If you’re old enough to remember, think back to 1996 or 1997.
Before Google, we navigated the internet through AltaVista. Lycos. Yahoo’s directory. If you were really tech-savvy, you might have had a GeoCities page. Search was clunky. Finding information was hit or miss. The web was useful but not yet transformative for most people.
Then Google launched in 1997 and 1998. And within a few years, the entire landscape of how we worked and found information had changed.
The people who started using Google early — who figured it out while everyone else was still on AltaVista — had a meaningful advantage. They were faster, better-informed, and more capable of navigating the information landscape. That advantage lasted for years.
AltaVista never recovered. Lycos faded. The tools that didn’t adapt became irrelevant.
I think about AI the same way. And I think we’re currently in the 1996-97 moment.
What “Early” Actually Means Here
When I say we’re in 1996-97, I want to be precise about what that means — because there are two mistakes people make with this analogy.
The first mistake is thinking they’re too early. “AI is still developing, I’ll wait until it matures.” That’s like waiting until 2005 to start learning Google. By then, the advantage had already compressed. The early movers had already pulled ahead.
The second mistake is thinking they’re already too late. “Everyone is already doing AI.” No, they’re not. When I work with business owners outside the tech bubble — smart, successful people running real companies — many of them are barely using these tools. The adoption gap is still enormous.
The people learning AI seriously right now are not too early. They’re not too late. They’re in exactly the right window.
What AltaVista Mode Looks Like Today
AltaVista mode with AI looks like this: you’ve tried ChatGPT a few times. You asked it something, got an answer, maybe thought “huh, that’s neat.” And then you went back to doing things the way you always did.
That’s the equivalent of using a search engine for one query and then going back to the phonebook.
There’s nothing wrong with it. AltaVista was useful. But it wasn’t Google.
The shift from AltaVista mode to Google mode with AI looks like: building workflows instead of one-off prompts. Integrating AI into how you work every day, not just occasionally. Understanding what each tool is actually good at and routing work accordingly. Setting up agents that run automatically so you come back to work already done.
That’s the difference between using AI like a search box and using it like a platform.
The Demonstration That Stays With Me
A few months ago, I was showing a finance and accounting team at a real estate company some AI tools they hadn’t seen yet. We walked through how what used to take hours — manual data entry, calculations, reconciliation — could be compressed dramatically.
I did the demo two weeks before the tools even officially launched.
When they actually became available, the finance team went what I can only describe as “crazy” for them. They had seen what was possible. They knew what the tools could do. They were ready.
That readiness — that early exposure — made a real difference. They weren’t starting from scratch when everyone else started. They had a head start.
That’s the Google moment in action.
How Long the Window Stays Open
The Google transition happened faster than most people expected. Within three or four years of Google’s launch, not knowing how to use it effectively was a real disadvantage. The early-adopter window compressed quickly once the mainstream caught up.
I think the same dynamic is in motion with AI fluency — and possibly faster, because the tools are improving at a pace that creates urgency.
“I’ll learn AI later” is going to sound, in hindsight, a lot like “I was going to start using Google eventually.”
Later is fine for some things. For tools that create this kind of compounding, structural advantage — tools where getting fluent early means you’re ahead while others are catching up — later tends to be more expensive than it looks.
What to Do If You’re in AltaVista Mode
The good news about 1997 is that it’s not 2010. Most of the advantage is still in front of you, not behind.
If you’re in AltaVista mode right now — occasional ChatGPT use, no real workflows, no agents running — the first step is just moving to consistent use. Pick one thing you do every day and start doing it with AI involvement every time. Build the muscle.
The next step is moving from prompts to workflows. Instead of one-off questions, build repeatable systems. Meeting follow-ups, content research, proposal drafting, CRM updates — whatever takes your time that’s predictable and repeatable.
Then: agents. Things that run without you. That’s where the compounding starts.
The window is open. The tools are accessible. This is the 1996-97 moment.
The question is whether you’re going to be a Google user or an AltaVista user on the other side of it.
Thanh Pham is the founder of Asian Efficiency. He teaches AI fluency through workshops and the 4-Day AI Sprint — designed to take people from occasional AI use to real, running workflows.
