Easton Automations
On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, the President signed an executive order titled "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence." By Wednesday morning the phrase was in every headline, and by the end of the week it will be in every sales pitch that reaches a business owner in Talbot County. This is what the order says, what it does not say, and what, if anything, a plumber in Easton, a salon in Cambridge or a charter captain on Tilghman should do about it.
What the order actually says
The order directs the executive branch, "to the maximum extent permitted by law," to use the terms "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" in official communications, websites, reports and policy documents. Its stated reason is that "the terminology used by the Federal Government should reflect the transformative capabilities of these technologies and the limitless opportunities they create for the American people." It gives the President's science and technology adviser 60 days to propose legislative language for a federal definition of the term.
Two lines in it matter most for a business owner. First, it says nothing in the section requires changing previously issued regulations, contracts, grants or other historical documents. Second, it applies to the executive branch. It is not a rule for private companies, and it does not change what any product is or does. The text is on the White House site; CNBC and The Hill covered the signing.
AI and Super Intelligence, side by side
The same technology, two names. Here is the honest comparison.
| Question | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Super Intelligence (SI) |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses the term | Everyone, since the 1950s | The federal executive branch, from September 29, 2026 |
| What it covers | Software that recognises speech, writes text, answers questions and makes decisions from data | The same software |
| Does a private business have to use it | No | No |
| Does it change what the product does | No | No |
| Is there a legal definition | Several, in different laws and standards | Not yet. A proposed federal definition is due within 60 days of the order |
| What your customers will call it | The bot, the assistant, the robot, or nothing at all | The same |
What it means for a business on the Eastern Shore
Nothing about your tools changes. If software answers your phone tonight, it will answer it the same way tomorrow. What changes is the language around you. Expect the word to show up in ads, in cold calls and in emails from companies you have never heard of, some of them promising that "super intelligence" will run your business for you. Treat the new word the way you would treat any new word from a salesperson: ask what it does on a real call.
The questions worth asking are the same questions they were last month:
- Can I hear it answer a real call for a business like mine before I pay anything?
- What does it text the caller I missed, and how fast?
- What happens when it does not know the answer?
- What lands on my phone when the call ends?
- What does it cost each month, and is there a contract?
- Who do I call when something is wrong, and where are they?
Any company that cannot answer those in plain words is selling the name, not the work.
The three jobs it does for a local business today
Whatever the label, this software earns its keep in three places for a trade, a shop, a restaurant or a studio on the Shore.
It answers the phone. An AI receptionist (an SI receptionist, if you prefer) picks up every call in a voice you approve, knows your hours and your services, books the job on your calendar and sends you a text the second the call ends: who called, what they wanted, what happened. You can hear four recorded sample calls on that page, for a contractor, a restaurant, a med spa and a doctor's office.
It texts back the call you missed. Missed-call text-back sends the caller a text within seconds of a missed call, asks what they need, and holds the conversation until you can pick it up. The caller who would have dialled the next business in the list is now in a text thread with yours.
It asks for the review and keeps your listing current. Review automation sends one text with one link the day after the job, to every customer, and posts your reply in your words. Every customer gets the ask, not only the happy ones; that is Google's rule and it is ours.
What it will not do, whatever it is called
It does not know your prices unless you tell it. It does not invent an appointment slot you do not have. It does not replace you at the shop, on the roof or on the boat. It does not guarantee compliance with anyone's regulations. And it will not make a slow, hard-to-find website rank on Google; that is a different job, and it is the reason our plans start with the site. A good vendor will say all of this before you ask.
How to talk about it with your own customers
Do not rename anything. Your customers are not going to ask whether they spoke to a super intelligence. They are going to ask whether somebody picked up, whether the appointment is real, and whether the text they got came from you. Say what the software does in your own words: "our phone is answered day and night," "we text you back if we miss your call." That was true before September 29 and it is true now.
Frequently asked questions
Is Super Intelligence different from artificial intelligence?
Not as a technology. The September 29, 2026 executive order changes the name federal agencies use, from "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" to "Super Intelligence" and "SI". The systems that answer a phone, write a text or book an appointment are the same systems they were the day before. A federal definition of the term is due within 60 days of the order.
Does the Super Intelligence order apply to my business?
No. The order directs the executive branch of the federal government. It says nothing in it requires changing earlier regulations, contracts, grants or other documents, and it does not tell a private business what words to use. You can call your receptionist software whatever your customers understand.
Is an SI receptionist the same as an AI receptionist?
Yes. An SI receptionist and an AI receptionist are the same product with a different label: software that answers your business line, knows your hours and services, books the job and sends you a text when the call ends. What to judge is what it does on a real call, not the name on the invoice.
Will customers on the Eastern Shore start saying "super intelligence"?
Some will, because the term will be in the news and in advertising. Most customers will keep saying the assistant, the bot, or the robot, and many will not notice which one answered as long as they were helped. The question that matters to them is the one it has always been: did somebody pick up.
Text or call (443) 205-6809, or book a free consultation. We will show you exactly what it does and what it would cost for your setup, in plain words.
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