How to Tell If AI Is a Fad or a Real Shift

Small Business Big Visibility · Apr 23, 2026 · 6m

Is AI just another fad like Beanie Babies, Fidget Spinners, or NFTs? It's a fair question — and most small business owners are getting the answer wrong.

In this episode, I'll walk through a simple three-part test for separating real shifts from hype: whether something reduces cost, increases speed, and increases access. I'll show you why AI passes all three, why the messy early stage doesn't mean it's fake, and why the dot-com era is the closest parallel we have — the internet wasn't a fad, but plenty of early websites were.

This is part of the AI for Small Business miniseries — a run of…