Shadowing Practice: I was wrong about AI replacing VAs. Here's what I actually think in 2026. - Learn English Speaking with Video

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If you've watched my channel for a while, you've heard me say that AI will never replace virtual assistants and I need to update that because AI is replacing a certain kind of virtual assistant, and over the next few minutes, I'm gonna show you exactly which kind is getting replaced and how to make sure that you are not the one on the chopping block.

Let's not sugarcoat it.

If your entire service is, "I answer emails, I schedule meetings, and I copy data from one place to another," AI tools can already do most of that cheaper, faster, and at 3:00 in the morning without complaining.

A client can ask AI to draft 20 emails in the same time that it takes me to write a Slack message, okay?

That's just the reality now.

So the question isn't, will AI take VA tasks?

It already has.

The real question is, what can't it take?

Now, most people's instinct is to say, "Okay, I need to learn more skills, more tools, get more certification," because that feels more productive.

But that is actually backwards because you are competing with AI on AI's home turf.

You will literally never out-task a machine.

Let me tell you what happened with one of my own clients as I became more AI forward.

She didn't pay me to schedule her calendar.

I mean, okay, I mean, technically, she paid me to schedule her calendar, but what she was actually paying me for was every morning I would look at her week and say, "Hey, you've booked yourself into three back-to-back pitch meetings the day after a red-eye flight.

I'm moving two of them." No AI tool did that, and it's not because AI can't move meetings, but it's because AI didn't know her.

Like, it literally did not know that she was useless after red-eyes, and it did not care whether her pitches on that Thursday went well or not.

And I want you to zoom in here, please, 'cause this is important.

AI replaces task doers.

It promotes problem solvers.

So the VA who says to their client, "Just tell me what to do," is competing with a $20 a month subscription service.

But the VA who says, "Here's what I've noticed, and here's what I'm gonna do about it," is competing with nobody, okay?

Because judgment, context, and actually caring about the a- outcome are not things on AI's featured list.

So how do you become that second kind of VA? We have to look at just three shifts.

It's just three things, guys.

Shift number one, I want you to start marketing and selling outcomes, not just hours.

So saying something like, "I manage your inbox," is a task, but reframing it as, "You will never miss an email again, and your reply time in email will drop to under one hour a day," is an outcome.

It's the same work, but it's a completely different value because you're promising that your client will be more in the know with less work.

Shift two, become the person who runs the AI.

Now, here's the plot twist that nobody talks about.

Business owners are drowning in AI tools that they do not have time to learn.

So the VA who can actually say, "I'm gonna set up your AI workflows, I'm gonna check the work," you just turned the possibility of being replaced into your biggest selling point, okay?

Because AI needs somebody who will tinker around with the inputs and make sure that the outputs are actually good.

So congratulations, because you just became that manager And shift number three, build the relationships that AI just can't copy.

Okay? So every month when you work with a client, you accumulate stories and context.

You get to know things like their work and their life preferences, their pet peeves, or you learn about the vendor they work with who is always late.

A new AI tool starts from zero every single time it gets booted up.

But that's not you.

You're starting with a lifetime of history and context.

And right now, if you were just starting as a VA, I'd imagine that you might be thinking, "Great, the bar to entry just got so much higher." But it actually didn't get higher, it got clearer.

You do not need to learn 50 tools and become a tech genius.

You just need to bring the one thing that you already have, which is human judgment, and pair it with a handful of tools that you know how to do really well.

I genuinely feel that starting a b- a VA business right now in the AI era is a huge advantage, 'cause you get to build your business in a new way from day one, while established VAs like myself have had to unlearn a lot of the old ways of doing things.

So yes, AI will replace some assistants, and it will replace a version of this job that was already underpaid, undervalued, and honestly, the copy and paste kinda nonsense that was pretty miserable.

So to that I say good riddance, because the version that is left behind, where you are a trusted partner in someone's business, where you're charging rates that reflect your good judgment, not just the speed in which you get tasks done, this is the virtual assistant business that we've all been fighting for.

So congratulations, friend.

You're here at the right time of history.

Now, if you're looking for a clear starting point, like baseline planning, no 50 tool tutorials, check out my free VA bootcamp.

It's a three-day bootcamp which is free.

It's gonna walk you through just the baseline, step by step, what you can expect as a virtual assistant.

And if you are past the free stuff and you're ready for a real plan, my VA Ready program is a course that's built exactly for this moment.

It's the confidence and the clarity program that you need before you launch your business.

And if you are already confident, you are ready to launch and scale, then my VA Business Blueprint helps you build your business in the new AI world step by step.

Now, this program is relaunching in August 1st, 2026, so be on the lookout for some more announcements.

Or if you'd like to get on my waiting list for early access, I'm gonna link to that below as well.

Next, I recommend that you watch my video on how VAs are actually landing their first clients nowadays, and spoiler, it is not cold outreach.

So that's popping up somewhere here above me, and I will see you in that video

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193 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “I was wrong about AI replacing VAs. Here's what I actually think in 2026”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: tool, client, task, assistant, virtual. This video has 56 sentences and 1122 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:14. The speaker talks fast, about 180 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
baseline noun	/ˈbeɪslaɪn/	A line that is a base for measurement or for construction.
accumulate verb	/əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/	To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.
reframe verb		To mount in a frame again.
relaunch verb		To launch again.
riddance noun	/ˈɹɪdn̩(t)s/	An act of ridding, clearance, or removal; elimination.
solver noun		One who or that which solves.
sugarcoat verb	/ˈʃʊɡɚˌkoʊt/	To coat with sugar.
underpaid adjective		Getting too little financial compensation for one's work.
undervalue verb	/ˌʌndə(ɹ)ˈvælju/	To underestimate, or assign too low a value to (something or someone); to have too little regard for.
unlearn verb	/ʌnˈlɝn/	To discard the knowledge of.
workflow noun	/ˈwɝkfloʊ/	The flowrate at which a flow of work takes place.
inbox noun	/ˈɪnbɑks/	A container in which papers to be dealt with are put.
spoiler noun	/ˈspɔɪ.lɚ/	One who spoils; a plunderer; a pillager; a robber; a despoiler.
lookout noun	/ˈlʊkaʊt/	A vantage point with a view of the surrounding area.
outreach noun	/ˈaʊtɹiːtʃ/	The act of reaching out.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
leave behind verb		To abandon.
pop up verb		To come up with a "pop" sound.
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

The real question is, what can't it take?
She didn't pay me to schedule her calendar.
You're starting with a lifetime of history and context.
You're here at the right time of history.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've watched · you've booked · I've noticed
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	person who runs · somebody who will · have, which is
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	being replaced · is left

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 33 contractions and reduced forms, such as gonna, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sugarcoat /ˈʃʊɡɚˌkoʊt/, certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, subscription /səbˈskɹɪpʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: accumulate /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/, undervalue /ˌʌndə(ɹ)ˈvælju/, certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, miserable /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like baseline, accumulate, reframe.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: I was wrong about AI replacing VAs. Here's what I actually think in 2026. - Learn English Speaking with Video

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