Business owners warned against stacking AI subscriptions without a clear profit plan

Business owners are signing up for several artificial intelligence platforms at once, yet many report little payoff from the monthly fees they keep paying.

In a recent piece on Substack, writer Ruben Dominguez argued that overspending on AI subscriptions is common because people purchase software before they define what they need it to do.

For those new to the field, Dominguez offered a straightforward way to judge whether a tool deserves a place in the budget. Artificial intelligence, he suggested, is less about the technology itself and more about earning more while doing less manual work.

Rather than asking which AI product to buy, owners were urged to test each option against practical business needs. Can it help secure new clients? Can it improve how money is tracked and managed? Can it support efforts to raise capital or attract investors? Can it strengthen team building? Can it speed overall business growth?

Dominguez maintained that a monthly subscription only makes sense when at least one of those answers is yes. Without that link to a defined outcome, he said, owners risk paying for platforms that add cost without moving the business forward.

The guidance lands as AI vendors market an expanding range of services to small and medium enterprises, many of which feel pressure to adopt new tools quickly. Dominguez’s message is that purpose should come before purchase — each fee should map to a measurable business result, not to keeping pace with trends alone.