{"id":8480,"date":"2026-05-20T09:55:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=8480"},"modified":"2026-05-20T09:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:55:27","slug":"when-did-25-efficiency-become-not-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=8480","title":{"rendered":"When did 25% efficiency become not enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p> <div> <p>Anyone who\u2019s been following me on LinkedIn or X has seen my smartass responses to people making some of the dumbest claims imaginable.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li>\u201c100% automate your SEO.\u201d<\/li> <li>\u201cFully automate your content calendar.\u201d<\/li> <li>\u201cRun your business with AI while you sleep.\u201d<\/li> <\/ul> <p>At this point, I\u2019m just waiting for AI to start doing my dishes. <em>(Please be true.)<\/em><\/p> <p>But jokes aside, there\u2019s something deeper going on here that\u2019s worth talking about.<\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/about:blank\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" style=\"border: 1px solid #EEE; background: white\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-rocket-lazyload=\"fitvidscompatible\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.seoforlunch.com\/embed\"><\/iframe><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.seoforlunch.com\/embed\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" style=\"border: 1px solid #EEE; background: white\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p> <h2 id=\"llm-looting-lying-manipulating\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">LLM: Looting, lying, manipulating<\/h2> <p>I was talking with a good buddy, Rob Wormley, a great GTM consultant, about the state of AI.<\/p> <p>Like most conversations right now, it started with a discussion of the cool things we\u2019re both using AI for. And honestly, there\u2019s a lot to like.<\/p> <p>It\u2019s fast, it\u2019s useful, and when used correctly, it can absolutely make you better at your job.<\/p> <p>But pretty quickly, the conversation shifted. Across very different projects, we kept landing on the same three realities:<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li>If you\u2019re not using AI at all, you\u2019re missing obvious efficiency gains.<\/li> <li>If you\u2019re relying entirely on AI, you\u2019re walking straight into quality issues and potential legal headaches.<\/li> <li>The only version that consistently works is somewhere in the middle. <strong>Human-led AI<\/strong>. Not flashy, not easy to sell, but it holds up.<\/li> <\/ul> <h2 id=\"whats-wrong-with-allin-ai\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s wrong with all-in AI?<\/h2> <p>I\u2019ve said it before, and I\u2019ll say it again. \u201cAI optimization is the biggest scam of 2026.\u201d Not because AI itself is a problem, but because of how it\u2019s being sold. Open any social platform, and you\u2019ll see the same recycled pitch. Some Rolex-wearing, Lamborghini-driving, broccoli-haired bro telling you how to automate your entire business with a single prompt. Just comment \u201cwin,\u201d and your problems disappear.<\/p> <p><strong>Don\u2019t believe me?<br \/><\/strong>Hold your breath and hit play below. (fair warning: cringe alert!)<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DWKBoOVD2x0\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/> <p>Ugh. Sorry. If your brain is still operational, please stay with me. If you contributed to the comments to receive their solution to becoming rich overnight. <em>Please unsubscribe.<\/em><\/p> <h2 id=\"the-real-problem-isnt-ai\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The real problem isn\u2019t AI<\/h2> <p>Again, let me reiterate. This is not an anti-AI rant. This is an anti-broken-expectations <s>rant<\/s> post.<\/p> <p>Somewhere along the way, \u201cthis made me 25% more efficient\u201d stopped being a win and became a failure.<\/p> <h2 id=\"weve-completely-lost-the-plot\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">We\u2019ve completely lost the plot<\/h2> <p>Take something like a redirect mapping project. You take a task that used to require three hours of tedious, manual work and cut it down to 30 minutes with AI support. That\u2019s not just a win, that\u2019s a massive gain in productivity. But now? <strong>It gets side-eyed because it wasn\u2019t fully automated.<\/strong><\/p> <p>Or content. Writing something thoughtful, original, maybe even a little vulnerable, used to take hours. Now you can use AI to structure, outline, and accelerate the process, getting it down to an hour with better clarity and direction. Still requires skill. Still requires a point of view. Still delivers a better end product.<\/p> <p><strong>And somehow\u2026 still not good enough.<\/strong><\/p> <p>Then you get the real insanity. Instead of investing in a skilled and or credentialed person to QA, guide, and maximize what AI can do, the instinct is to cut that role entirely and tell a tool like Claude to \u201cjust handle it.\u201d<\/p> <p><strong>No oversight. No accountability. Just vibes and prompts.<\/strong><\/p> <p>We\u2019ve gone from using tools to improve output\u2026 to expecting tools to replace responsibility entirely.<\/p> <p>And anything short of that gets labeled as failure.<\/p> <h2 id=\"why-the-easy-button-sells\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why the \u2018easy button\u2019 sells<\/h2> <p>The reality is AI has never been an all-or-nothing decision. It\u2019s a spectrum. But the way it\u2019s being marketed right now? You\u2019d think anything short of full automation means you\u2019re already behind.<\/p> <p>That\u2019s where the pressure kicks in. Not from the technology, but from the noise around it. Every scroll comes with another reminder that you\u2019re \u201cdoing it wrong,\u201d that you\u2019re \u201cmissing out,\u201d that you\u2019re about to become irrelevant if you don\u2019t flip the switch immediately.<\/p> <p>\u201cSEO is dead, GEO now! Adapt or get left behind.