When building our V/TO Marketing Strategy, how do we test whether an AI-enabled capability gives us a true competitive moat or is merely table stakes that will be standard across our sector in twelve months?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee note that general-purpose technologies rapidly diffuse across industries. If any competitor can subscribe to a commercial SaaS platform or configure a standard API to match your speed or output within ninety days, that feature is table stakes, not a differentiator. A true differentiator in your Three Uniques must be difficult to replicate. It must combine your proprietary historical data, deeply integrated Core Processes, and human accountability that competitors cannot easily purchase off the shelf.

To test this during your strategic planning sessions, ask your leadership team a blunt question: if a well-funded competitor copied our exact software stack tomorrow, what remains that only we can deliver? If the answer is speed or low cost alone, you do not have a unique. You have an operational efficiency that will soon be commoditized across your industry.

Protect your margins by positioning your AI tools as the backend engine that frees your team to deliver superior strategic counsel, rapid execution, and high-touch relationship management. Use the V/TO to ground your Three Uniques in the business outcomes your clients achieve through your combined human-and-machine delivery model rather than bragging about the software itself.