A new case study from U.S. startup Here Now Health illustrates how artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a practical business tool rather than simply a breakthrough technology. Instead of building an AI company, founder Michelle Turner used AI to launch and rapidly scale a healthcare business serving foster children.
Without a traditional startup background or formal business education, Turner relied on AI throughout the company’s early development. The technology helped her learn startup fundamentals, write a business plan, prepare investor presentations, and refine fundraising strategies. Since launching in 2025, the company has grown to 16 employees and now provides Medicaid-funded mental health services for foster children across multiple U.S. states.
The story highlights a broader economic shift taking place across industries. Rather than replacing entrepreneurs, AI is increasingly reducing the barriers to starting a business by making expertise that once required consultants, advisors, or expensive professional services accessible through intelligent software.
Economists are closely watching this transformation. The U.S. Federal Reserve has identified artificial intelligence as one of the most significant structural changes affecting the economy, with policymakers studying how it could reshape productivity, inflation, employment, and long-term economic growth.
Supporters argue that AI enables entrepreneurs to accomplish tasks that previously required larger teams and greater financial resources. By lowering startup costs and accelerating execution, the technology may encourage new business creation, innovation, and eventually job growth. Several economists believe the recent increase in new business formation across the United States is partly linked to the widespread adoption of AI tools.
At the same time, uncertainty remains over AI’s long-term impact on employment. While many organizations report that AI is improving worker productivity and helping address labor shortages, researchers also warn that administrative and clerical occupations could face significant disruption as automation becomes more capable.
The emerging consensus is that AI is likely to transform work rather than eliminate it outright. Companies may require fewer routine tasks to be performed by humans while creating new demand for higher-value skills centered on decision-making, creativity, and complex problem-solving.
Turner’s experience demonstrates this evolving reality: AI served not as a replacement for entrepreneurship, but as an accelerator that enabled a first-time founder to build a business faster, raise capital more effectively, and create new jobs.
