Dealers are finding practical, low-cost ways to use AI — not to automate jobs, but to help people work faster, see patterns sooner, and make better decisions. Artificial intelligence has officially crossed from novelty to necessity in the LBM industry. Roughly half of U.S. businesses now use AI in some capacity, and dealer adoption is…
The first meaningful AI ROI may come from one leader using it well. We recently ran an internal valuation exercise at Tara Manufacturing based on one executive’s use of Generative AI over the last 8 months. Using a disciplined business-value framework, we estimated that work created roughly $650,000 in company value during that period. That…
Most AI coverage tells you what happened. This brief tells you what it means, and what to do next. Opening Note Something shifted in June, and it is worth naming before we get into the details. For two years the AI story was about which model is smartest. In June it became a different story:…
A plain-English guide for operators who hate surprise bills. Every operator asks the same question about AI, and almost nobody gives them a straight answer: what does this actually cost me? You can’t get a clean number because there isn’t one. AI is not priced like the software you already buy. It is priced two…
Anthropic’s flagship moved to a pay-as-you-go meter for standard plans — a preview of where the whole market is heading. The question is no longer which model is smartest. It’s which model is right for the job, at a price that makes sense. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 8 (week of July 13–19,…
AI stopped answering questions and started handing back finished work. It’s not a smarter chatbot — it’s a different category of tool. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 7 (week of July 6–12, 2026). References to “this week” reflect that period. One update: the free access window for Claude Fable 5 described below has…
Five major stories in seven days. Regulation, consolidation, and user fragmentation all became visible at once — and the AI strategy playbook got rewritten in real time. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 4 (week of June 22, 2026). Details below reflect that week. Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 access was restored on…
The tool you’re already paying for got smarter, at the same price. Use it like it’s new — and go retry the one thing it couldn’t do last time. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 6 (week of June 29 – July 5, 2026). References to “last week” and “this week” reflect that period….
One employee, one week, no fraud — and an $81,000 AI bill nobody was watching. The free-trial phase of AI is ending, and most companies have no controls built for what comes next. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 5 (week of June 22–28, 2026). References to “last week” and “this week” reflect that…
By John Marshall, Co-Founder, AI Growth Partners For two years, most LBM operators watched the AI conversation from the sidelines and lost very little by waiting. May 2026 may be the month that stopped being a safe bet. Four announcements landed in 30 days, from four different companies, all pointing the same direction: One shared…