Hello and happy Thursday!
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​Will AI replace Virtual Assistants?
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​It's a question that comes up A LOT in our community.
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And depending on who you listen to, you'll hear everything from "AI could never replace what I do" to "there won't be any VAs left in five years."
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​I don't think either extreme is particularly helpful.
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AI isn't going anywhere. It's getting better incredibly quickly and it's already changing the way businesses operate and the type of support they need.
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So we need to be having honest conversations about what that means for our industry.
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Which is exactly what I've done in this week's episode of The Visionary VA Podcast with the fabulous Martha Kilner.
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Martha is the founder of Any Other Business, our Espresso AI expert and someone who uses AI extensively within her own VA and operations work.
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​And she didn't sugar-coat her answer: "I think there will be parts of your job that will be redundant."
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​Before you panic, there's an important distinction between AI replacing some of the tasks you currently do and AI replacing you.

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Martha gives inbox management as one example.
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This has traditionally been a standard VA service, but increasingly there are AI tools capable of doing much of that work incredibly efficiently.
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So, instead of digging our heels in, perhaps we should be asking:
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​If technology can do this part of my job, where can I add MORE value instead?
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​Martha has actually introduced AI solutions that reduce the amount of work she personally needs to do for clients. But rather than making herself less valuable, she's become the person who spots opportunities, improves efficiencies and brings solutions to the table.
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That's a very different proposition from simply completing a list of tasks.

🔮 Industry outlook​
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Towards the end of the episode, I asked Martha for one prediction for the VA industry by 2030.
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Her answer was pretty punchy:

"I think generic VA tasks will be redundant... and the VAs who have moved on to being the operational thinkers and the true right-hand person in the business will be the ones who'll be fully booked."
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​And I think that's where the opportunity lies.
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​Our value is increasingly going to come from understanding the wider business, spotting problems, making recommendations and using our judgement and experience - not simply knowing how to complete a task.
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Martha's advice is reassuringly simple: pick one tool and get really good at using it.
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You don't need 27 AI subscriptions. Choose ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot or another tool and spend some proper time learning what it can do.
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In fact, when I asked Martha which AI skill every VA should learn this year, her answer was "learn to brief your AI as if it's a brilliant new member of your team".

I LOVE that. What great advice!
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🎙️ Listen to the full conversation

We also talk about Martha's journey from 19 years as a primary school teacher, through two redundancies, to becoming fully booked as a VA within six weeks, plus how she uses AI with clients, what she would NEVER outsource to it and the practical ways VAs can start adapting now.
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So, will AI replace VAs?
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Well, we'll have to wait and see but in the meantime, perhaps the better question is:

How do I make sure I'm becoming the kind of VA that businesses will continue to value as AI gets better?

📅 Chelmsford Meet Up: Friday, 9^th October

​We’re hosting our next VA Meet Up at Costa Coffee on the Riverside Retail Park, Chelmsford on Friday, 9^th October from 11.00 – 13.00.

Whether you’re an established VA, just starting out or perhaps just considering the idea of setting up your VA business, we’d love to meet you and hear more about your journey. We’re a really friendly bunch, I promise!
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Get your ticket here.

Have a great week.
Holly x
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P.S. If you want to stay up to date with all the many ways you can use AI in your VA business, but you’re busy AF and just want a monthly email packed with carefully curated info, then consider signing up to Espresso AI. It's just £4.99 a month. You can cancel at any time AND put it on your business expenses… HURRAH!