Interesting point from this Contra Lab’s article. A lot of the current value of AI seems to be in the early-stage creative work. In our case: wireframes, quick prototypes, testing design directions, and iterations to define concepts that later need to be explored with more depth. Which also happens to be the type of work many junior creatives traditionally do. Makes me think junior roles will increasingly require people who are proactive and curious. People who can use these tools to reach “good enough” work faster, with fewer mistakes, and then collaborate with senior teams to refine those ideas further. Learning how to properly test and evaluate tools will be a crucial skill for them too. We are flooded every day with new models and features (most of them overhyped). The real value comes from understanding which stack actually fits each part of the process. https://contralabs.com/research/ai-is-not-replacing-creative-professionals

17 months ago, we launched an AI chatbot for a small business client.

Here's an honest update.

Two months in, the numbers were modest.

80 conversations. 708 messages. 14% conversation-to-lead rate.

Not bad. But most visitors still preferred the contact form.

So we left it running.

We watched how people used it and made improvements. Nothing major.

17 months later:

1,350 conversations. 179 leads. 13.2% conversion rate.

At 16x the volume, the quality held almost exactly.

But there was a real shift around July 2025 that’s worth pointing out.

1. Average chats per month doubled, from 40 to 79.

A clear sign that where conversations are taking place is changing. People are no longer browsing sites in the same way.

They want their questions answered fast, and if you can’t deliver that, you miss out.

2. The chatbot became the #1 lead source on the site

From July 2025 onwards, the chatbot has consistently driven more leads than the forms, and that's held through 2026.

3. The average conversation runs 9 messages deep. 

These are not quick FAQ lookups.

Some conversations span materials, pricing, customisation, planning permission and delivery.

These are real pre-sales conversations handled without a team member in the room.

PS: Only 3 thumbs down in 17 months. We'll take that.

Good work. Yeah as the industry shifts customer behavior does so as well