Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen thinks you're probably using AI wrong. The real magic happens when you stop treating it like a fancy search engine and start treating it like your personal board of directors.

In a 16z Podcast interview, the Andreessen Horowitz co-founder said AI tools could serve as the "world's best coach, mentor, therapist, advisor, [and] board member" for users who pose strategic questions. The key is engaging it as a "thought partner" rather than just a task executor.

The Democracy Question

Andreessen calls AI "the most democratic" technology because the best tools are freely accessible through apps anyone can download. And there's evidence supporting widespread adoption: more than half of U.S. small businesses now use AI in their operations, double the rate in 2023, according to U.S. Chamber of Commerce data.

But here's where it gets interesting. Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, recently acknowledged that new compute-intensive AI features will require paid subscriptions due to high costs. So much for "the very best AI" remaining freely accessible to everyone.

Strategic Thinking Over Simple Queries

Andreessen's vision goes beyond asking AI to review emails or manage staffing schedules. He suggests treating it as a strategic collaborator on bigger challenges.

"What's the best cinnamon roll recipe in the world? Work backward from that," Andreessen said. "You could also say, 'Look, I want to make the best one in the world, but I need to do it at 1/10 of the price.'"

This approach aligns with Stanford professor Andrew Ng, who has stated that the most productive professionals are those who are "really on top of AI," regardless of experience level. The message: mastering AI isn't about technical skills, it's about knowing how to think with it.