Why I Use AI — And Why It Matters to You

In October of 2023, I had a pacemaker installed.

I spent several days in the hospital recovering. During long, sleepless hours, I downloaded ChatGPT and began experimenting.

Experimenting quickly turned into planning.

Sitting in that hospital room, I had time to think about pace — about how quickly retail is changing and how independent businesses compete in an environment increasingly shaped by systems and data. Within a few days, I had outlined what would become the Grow Campaign in its current form — fully integrated with our mobile app platform. What began as curiosity became strategic clarity.

Since then, I’ve used AI every day.

I use it to think through decisions, refine messaging, analyze trends, organize ideas, and move from concept to execution faster. It doesn’t replace experience. It strengthens it. It shortens the distance between insight and action.

That daily use is not theoretical. Our most recent catalog relied heavily on AI-generated imagery, and the entire piece was proofed using AI before it went to print. It allowed us to move faster and tighten the final product without sacrificing quality.

A year ago, building out a comprehensive seasonal campaign like Grow would have taken weeks of outlining, drafting, revising, and coordinating. The initial framework alone might have stretched over months. AI allowed me to sketch the full structure in days and move directly into implementation without losing momentum.

Over time, that discipline has expanded into building practical tools and customer guides designed to make gardening information easier to access and more engaging.

So why does this matter to you?

Because independent garden centers are stretched thin. Staffing is tight. Time is limited. Seasonal windows are short. Customers expect answers immediately — often after hours.

Intelligent systems can help you answer plant questions without adding payroll. Launch promotions faster. Communicate more consistently. Reduce the time spent drafting content. Make decisions with clearer insight into your local market.

That’s why we developed the Digital Garden Guide — an intelligent assistant embedded within a garden center’s digital ecosystem. Through our partnership with PRXY AI, we’re applying AI-driven market insight to better understand local customer motivations and buying behavior. Inside our branded app platforms, we’re integrating tools that help retailers operate with more clarity and consistency.

None of this replaces what makes independent garden centers special. It amplifies it.

Large retailers are investing heavily in automation, data, and intelligent systems. Independent retailers cannot compete by working harder alone. They compete by applying their expertise more effectively — and that increasingly requires better tools.

We now work with a growing number of garden centers who are steadily integrating these systems into their operations. Not to become technology companies, but to become stronger educators, more efficient communicators, and more informed decision-makers.

Five years from now, I believe the meaningful divide will not be between large and small retailers. It will be between those who integrated intelligent systems into their workflow and those who delayed.

My role is to interpret change early and make it practical for independent garden centers.

If you’d like to explore what this could look like inside your own store, I’m always open to a conversation.

— Kurt