Before you say yes to that AI offer
By Martin Newenham
Another week, another AI offer
I‘ve had three of these this week. They all sound clever, they all promise I’ll grow without hiring, and I’ve no idea which AI offer, if any, are worth a call.
If that sounds familiar, you’re in good company. At Get Ahead we get these emails too, several a week. Because our job is helping owners get time back, our clients often ask us what we make of them. So I’ve drawn the short straw and had to read them properly.
Here’s a sense check, using two real emails that landed in my inbox this week (senders’ names left out). And for clarity, I’m not against AI, and neither is Get Ahead. We use it every day. But you deserve a clear view of what’s being offered before you hand over your time or your money.
Email one: the big claim
The first email built up to this line:
What I’ve been describing is the change Bain and Company are predicting: for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, revenue growth no longer depending on headcount growth.
It’s a striking sentence, so I went looking for it. I couldn’t find those words anywhere in Bain’s published research. It looks like a sales writer’s paraphrase that has taken on a life of its own.
There is something real underneath it. Bain has found that at leading software companies, revenue grew 22% faster than headcount over the past year. Its 2026 growth research says hiring used to be the default way to grow, and now productivity is.
But look at where that evidence comes from: large software and technology firms. Across the wider economy, the gains haven’t appeared yet. A US study of thousands of executives found most saw no change in productivity from AI over three years. When the UK Department for Business and Trade trialled Microsoft Copilot, staff wrote emails faster, but the trial found no evidence the time saved turned into higher productivity.
Email two: the “funded” AI engineer
The second email offered to embed an AI engineer in our team for 13 months to streamline scheduling, onboarding and the like, “with the UK government typically funding 95% of it.”
That sounds close to free. What it almost certainly describes is an AI apprenticeship. Several providers run 13-month AI apprenticeship programmes, and the funding is real. In England, if your business doesn’t pay the apprenticeship levy (most smaller firms don’t), the government pays 95% of approved training costs. From August 2026 it pays all of the training costs for apprentices under 25.
What the email leaves out is that the 95% covers the course, not the person. In practice you are:
- employing the apprentice, or putting an existing team member on the programme, and paying their wages throughout
- giving them protected time for off-the-job learning, typically at least six hours a week
- supervising someone who is learning the job, not hiring a seasoned AI engineer
None of that makes it a bad idea. If you have a curious, capable person on the team and the time to support them, an AI apprenticeship can be an excellent investment. It just isn’t the same as an expert landing in your business at the government’s expense.
Five questions to ask before you reply
When the next offer arrives, these questions will sort the useful from the noise in a single conversation.
- What exact problem will this fix, and how will you know? A good provider names a specific process and a measure, such as hours saved on invoicing each month. “Transforming your operations” isn’t a measure.
- Who will do the work, and what have they done before? Ask for examples from businesses your size, not just big-name case studies.
- What will it cost in total? Include your own time, any wages, software subscriptions, and what happens to the tools when the contract ends.
- Where does my data go? You’re still responsible for your clients’ information under UK data protection law, whoever builds the system.
- Can we start small? One process, a few weeks, a clear result. Anyone confident in their work will agree to a trial.
And when an email leans on a big-name statistic, it’s worth a quick search to see whether the source really says it.
Where AI does earn its keep
None of this means AI is hype. For everyday tasks such as drafting, summarising, tidying data and first-pass research, the time savings are real, and I see them every day.
The research is consistent on one point, though. The gains come when someone rethinks how a piece of work gets done, not when a tool is bolted onto the old way. That’s why so few smaller businesses have got far: one recent survey found only 6% of UK micro and small businesses have built AI into their daily work.
That matches what I see at Get Ahead. Our Virtual Experts use AI where it speeds up the job, and a person who knows your business stays responsible for what goes out. That combination of practical tools and human judgement is what gets you the time back.
Growing without hiring isn’t new
The idea at the heart of these emails, growing your business without taking on permanent staff for every new task, is a good one. Owners have been doing it for years with flexible, expert support. AI makes that support faster. It doesn’t replace knowing your business.
So if you run a small business and an AI offer has landed in your inbox, put it through the five questions above first. If you’re still not sure what to make of it, share it with us using the contact form. We’ll give you a plain view of what it’s offering and whether it fits, with no obligation. Get in touch to start the conversation.
About the author
Martin Newenham is a Director at Get Ahead, where he focuses on franchisee success and process improvement, alongside an active consulting practice spanning retail, technology, hospitality and client services. With over 30 years of experience, Martin has built a reputation for quickly identifying the issues inhibiting growth and working collaboratively with teams to resolve them. His career includes senior roles in Technology, Consulting and Retail, and a broad portfolio of consulting engagements covering acquisition integration, digital strategy, client experience and operational transformation. An experienced business coach and mentor, Martin’s areas of expertise include business strategy, customer experience, organisational change and coaching.
