Like many business leaders, I wanted our website to generate more enquiries while reducing our reliance on Google Ads. I started by asking AI a few questions about some broken code and how search engines worked. That quickly led to discussions about SEO, page structure, website speed, accessibility, content and user experience.

A couple of years ago, I wasn’t looking for Artificial Intelligence, I was looking for a better website.

Before long, we’d rebuilt large parts of the website.

The enquiries improved, our visibility in Google increased and, perhaps more importantly, I realised something.

I hadn’t really been learning about websites. I’d been learning how to work with AI.

That changed everything.

At first, it became a useful assistant for drafting emails, improving documents and checking wording. Before long it was helping analyse Excel data, review contracts, modernise our ISO management system, automate reporting, improve internal processes and support software development.

It wasn’t replacing expertise.

It was helping experienced people solve problems more quickly.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that AI works best when combined with people who already understand the business.

For more than 25 years we’ve worked closely with an independent software development partner (SWF) who also supports a number of Weald clients. By combining business knowledge, software development expertise and AI-assisted analysis, we’ve been able to shorten development cycles considerably.

Rather than lengthy specification documents and multiple meetings, AI can help gather requirements, identify missing information and suggest possible approaches before development even begins. The result is fewer misunderstandings, quicker implementation and lower development costs, while every technical decision remains in the hands of an experienced developer.

We’re not trying to become an AI training company, and AI isn’t an area that every member of our technical team specialises in. Like cyber security, networking or software development, it’s a specialist discipline. Where clients are looking to improve business processes, automate repetitive tasks or accelerate software development using AI, we can bring together the right expertise to help. Sometimes that’s from within Weald, sometimes it’s through trusted specialist partners we’ve worked with for many years. The important thing is delivering the right outcome for the client, rather than simply recommending the latest technology.

We’ve also found AI particularly valuable when exploring unfamiliar subjects or validating ideas outside our own day-to-day expertise.

A good example involved improving our backup strategy for one of our cloud systems. AI helped research current best practice, expand the solution, explain how it could be implemented and even helped produce the documentation and evidence required for our ISO management system. The result wasn’t simply a better technical solution; it was a more complete business outcome.

Perhaps the biggest surprise has been that AI hasn’t just made us more efficient.

It has made us more ambitious.

Rather than spending days researching an unfamiliar subject or waiting until we can justify bringing in another specialist, we can now explore ideas, understand unfamiliar technologies and work with the right experts to turn those ideas into reality.

Projects that would once have remained on the “one day” list have become achievable.

Our engineers still solve technical problems.

Our software development partner still designs and delivers robust software solutions.

We still make the business decisions.

AI simply helps all of us reach those decisions more quickly and with greater confidence.

Will AI replace experienced people?

In our experience, no.

Will it change the way experienced people work?

Absolutely.

Businesses that learn how to use AI sensibly will almost certainly become more productive than those that ignore it.

The technology will continue to evolve, but one thing is already becoming clear.

The real value isn’t the AI itself.

It’s what experienced people can achieve when they combine it with their own knowledge, judgement and experience.


Mike Nelson
Managing Director, Weald IT

Interested in how AI could improve your business?

If you’re curious about where AI can genuinely add value—whether that’s improving business processes, automating repetitive tasks or integrating with existing systems—we’re always happy to have a conversation.

Contact Weald IT to find out more.

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About the Author

Mike Nelson is Managing Director of Weald IT. With nearly 40 years’ experience in the IT industry, he writes about technology, AI, Microsoft 365, cyber security and business improvement for SMEs. Since leading Weald through its transition to employee ownership, Mike has focused on helping businesses use technology in practical, commercially sensible ways.