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Why the Reasonable Advice to "Ask AI How to Use AI" Is Impossible for Many People

“Just Ask AI” Is Actually Advice for People Who Already Have an Advantage

I watched a YouTube video explaining how to use AI at work.

The structure was familiar: explain how AI can be used in business, then guide viewers from a LINE registration to a consulting inquiry.

In other words, a fairly typical business YouTube video.

The comments were quite harsh.

“If you do not know how to use AI, why not just ask AI directly?”

That is a reasonable point.

If you ask ChatGPT or Claude, “How should I use you in my work?”, they will give you plenty of answers. If you explain your industry and your job, they will even suggest tasks that can be automated or improved.

So why pay a high fee to consult an AI consultant?

I understand that reaction.

But this argument misses one major assumption.

People who know what to ask AI are already capable to some degree.

I am an engineer, so when I ask AI to write code, I have a rough idea of what kind of instruction I should give. If an AWS architecture looks strange, I notice it. When I read code, I can tell when too much responsibility has been packed into one place. If an AI answer seems unreliable, I can ask from another angle.

That is why it is easy for me to think, “If you do not know, just ask AI.”

But people with very little IT knowledge are in a different position.

They do not know what is possible in the first place. They do not know which parts of their work can be delegated to AI. They may not be able to judge whether the AI’s answer is correct.

They are in the state of not knowing what they do not know.

If someone in that state asks AI, “Please make my work more efficient,” the answer will often become generic.

Use it to write emails. Summarize meeting minutes. Use it for brainstorming.

Those answers are not wrong.

But many people will read them, think “That sounds impressive,” and stop there.

Imagine an Extremely Talented Programmer Who Only Waits for Instructions

Imagine that an incredibly talented programmer joins your company.

They can use almost every programming language. They write code ten times faster than an ordinary person. Their technical knowledge is overwhelming.

But there is one problem.

They only act when given instructions.

They finish assigned work at incredible speed, but they do nothing else. If you give them vague instructions, they build a system at incredible speed based on the wrong interpretation.

Could someone with no IT knowledge manage this person well?

I think it would be very difficult.

At minimum, the manager would need to organize and explain what should be built, why it should be built, and where the business process has a problem.

I think current AI is close to this.

Recent AI systems are much more proactive than before, so describing them as purely instruction-waiting tools is becoming a little outdated. Even so, if the human side has no clear intent, AI will also struggle.

It is like hiring a genius programmer and saying:

“Just make the company better somehow.”

They will probably do something.

But whether that something is truly necessary for the company is a separate question.

People Who Want AI Consulting Are Not Really Looking for Button Instructions

Seen this way, it becomes easier to understand why some people need AI consulting.

They do not want to learn where the ChatGPT buttons are.

They are not looking for a magical prompt formula.

What they really need is someone standing beside them who can say:

“For your work, AI can be used here.”

Of course, you can ask AI this too.

But to do that, you need to explain your work to AI, organize the problems, and evaluate the answer.

People who can already do that probably do not need AI consulting in the first place.

There is some irony in that.

I Also Understand Why People Leave Harsh Comments

So far, I may sound like I am defending AI consultants.

But I also understand why people want to leave sarcastic comments on YouTube.

Many business videos today end by encouraging viewers to register on LINE, move to a free consultation, and then enter a consulting funnel.

I am not saying this particular creator is a scammer.

But it is also true that this path looks very similar to the one often used by scams and suspicious information products.

“If you do not learn this now, you will fall behind.”

“The gap between people who can use AI and people who cannot will keep widening.”

“Register on LINE if you want to learn more.”

We have seen this too many times.

Whenever AI becomes a hot topic, many people appear saying they will teach how to use AI. When ChatGPT became popular, prompt instructors appeared. Now that AI agents are attracting attention, AI agent consultants are appearing.

Honestly, it gets annoying.

So I completely understand the feeling of wanting to say:

“Just ask AI.”

Even Asking AI Requires Knowledge

Still, I think the statement “If you want to know how to use AI, just ask AI” is half right and half wrong.

AI will answer.

The real issue is whether you can create the question that draws out a useful answer, and whether you can evaluate the answer you receive.

Even in the age of AI, human knowledge has not become unnecessary.

If anything, people with knowledge can extract more value from AI.

People who can easily say “Just ask AI” already have enough knowledge to ask AI effectively.

They probably do not notice that advantage themselves.

And AI consulting, in many cases, is a business built on that knowledge gap.

For people who need it, it can have value.

That said, before pressing a LINE registration button, it is probably worth asking AI about that consultant at least once.

Contact

I provide system development and technical consulting using AI, AWS, and Claude Code.

Contact form: https://holly-money-e94.notion.site/390ff30cf18c8086a676fe630d171873