ChatGPT turns 3 years old this month! Some GTM leaders are still asking “What AI should we use?” This timeline answers a better question: “What kind of work are we ready to do with AI?”
The timeline looks chaotic. But it shows aggressive progression through three stages of adoption.
► 2023: Using AI as Tools
ChatGPT gave us a blank text box. Teams spent the year experimenting with individual tasks like writing, research, and problem-solving. The wins came from better prompting.
GPT-4 brought multimodal capabilities and better reasoning. Teams got more ambitious with what they asked AI to do. But AI was still something you used for isolated tasks. You asked, it answered, you moved on.
► 2024: Building and Guiding AI as Teammates
Custom GPTs took off because generic AI wasn’t enough. Teams needed AI that understood their specific context, frameworks, and voice.
Claude 3 brought advanced reasoning. Deep Research and agent capabilities launched. AI Overviews, Artifacts, and NotebookLM showed how AI could synthesize across sources and handle multi-step workflows.
This was the fundamental shift. Teams moved from asking questions to defining roles and handoffs. AI became something you collaborated with, not just consulted.
► 2025: Orchestrating and Governing AI Systems
Multi-AI workflows are here. Specialized AI teammates can work together on complex projects while humans focus on strategy and high-level decisions.
GPT Agents, voice and vision integration, and tools like Veo 2 and Sora 2 are pushing what’s possible. The work now is figuring out how multiple AIs coordinate while humans guide the outcomes.
Your team is somewhere in this progression. Figure out where you are, upskill your team, and reimagine work with AI.
Moving from tools to teammates to systems requires clear thinking about workflows, handoffs, and what problems you’re solving. The timeline shows what’s possible at each stage. Use it as your roadmap.
I also cover this in more detail in my newsletter on moving from org charts to work charts. See link in the comments.
AI adoption works when you build capabilities that strengthen your team and improve your work. Focus on that. The tools will follow.