The part of the AI market nobody's talking about

I've been living in Claude-ChatGPT-Gemini world like most of you. But there's a whole tier of tools you've probably never heard of. They're building full websites, running complex workflows, generating outputs that go head-to-head with the big names. And some of them cost a fraction of what the giants charge.

These tools aren't "good enough for the price" — they're genuinely competitive.

All these companies want exposure. For example, my YouTube channel has been approached by 43 unique AI tools to do a sponsored video or feature their product in some form on our channel. I've said yes to a handful that were truly interesting, because I'm getting paid to learn something new.

A natural question that comes up when I review all these emerging tools: will the AI leaders of today remain the best tools two years from now?

Maybe, but the difference between tools will be negligible.

Right now, most of us gravitate toward the tools with the biggest funding and the most press. That makes sense — stability matters. But there's a real opportunity in the middle of the market. Specific tools for specific use cases. Lean models optimized for one thing that the headline platforms haven't gotten around to cracking yet.

The smartest move might not be picking a winner. It might be building a process flexible enough to swap when something better shows up.

We've seen this before.

The Internet felt exactly like this around 1999. Everything was new, everyone was building, and nobody really knew which companies would survive. Then the crash came.

Then Web 2.0 enabled the monetization of the Internet, and companies emerged with a new business model that has created tremendous wealth over the last 20 years.

We don't know which AI tools are about to have their Web 2.0 moment. Many will thrive, while many more will fizzle out.

The only thing you can do right now is form your own thesis about what you think is going to happen.

You don't need to be right. You just need to create your own mental model. That mental model will be what moves your business model forward and help you make the right decisions.

I'll continue to share my insights and research in this newsletter to help you along the way.

To Your AI-First Success,
Jeff Sauer