"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." — Lewis Carroll
Learn the six levels of AI autonomy, how to get the AI roadmap for your business, and how to pick the right level for each job.
I bought a pair of running shoes last week from a small specialty shop.
The owner rang me up himself. We started talking about what I do, and his face changed. Not in a bad way. More like the look you get when you've been thinking about something for a while and finally have someone to ask.
He said one sentence. I've heard it a hundred times this year, in airports, in green rooms, at conferences, from people running businesses way bigger than his.
"I know we should probably be using AI, but I have no idea how to use it in our business."
That's the sentence I want to talk about today. Because I want to give him, and you, a real answer.
Most operators are just missing a roadmap. About 95% of the world is using AI at level one, just chatting with it, because chatting is the only level they know.
Here's the map. There are six levels of AI autonomy:
Level 1: Chatting. ChatGPT, Claude, the box where you type a question.
Level 2: Custom GPTs and projects. Your repeatable washing machines for tasks you do over and over.
Level 3: Automated workflows. They run on a trigger without you pressing go.
Level 4: Single agent. Takes a job from start to finish on its own.
Level 5: Orchestrator. A butler managing a team of agents.
Level 6: Proactive AI. It doesn't wait for you to ask. It knows you and acts.
Now here's the part most people get wrong about this.
The six levels are a ladder you climb so you have the full toolkit available. Then you pick the right level for the task in front of you. A quick question still belongs at Level 1. A repeatable workflow belongs at Level 2 or 3. A whole job that runs end-to-end belongs at Level 4. The win isn't living at Level 6. The win is conscious choice.
Here's the size of the prize. One of my virtual assistants recently resigned. I took her entire playbook, handed it to my AI agent, and asked, "How much of this can you do?" The agent read it, broke it down, and answered: 60 to 70 percent.
That's how you collapse five-year goals into five weeks. That's freedom.
Here's your next move:
Identify your current level. Be honest. If you're using AI mostly as a chatbot to answer questions, you're at Level 1. That's fine, as long as you know it. The first move is awareness.
Pick one task this week and ask "which level does this actually need?" A repeating Monday email? Level 2 or 3. A whole job that runs on a schedule? Level 4. Match the task to the level instead of defaulting to Level 1 for everything.
Build something one level higher. Expand your toolkit by trying a level you haven't built at yet. If you don't know how or why to build a custom GPT, ask ChatGPT. Or flip through my book ChatGPT To Double Your Business In 90 Days, which breaks it down. Building a custom GPT is the foundation for building agents.
Hand someone you know this issue. They asked you about AI last month and you didn't have a clean answer. Now you do. Forward this email and let them find their level.
Want the easy button to start with agents? Try Marblism.
Ready for something more advanced? Join my next OpenClaw setup & training.
The "Where Do I Even Start?" Play:
Problem: You know AI could help your business. You just don't know what to point it at first. The longer you sit with that, the longer your year keeps slipping by while AI does nothing for you.
Solution: Stop guessing. Give AI everything it needs to tell you where the leverage is, and let it do the prioritization work for you.
Try this in 10 minutes:
Connect your AI agent to your email and calendar however your AI tool supports it.
Have it look back through the past year of emails and calendar to surface patterns, opportunities you missed, and where your time is actually going.
Hand it your to-do list. Everything you've been meaning to get to.
Hand it your wish list. The big stuff you'd build if only you had the time and resources.
Paste this prompt:
"I'm trying to figure out ways to implement AI in my business to help us grow, but I have no idea where to start. Look back through my emails, my calendar, my to-do list, and this wish list, and prioritize ways we can implement AI to increase revenue, increase efficiency, and seize more opportunities for growth."
Note: What comes back will surprise you. Most operators discover that the work they've been postponing for months can be automated by Friday, and the work they thought needed AI actually needs a human conversation first.
The shoe store owner doesn't need a tool. He needs this prompt. So do you.
This week on King Moves, How To Collapse Time With AI Employees That Get Things DONE. | Ep. 130. I went solo (Justin will be back next week) to walk through the five things you'll steal from my new book the second you open it. The 6 Levels of AI. The onboarding document that makes AI sound like you instead of a robot. The map that shows you which work to automate first. The step-by-step build for your own AI butler. And 11 copy-paste use cases you can run tomorrow.
If this issue made you want more, the episode goes deeper.
Stop playing life on hard mode. Automate your success.
Until next time,
Ethan King
A.I. Automation for Business Growth
Keynote Speaker | Author | CEO | Strategist
ethan@ethanking.com
P.S. Quick reminder: my new book Done. Let AI Do Your Work So You Can Live Your Life. drops on Wednesday, May 20 (which also happens to be my birthday).
For 24 hours only, it'll be on Amazon for $1.99. The lowest my publisher would let me go.
If you want the launch-day reminder so you don't miss it, plus $600+ in bonuses I'm throwing in for the launch team, get on the list here (free): 👉 donebook.ai
That's it. No buying anything today. Just get on the list and I'll ping you on launch day.
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