The webinar was delivered in response to a growing number of business plans that appeared heavily AI-generated, often offering little more than generic bullet points with minimal detail, weak founder context, and no clear personal story. The core message was that AI is now part of everyday life and can be used in business planning, but Innovator International’s concern is that it can replace the founder’s thinking rather than support it. The session was focused on Innovator Founder Visa applications, where credibility, ownership, and the founder’s ability to explain and defend the plan are central.
Richard and James discussed where AI genuinely adds value: it is fast, efficient, and good at synthesising information, helping with structure, clarity, language, and desk-based research. It can act as a “co-pilot” to refine how an idea is communicated, sense-check assumptions, and even critique a draft plan by identifying risks and gaps.
They then focused on the risks of relying on AI: limited originality, overconfidence, hallucinations (outdated or incorrect information), “over-polished but shallow” writing, and plans that are repetitive or feature-heavy without real customer benefit. A recurring warning was that AI can easily encourage “trend chasing” and can generate attractive narratives that aren’t grounded in real market pain. This is especially dangerous for visa applicants because if a plan progresses to an interview, founders must demonstrate real understanding; submitting a plan you can’t defend is likely to unravel quickly.
A substantial part of the discussion moved into practical guidance for Innovator Founder Visa applicants: use AI to help articulate your idea, not to invent it; treat outputs as a first draft; cross-check everything—especially financial logic, regulatory assumptions, and market claims; and lean hard into real human validation. They stressed that market research should lead to early adopters and early sales, and that “innovation is a contact sport” — AI can help you think faster, but it can’t replace genuine customer conversations or founder insight. They also noted that assessors often spot the difference between an AI-generated plan and a founder-led plan enhanced with AI, because the latter has cohesion between the CV, the story, the problem, and a credible execution path.
Key takeaways: Use AI as a co-pilot to structure, clarify, critique, and pressure-test your thinking — never as the author of your core idea. Build plans around lived experience, a real problem, and real customer validation (including willingness to pay), not generic claims or buzzwords. Treat AI output as a draft, verify and refine it, and be ready to explain and defend every part of your plan—because AI doesn’t make a business innovative; founders do.
Watch the full session here:
