Over the Christmas break, many of us carried out the same small ritual.
Get in your car. Tap your map app. Enter a destination. And hit start.
It's easy because if you know where you want to go, the technology will get you there.
As we step into 2026 I keep seeing people trying to apply the same logic to AI. Tell me the destination. Give me the roadmap. Show me the steps.
But here's the problem. The world is moving too fast, and AI is moving faster.
So if you want a real advantage with AI this year, stop looking for a roadmap. Start with a compass.
In practice, that means this:
Stop using AI like a vending machine. Prompt in, output out, then judge whatever drops out. That only gets surface-level results.
Use AI as a collaborative thinking partner instead.
Bring your direction, your context, and the change you are trying to create. Then ask AI to interrogate your thinking, stress-test your logic, and offer tradeoffs before it ever writes a word.
“One question to sit with as you start the year: What are you trying to change in 2026, and what would 'clear direction' actually look like?”
Phil Carey is a speaker and consultant on AI and communication.