Why Would Anyone Hire A Virtual Assistant When We Have AI?
I’m going to use the word VA throughout this blog, even though I’m trying to stop using it to describe myself…but that’s a conversation for another day!
It’s a question I get constantly. I’ll be mid‑conversation explaining what I do and someone will interrupt with, “but couldn’t you just use AI for that?”
And honestly? Sometimes, yes! I use AI every day, and I think most founders and businesses should be embracing it rather than fearing it. It’s become part of how I work. Tasks that used to take me a day now might take an hour, and that’s a win for my clients too.
When people ask me whether AI could replace what I do, I never feel defensive. In fact, I'm usually the one recommending AI tools to my clients. The interesting thing is that the more I've used it, the clearer it's become where the real value of my work actually sits. It was never in producing documents or simply drafting emails. It was in everything that happens before and after those things.
Founders aren’t short of ideas, they’re short of headspace
One thing I've noticed is that founders usually aren't short of ideas, they're short of headspace. They don't have time to figure out the right prompt, explain the context, sense-check the output and then turn it into action. Even with AI, someone still has to think. Someone still has to make the decisions. AI doesn't know a business the way someone embedded in it does. It doesn't know what happened in last week's client meeting, which client needs a softer approach, or that when a founder says, "Can you sort this?", they might actually be saying, "I really don't have the mental space to think about this anymore."
A few clients have described me as their second brain. Not because I'm doing things they couldn't do themselves, but because I'm already inside the business. I know what's going on, what matters, what they're trying to achieve, and that context changes everything.
What this looks like in real life (not in AI prompts)
I once spent hours sitting next to a founder rebuilding a spreadsheet. Could AI have helped? Probably. But the spreadsheet wasn’t the real problem. They needed someone to talk it through with, ask the right questions, challenge their thinking, and help untangle what they were actually trying to achieve. The value wasn’t the spreadsheet, it was the thinking that happened around it.
On another project, I organised an event while the founder was in another country. I researched venues, coordinated suppliers, negotiated speaker contracts, organised logistics and handled all the post‑event admin. Nobody gave me a checklist. Nobody asked me to report back after every decision. I understood the end goal, made decisions along the way, and just got on with it.
Could AI have helped with parts of that? Absolutely. But my client wasn’t looking for another tool. They were looking for someone who understood them, understood the business, and could take ownership so they didn’t have to.
I’ve built payment trackers and then chased the payments myself via WhatsApp until the money landed. One client told me he didn’t have time to figure out a smarter way to do it and, frankly, couldn’t be bothered. He just needed someone he trusted to handle it end‑to‑end.
That’s the bit AI doesn’t cover. Not because it isn’t capable, but because someone still has to own the outcome.
AI vs VA is the wrong question
People often frame the conversation as AI or a VA, but that’s not the real question. The real question is whether you have support at all?
Most founders I work with aren’t looking for someone to complete isolated tasks. They want someone they trust, someone who understands the business, takes ownership, and quietly moves things forward without needing to be told every next step.
That’s why I’ve stopped describing myself as a VA. Not because there’s anything wrong with the title, but because it no longer reflects what my clients actually hire me to do.
AI is brilliant, and I’ll keep using it every day. But behind every well‑run business is still someone joining the dots, making judgement calls, spotting the things about to fall through the cracks, and doing what’s necessary to make sure they dont!
That’s the work my clients hire me for. AI just helps me do some of it even better.
If you’re wondering whether you need another AI tool or someone to help run your business behind the scenes, I’d love to chat.