Judge AI Better, Make More Money

Two entrepreneurs could be using the same AI tool and one can end up making a profit and one a loss. Why?

One knows how to ask the right questions, and is critical about the answers.

The other asks bad prompts and follows AI advice without question.

And then... boom! Pricing mistakes, cashflow issues, …just pure stress.

We’ve already covered how to write better prompts

Here’s how to build the second critical skill: roasting your AI’s answers.

Some of us tuna-treat AI like a magical professor who knows everything. Truth is, AI sometimes makes up things. The worst part is, it does it with so much confidence hadi huezi shuku.

That’s why every entrepreneur needs to stop taking everything AI says as the gospel truth. And by the way, si Chat GPT pekee upeana wrong info. Tools like Microsoft Copilot, Claude, Gemini, and pretty much every AI tool can do that.

A lot of the time, AI ukupea misleading info when you ask it questions that require contextual understanding.

Say, for instance, umeiuliza advice on how to start a business with limited resources. Inaeza kupea tips that sound smart on paper, but it doesn’t know your actual cash flow, your local challenges, or what your customers really want. It predicts answers based on patterns, not your real-life situation.

This is why AI often gives bad financial advice. Financial decisions ukua unique to each person; what works for you might not work for me, and vice versa. So ukiuliza AI

“Is investing in stocks the quickest way to get rich?” halafu ufuate kitu inasema without considering your financial situation, be sure kitakuramba.

• Stop thinking “AI said it, so it must be true.”

• Start thinking: “AI is my intern. Fast, helpful, but new here. I must review the work.”

A good answer starts with a better question. We’ve done a whole article on How To Ask AI Better Questions: Better Prompts, Better Profits but acha nikupee a rough idea of how it works:

Say you want to understand how to price your freelance braiding services in Ruaka.

In this case, hufai kuuliza AI “How much should I charge for long braids?” If you do, itakupea US prices or maybe even graduation season trends from Canada (okay, that last bit was a bit of a stretch, but you get the point).

A strong prompt would be:

“My cost per long braid hairstyle is KSh [x]. My competitors in Ruaka charge around KSh [y]. Most of my customers earn about KSh [z] per day. Suggest a fair but profitable price range and explain why.”

Boom! Sasa AI itakupea answer inafit reality yako, not random global data.

But even then, usikubali jibu kama gospel. That’s where the next step comes in.

These four questions are how Meshers turn AI from risky to reliable.

AI will often assume you have unlimited time, perfect customers, and city-level demand. So ikikushow “raise your prices by 40%,” jiite kamkutano ujiulize these questions:

• Would my customers in my area actually pay that?

• Does this match local competition?

• Is this normal in my industry?

Why? Because AI doesn’t know your estate, your hustle, or that your customers are teachers, boda guys, students, or young mums.

AI loves to make everything sound easy and perfect unless you force it to be brutally honest.

So before you take advice from your favorite AI tool, hit it with, “What could go wrong if I follow this advice?” and watch it go from “yeah, this is gonna be a breeze” to “okay… maybe this isn’t as simple as I thought.”

Suddenly, itaanza kukupea advice ina-apply kwa ground by analyzing the risks and the challenges you might encounter without the over-the-top optimism.

This is exactly what you want as an entrepreneur. Because at the end of the day, optimism that isn’t grounded in reality is just delusion.

As Meshers, we don’t gamble big, especially time ni biz yetu iko at stake. So if AI says “start a new package, invest in equipment, hire someone,” ask:

“What is the smallest, cheapest, 1-week test version of this idea?”

Examples:

• Instead of launching a new service, try it with one loyal customer first.

• Instead of raising prices for everyone, test with 3 clients.

• Instead of buying a ring light, borrow one for a week.

Small test = small risk.

Cashflow ni kila kitu kwa biz. So before you follow any AI advice, ask:

“If I do this for one week, how will it affect my expenses and income?”

AI should tell you:

• What you’ll spend

• What you might earn

• When you break even

• Whether you’ll run short on cash

If AI doesn’t mention cash flow, the advice is incomplete.

Even if AI advice passes all four questions we’ve just looked at, don’t rush to implement it full-scale. Remember, it’s your money, your time, and your hustle at stake.

The smartest Meshers let AI run the numbers and suggest moves, then validate with smaller risk before going all in.

So before u-invest pesa na time kwa idea umepewa na AI, run a 1-week experiment to see how it fares. Because as we all know, sometimes vitu ukua different kwa ground.

For example:

• Ka AI ime-suggest uongeze new product ama serivce kwa biz, test the new service/product with just one loyal customer.’

• Ka suggestion ya AI ni upandishe bei, raise prices for a tiny group before hitting everyone.

• Na kama ime-recommend ushike machine mpya, borrow or rent it for a week, see how much of a difference it makes, then decide if it’s worth investing in.

With this approach, you get to see what actually works in your reality, tweak what needs fixing, and avoid wasting cash or disappointing customers. Think of it as a “try before you buy” for your business moves.

But for this to work, you need to track how much of a difference the new idea makes to your biz. Jiulize hard questions kama:

• Did customers respond well?

• Did I make more money?

• Was it comfortable or stressful?

• Did AI’s predictions match reality?

If it works, keep it. If it fails, adjust or scrap. Either way, you’re learning.

👉 Download the MESH app on Google Playstore. Ni 2MB!

The truth is that AI won’t magically fix your business. But when you, the hustler, ask smart questions, challenge every answer, and test ideas on a small scale, AI becomes a real growth tool.

High-performing hustlers treat AI as a helper, not a guru. They test, adapt, and make data-backed moves instead of blindly following what pops up on the screen.

Your move: Try one of MESH’s experimental AI chatbots, built specifically for Kenyan hustlers like you.

These bots are intentionally designed to help you start and grow your business in a way that actually fits your reality, your challenges, and the local market.

Think of it as having a business coach who knows your hood, your hustle, and your cash flow.

Interested? Try using MESH AI here.