certain type of sales training. The story behind the story would be that the client is doing this just to tick a box at the lowest possible price and least amount of disruption to the organization. So, the consultative questions would need to tease out that motivation and plan.

Platform: This is an excellent, practical scenario. We emphasize the importance of uncovering a client’s true motives—not just responding to the stated request. We suggest using layered, open-ended consultative questions to surface underlying goals or constraints. In your simulation, you could evaluate whether candidates ask clarifying questions like: “What impact would you like this sales training to have?” or “How do you anticipate this training will support your bigger organizational objectives?”

We also recommend paying attention to candidates’ ability to listen for “box-ticking” cues and then explore gently: “What would a successful outcome really look like to you?” or “Are there specific skills or behaviors you want the team to change?” This approach evaluates their curiosity, empathy, and tact in moving beyond the surface ask.

When you observe your candidates, how will you look for evidence that they’re listening deeply and noticing what’s unsaid in the conversation?

Nick: Watching to see whether they are able to read voice tone, body language, and content of what’s said in response to their questions and whether they are able to tease out the main point – that the client isn’t fully committed to change.

Platform: You’re applying a key concept: Great connectors listen with both their ears and their emotions, tuning in to more than just the words spoken. True listening involves reading voice tone, body language, and noticing what isn’t said—subtleties like hesitations or avoidance signal a client’s deeper reservations. Observing whether candidates notice these cues and probe gently, using open-ended follow-ups, reveals both awareness and empathy.

We also highlight the importance of adapting your response—if a candidate can shift their questions or approach based on the unspoken signals, they’re not just hearing, but connecting. After the scenario, you might debrief: What cues did they notice? How did that change their approach?

We continued on for a bit until I told the AI platform I had to go to another meeting and it said, “When we continue, here are some points on which we might want to focus.” It also asked me whether I would welcome tools like a rubric that we could use to evaluate the candidates. I said, “yes, please” to that.

So: While the recommendations interviewing and candidate evaluation were thought-provoking, what really struck me was the conversational feel of the discussion – it evolved just as I would expect really good human consultants to collaborate with me, shifting as they heard my thoughts. My experience shifted from a “search” experience to a “rich conversation experience.” I felt engaged, respected, well guided, and eager to come back to continue the discussion…. And I didn’t have to deal with a less well trained, less well-informed human who wasted my time.

In 2018, I spoke at a banking conference regarding Google’s then-just-released platform Google Duplex. Google demonstrated the software calling a restaurant to make a reservation and a hair salon to make an appointment. The voices and interactions with humans were so good, I wouldn’t have known (unless told) that a computer was on the line.

Seven years down the road, I’ve engaged with a computer model in a consultative teaching conversation that (while typed) felt every bit as real as talking to a human.

So, I’m sitting with the question, now: “What would I have to bring to the table to add value if my clients were engaging with similar AI platforms to manage their issues with which I would normally assist?”

And, if you, like I did once, have the thought, “This won’t happen to me or in my industry,” I’d encourage you to reconsider “as if” it will.

P.S. If you’d like to try this small business coaching platform yourself, go here, provide a user name and password to create an account, select “Bizzics on Demand” and subscribe (free for 7 days), pose a question about small business management or growth that you think a small business owner might ask, and engage.

Chip Higgins is the mastermind behind this platform based on his book, “The Bizzics Way”, which applies principles of physics to the challenges of building business momentum and growing a small business. And, if you’re working with small businesses as clients, I recommend the book.

Nick Miller is President of Clarity Advantage based in Concord, MA. He assists banks and credit unions to generate more and more profitable relationships, faster, with business clients, their owners, and their employees through better sales strategies and execution. Additional articles on Clarity’s web site.