\u201d<\/p> <p>It\u2019s the same playbook every time. Manufacture urgency, create a false binary, and push people to react instead of think.<\/p> <p>And the delivery doesn\u2019t help. You watch enough of these reels, and it starts to feel less like insight and more like a used car pitch. High energy, big promises, zero substance. \u201cTrust me, this one prompt replaces your entire team.\u201d<\/p> <p>It works, though. Not because it\u2019s credible, but <strong>because it taps into something real<\/strong>.<\/p> <p>People don\u2019t just want to improve their workflow. They want out of the hard parts entirely.<\/p> <p>And when someone shows up selling that fantasy with confidence, a lot of people stop asking questions.<\/p> <p>Yeah, buddy. Throw in the Lambo for free and consider me all-in. \ud83d\udcb0\ud83e\udd11 \ud83d\ude44<\/p> <h2 id=\"the-middle-ground-nobody-wants\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The middle ground nobody wants<\/h2> <p>Here\u2019s the part nobody wants to hear.<\/p> <p>The version of AI that actually works still requires you to think.<\/p> <p>It requires you to guide it, challenge it, edit it, and take responsibility for what gets published or implemented. It\u2019s not passive. It\u2019s not hands-off. It doesn\u2019t magically remove the need for experience or judgment. If anything, it puts more pressure on those things.<\/p> <p><strong>Human-led AI<\/strong> is where the real gains are. You move faster, you cut down the busywork, you get to better outputs more efficiently. But you\u2019re still in the driver\u2019s seat. You\u2019re still making decisions. You\u2019re still accountable when something goes wrong.<\/p> <p><strong>And that\u2019s exactly why it doesn\u2019t sell.<\/strong><\/p> <p>There\u2019s no fantasy in it. No \u201cset it and forget it.\u201d No promise that you can replace thinking with prompting and call it a strategy. It\u2019s just better work, done faster, by someone who knows what they\u2019re doing. This is much harder to fake.<\/p> <p>You can\u2019t hide behind automation when the output still depends on your judgment. You can\u2019t outsource responsibility to a tool and pretend it\u2019s a strategy.<\/p> <p>So most people skip it. Not because it doesn\u2019t work, but <strong>because it still requires effort.<\/strong><\/p> <h2 id=\"this-isnt-an-ai-problem-its-a-human-one\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">This isn\u2019t an AI problem. It\u2019s a human one.<\/h2> <p>This isn\u2019t an anti-AI rant. It\u2019s an anti-human rant. More specifically, it\u2019s about the expectation that anything short of full automation somehow isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p> <p>If it doesn\u2019t replace your job, run your business, and print money while you sleep, it gets dismissed. Not evaluated. Not tested. Just written off.<\/p> <p>That\u2019s the problem.<\/p> <p>Because that mindset guarantees misuse. It pushes people to skip the parts that actually matter. Thinking, judgment, accountability. It turns a powerful tool into a shortcut, and then into a crutch.<\/p> <p>AI didn\u2019t create this behavior. It exposed it.<\/p> <p>And until that expectation shifts, most people won\u2019t get the upside they think they\u2019re chasing.<\/p> <div class=\"wp-block-image\"> <figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1774\" height=\"887\" alt=\"Leroy2\" class=\"wp-image-476987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2.jpg.webp 1774w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2-768x384.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2-1536x768.jpg 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1774px) 100vw, 1774px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2.jpg.webp\" title=\"When did 25% efficiency become not enough?\u63d2\u56fe\" \/><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1774\" height=\"887\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Leroy2\" class=\"wp-image-476987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2.jpg.webp 1774w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2-768x384.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/05\/leroy2-1536x768.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1774px) 100vw, 1774px\" title=\"When did 25% efficiency become not enough?\u63d2\u56fe1\" \/><\/figure> <\/div> <h2 id=\"so-what-actually-matters\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">So what actually matters?<\/h2> <p>AI is a multiplier, not a replacement.<\/p> <p>The people winning aren\u2019t avoiding the work. They\u2019re using AI to move faster while still thinking and making decisions.<\/p> <p>A 25% gain isn\u2019t failure. It\u2019s an edge, if you actually use it.<\/p> <p>Human-led AI\u2026 or the scam artists selling you the automated solution to \u201cbuilding the future.\u201d Your call.<\/p> <p id=\"h-this-post-first-appeared-on-the-author-s-website-and-is-republished-here-with-permission\"><em>This post first appeared on the author\u2019s website and is republished here with permission.<\/em><\/p> <\/div> <p> <em>Contributing authors are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. Contributor was not asked to make any direct or indirect mentions of Semrush. The opinions they express are their own.<\/em> <\/p> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>Opinion#efficiency1779242127<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anyone who\u2019s been following me on LinkedIn or X has seen my smartass responses to people making some of the dumbest claims imaginable. \u201c100% automate your SEO.\u201d \u201cFully automate your content calendar.\u201d \u201cRun your business with AI while you sleep.\u201d At this point, I\u2019m just waiting for AI to start doing my dishes. (Please be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[17927,155],"class_list":["post-8480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers","tag-efficiency","tag-opinion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}