AI does 80% of the work. Who does the other 20%?

Last week I had coffee with a developer friend. The brilliant type: computer science degree, drawers full of side projects.

We were talking about Claude Code, Anthropic's development tool (yes, my personal conversations are thrilling and really take my mind off work…).

You type what you want in plain human language. The AI builds you real software. It's mind-blowing.

But here's what nobody says on social media:

AI is magic from 0 to 80%. The last 20%? That's a different story.

And it's precisely in that 20% that, I think, the biggest opportunity of 2026 is hiding.

My friend gave me a concrete example that struck me, and I think every one of you will be able to adapt it to your own reality.

That's today's topic, and I'll sum it up for you in 1 minute:

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OK, here's the story:

A gym reaches out to my friend. They want their own software.

Not some generic thing: a custom tool covering memberships, customer relations, branding, internal processes.

And don't picture a chain or a big group, just a guy who owns his gym and wants to take it further.

Before, a project like that? A team of developers, 6 months minimum, tens of thousands of Swiss francs.

Today? AI built 80% of the app in a few hours.

My friend focused his expertise on the 20% that turns a prototype into a real product.

Result: custom software, at a fraction of the price. Everybody wins.

What this means for you:

If you run a business: you no longer need an army of developers. Just one good dev who masters these tools. The trap: many still have the "I do everything better by hand" reflex. Look for the one who's smart enough to let AI do the heavy lifting.

If you're an employee or between jobs: the question is no longer "will AI replace me?" It's: how do I become excellent at the 20% it can't do? Judgment. Domain knowledge. User experience. Edge cases. That's where human value really shows.

Try it yourself:

When you have a moment, head over to Lovable and paste in the prompt below.

It's a prompt I designed myself to quickly prototype ideas:

just replace the brackets with your own information.

The result will impress you. And at the same time, you'll understand where the limits are, and why the people who are aware of them are a step ahead of everyone else.

## Context I am a [YOUR JOB, e.g. hair salon owner / fitness coach / restaurant owner / HR consultant]. I want to build a web app to [MAIN GOAL, e.g. manage my appointments / track my clients / organize my operations].

## Target audience My users are [YOUR CLIENTS, e.g. individuals booking online / companies tracking their orders / members of a club].

## Desired features Client side: - [e.g. book a time slot online] - [e.g. choose a specific provider] - [e.g. see availability in real time] - [e.g. receive an email confirmation]

Admin side: - [e.g. dashboard of today's appointments] - [e.g. block time slots manually] - [e.g. automatic reminders]

## Design The interface should reflect [YOUR IDENTITY, e.g. modern and clean / warm and premium / sporty and energetic]. Colors: [e.g. black and gold / blue and white].

## Constraint Responsive (mobile + desktop), easy to use for non-technical people.

In 5 minutes, you'll have something that works, but only up to a point. And you'll understand exactly what I mean.

The revolution isn't that AI can do everything. It's that it does enough for you, with the right positioning, to accomplish what was impossible two years ago.

And I think that's worth thinking about, in every field.

Talk soon,

Salim from GenevIA, in Geneva

P.S. My friend regularly shares his experience building custom software for and with his clients on LinkedIn. If you have your own business, or if the concept interests you, his content can help: MY FRIEND'S LINKEDIN

(rereading this email, I realize that the more I write "my friend", the more I sound like someone who doesn't have any. And that's fine haha)