Business owners have long relied on virtual assistants and administrative staff to handle repetitive tasks, but many are discovering these solutions come with hidden costs. From inconsistent performance to cultural barriers and stretched bandwidth, traditional approaches to delegation often fall short. Alice Chen, founder of an AI implementation service for businesses, experienced these challenges firsthand before discovering a better path forward through artificial intelligence.
Discovering AI’s Unexpected Power
Chen didn’t set out to become an AI advocate. A year ago, while forming her private equity fund in the U.S., she needed help with research, modeling scenarios, and creating pitch decks. “Traditionally I would be hiring a junior analyst, but it would still be a six figure person to be working with me on this,” she explains. That process normally took three weeks. This time, she tried something different. She worked with AI instead of hiring an analyst. “To my surprise, I was able to get the job done in three days with the help of AI,” she says. That experience changed how she thought about building teams. “Think of it as having your best teammate, your best colleague that remembers everything you say and is highly intelligent, knowledgeable, and able to keep track of all the conversations you’ve had.”
The results led Chen to explore AI further. She used it to write a book, becoming a number one Amazon bestselling author in the summer. She’s now a TEDx semifinalist, crediting AI with helping her accomplish what seemed impossible before. “It helps me collapse time and shrink the time required to get something done,” she notes.
Exposing Limits of Traditional Staffing
Over 16 years in business and investing, Chen has tried every type of team setup imaginable. In-office staff, remote employees, overseas VAs. Most experiences ranged from average to terrible. She recently fired a fractional EA who meant well but couldn’t deliver. “Every week it’s either that her back is pulled, she has to go to the chiropractor, or the next week the kid is sick. There’s always something,” she recalls. The concept of quiet quitting hit close to home. “People are phoning it in and they’re maybe not doing work, but working from home without really working,” she says. This made remote arrangements frustrating because business owners couldn’t verify actual productivity.
Overseas VAs presented different challenges. “It doesn’t matter what agency they come from, it seems there’s always a cultural gap that’s pretty noticeable,” Chen explains. Communication issues were just the beginning. These workers stuck rigidly to assigned tasks without the exercising judgment. “They are very good at doing exactly the micro tasks you prescribe them, but they can’t really exercise any type of discretion or judgment in terms of how to get something done beyond that.” The $4 to $5 hourly rate looked attractive on paper. Reality was different. “A lot of them have a full time job with you, but they have four other full time jobs with other employers at the same time,” she reveals. Simple tasks stretched from 30 minutes to five hours. Worse, guiding these workers consumed her own time. “That’s the most scary part for me,” she adds.
Transforming Business with AI Teammates
Chen’s company now designs AI teammates for specific business functions. An AI receptionist answers calls around the clock, converses with clients, triages questions, and books appointments. The annual investment? Under $20,000. “Can you even hire a fractional or part time receptionist at that wage to give you the same effect? No, the ROI is night and day,” she states. Outbound sales AI teammates work through contact databases relentlessly. “Imagine if you have this very personable outbound sales agent in a charming voice, calling them,” she describes. The system calls, leaves messages, calls again. “They don’t forget, they’re relentless.” Chen estimates this boosts revenue by 30% in the first 90 days for most businesses.
Marketing AI tracks competitors and influencers, identifies viral content, and adapts it to match a business owner’s voice and tone. “Not everyone wants to be an influencer, be on camera, or post a bunch of things. I don’t,” she admits. The AI presents options for approval before posting across platforms. Digital cloning takes things further. Chen created a clone of FBI negotiator Chris Voss to help with her own negotiations. “Every time I’m stomped, I ask my super negotiator clone. It gives me an output. When I use that in real life, I get the exact response I was looking for,” she shares.
Redefining Human Work in the AI Era
Jobs requiring physical coordination remain safe from AI replacement for now. Plumbers, electricians, massage therapists, gardeners, and auto mechanics all need manual dexterity that robotics can’t replicate yet. “We’re still probably a good 10, 20 years away from robots seamlessly working in this human world,” Chen observes. But even these professionals need AI support. An auto mechanic fixing cars still needs someone handling calls. “This AI receptionist can triage that call and checks your inventory to see if you have the part in place and if not, it orders the part for the business and schedules the person to come in when the part is estimated to arrive,” she explains.
White collar coordination jobs face a different future. “Any type of desk job that doesn’t require movements that robotics can replace, I think they’re going to,” she predicts. Her advice focuses on adaptation rather than resistance. “Everyone should be thinking about how they can upgrade their skill set to become the orchestrator of AI teammates.”
For more information about implementing AI teammates in your business, visit Alice Chen’s LinkedIn profile for case studies and available services.
