09/19/2026
How are you utilizing AI in your business?
And I don’t mean just using ChatGPT to write emails, create captions, or summarize documents.
Today, I used AI to build an actual business development intelligence system for Hinton Consulting.
Here’s what we implemented:
• A twice-weekly Account Intelligence Lead that actively researches William & Mary for strategic initiatives, leadership changes, grants, new programs, operational shifts, assessment activity, technology projects, and other developments that could translate into consulting opportunities.
• A complete Account Intelligence Card for every qualified opportunity, identifying the department, decision-maker, current initiative, pressure point, purchase trigger, contact information, recommended Hinton Consulting service, timing, risks, and next action.
• A dynamic Watchlist that continuously monitors emerging opportunities and automatically adds new watch items from future intelligence reports without duplicating existing opportunities.
• A Trigger & Milestone Alert System that watches those accounts for significant developments and notifies us when an opportunity moves from “something to monitor” to “something we should act on.”
• An opportunity qualification system that classifies each lead as GO, DRAFT-REVIEW, WATCH, or HOLD based on evidence, contract fit, timing, procurement risk, and readiness for outreach.
• A Microsoft Outlook outbound system connected to our strategy mailbox that can take qualified GO opportunities, verify the decision-maker, check for duplicate outreach, personalize the message to the specific initiative, and send targeted business-development emails automatically.
And this is the part that matters most:
AI is not replacing our strategy.
AI is helping us build the infrastructure to execute strategy consistently.
What used to require someone manually researching websites, tracking initiatives, remembering follow-up dates, identifying decision-makers, writing individual outreach emails, and monitoring dozens of potential opportunities can now operate as a coordinated intelligence system.
That is where I believe businesses need to start thinking differently about AI.
Not simply:
“What can AI write for me?”
But:
“What business function can AI help me build, monitor, manage, or scale?”
Research.
Business development.
Compliance.
Operations.
Quality assurance.
Proposal development.
Performance monitoring.
Client intelligence.
Follow-up.
Decision support.
The opportunity is much bigger than content creation.
The businesses that learn how to turn AI into operational infrastructure are going to function very differently from businesses that only use it as a writing assistant.
So I’ll ask again:
How are YOU utilizing AI in your business?
If you would like to learn more about how AI can help your business, comment LEARN MORE 👇👇
