Future-Proofing Your VA or OBM Business

Future-Proofing Your VA or OBM Business

From Seed to Success by Adrienne Donnelly

April 23, 2026 · 19 min

About this episode

Adrienne Donnelly discusses how virtual assistants can future-proof their businesses in the age of AI.

There's a lot of noise online right now about AI replacing virtual assistants. And if you've spent even a few minutes scrolling, chances are you've seen someone declare that VAs will eventually be made redundant altogether. The reality looks a little different. Drawing on almost a decade of experience running her own VA and OBM business, Adrienne shares what future-proofing actually looks like in practice, and why the human element isn't going anywhere. This isn't about ignoring AI or pretending it isn't changing the way we work. It absolutely is. But the story is more nuanced than the headlines suggest, and there's a lot of opportunity in that nuance if you're paying attention. You'll hear about: 🌱 Real client examples where AI fell short and humans got the job done 🌱 The risks of outsourcing business-critical work to AI 🌱 How embracing AI can elevate your role rather than replace it 🌱 Why niching into growing industries is a smart long-term move 🌱 What a business continuity plan looks like for solo operators Whatever the future looks like, the VAs and OBMs who will thrive are the ones who embrace technology, deepen their expertise, and double down on the human value they…

People in this episode

Host: Adrienne Donnelly

Topics covered

  • AI and virtual assistants
  • future-proofing business
  • human element in work
  • embracing technology
  • business continuity planning

Keywords

  • virtual assistants
  • AI
  • OBM
  • business continuity
  • technology
  • human value
  • niching

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Seed VA, seedvirtualassistants.com.au, Seed VA – Australian Virtual Assistant Community, Inner Circle

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