What happens when AI research lands in senior hands
A junior with AI ships a lot of average work fast. A senior with AI ships in hours what they couldn't do in a week — because they know what to ask AI for.
Conventional wisdom: AI replaces junior roles. Our experience: the biggest speed-up is where AI lands in the hands of a senior who knows what to ask.
Concrete example: a competitive audit that used to take a senior strategist 3 days now takes 4 hours. Not because AI does it better. Because the senior knows what they want to see, briefs AI to deliver it, and does the interpretation themselves.
Juniors with AI typically lack the benchmark of what good looks like. They generate 50 segments instead of 5 targeted ones. Seniors with AI generate 50 options and keep the 3 that are actually interesting.
Implication for the team: AI dramatically increases the value of seniority. We won't replace juniors — we'll expect more of them and pay them more, because one of them with AI does the work of three.