There’s a predictable sequence in how AI workflows spread through professional domains.

First, technical users figure out how to do it themselves. They share the setup in forums, repos, and Discord servers. The audience is small — other technical users who can follow a tutorial.

Second, domain experts in that field pick up the technical workflow and translate it for their audience. They write guides, run workshops, teach their followers how to use the new tools to do their professional work faster. The audience is larger — practitioners who follow the domain experts.

Third, the non-technical practitioners in that audience read the guides, understand the value, and can’t implement it. They look for something packaged that does the same thing.

The domain expert teaching phase is the critical signal. It means the workflow has been validated by technical users, is spreading to practitioners, and is approaching the moment when non-technical demand becomes productizable.

I’ve been watching this sequence play out in commercial real estate AI. The technical phase is in the past — the workflows have been documented. The domain expert phase is underway — established CRE education platforms are running workshops on doubling underwriting speed with AI, teaching their audiences the tools and methods.

The third phase hasn’t fully materialized yet. The practitioners who attend these workshops but can’t implement the workflow themselves are the emerging market.

The educational wave is a timing signal. When the domain experts are teaching it, the product moment is close. The practitioners who can’t follow the tutorial are your customers. They know they want the outcome. They just need someone to package it for them. +++