Your Q1 AI Report Card (And What to Fix Before Q2)
The Departure
Q1 ends today. If you're like most SME owners I work with, you added at least one AI tool this quarter. Maybe two. But here's the question nobody's asking you: did it actually work? Big companies run quarterly business reviews with slide decks and committees. You don't need that. You need 15 minutes, three honest questions, and the willingness to cut what isn't pulling its weight.
The Co-Pilot
Tool: Claude
The Use Case: Run a fast, structured audit of every AI tool you adopted or renewed in Q1 and get a clear keep, cut, or upgrade recommendation for each.
The Prompt: "I run a [TYPE OF BUSINESS] with [NUMBER] employees. Here are the AI tools I used in Q1, along with what I paid and what I used them for:
[TOOL 1]: $[COST]/month -- [WHAT YOU USED IT FOR]
[TOOL 2]: $[COST]/month -- [WHAT YOU USED IT FOR]
[TOOL 3]: $[COST]/month -- [WHAT YOU USED IT FOR]
For each tool, answer these 3 questions:
Usage frequency -- Based on my description, does this sound like a weekly habit or something I tried and forgot about? Flag anything that sounds underused.
Revenue connection -- Can you identify a direct or indirect line from this tool to revenue (closing deals faster, saving time on ops, reducing costs)? Be honest if the connection is weak.
Re-buy test -- If this subscription expired today and I had to re-purchase it at full price, would the ROI justify it based on what I described?
Then give me a one-word verdict for each tool: KEEP, CUT, or UPGRADE (meaning: keep it but invest time learning it deeper). End with my estimated monthly savings if I cut the CUT tools."
The Upgrade
Topic: What Changed This Week That Matters for Q2
Claude's computer use went mainstream. Anthropic's demo hit 30 million views in 24 hours this week. The short version: AI can now operate your computer by clicking, typing, and navigating apps like a remote assistant. This isn't theoretical. It's shipping. If you're keeping a tool in Q2, the ceiling on what it can do just got higher.
Instruction files are the new power move. The highest-engagement AI content this week wasn't about a new tool -- it was about a simple text file (AGENTS.md) that tells AI exactly how to work within your business. Translation: the people getting the best results aren't switching tools. They're writing better instructions for the tools they already have. That's your Q2 edge.
The data backs this up. 83% of sales teams using AI tools grew revenue this quarter, compared with 66% of those without. The gap isn't access to tools, it's the depth of use. Going deeper on one tool beats spreading thin across five.
The Landing
Your task before Monday: Run the Co-Pilot prompt above. Pick one tool to cut and one tool to go deeper on. That's it. That's your Q2 AI strategy -- not a new stack, not a new shiny app. One cut, one commitment. Do it in 15 minutes while Q1 is still fresh.
Safe travels,
Marcellus