If you're thinking of starting a new business and need advice on what to do, your first move should be turning to an artificial intelligence chatbot tool, like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude.

That's according to Steve Blank, who has written four books on the subject of entrepreneurship. He helped build eight different tech startups, of which he co-founded four, before retiring over two decades ago. His final startup, business software company Epiphany, sold to SSA Global Technologies for $329 million in 2005.

Blank is currently an adjunct professor at Stanford University, where he teaches courses on innovation and his Lean Startup method.

For years, Steve Blank has advised students and the founders he advises to "get the heck outside" of the office or classroom to talk to actual potential customers and find out what it is they want and build their prospective businesses accordingly. Now, he says, AI's generative tech can make that process even more effective.

"AI [is] a force multiplier to everything you do," Blank tells CNBC Make It. "AI could help you figure out where to get outside, probably faster than anything else. If you have a business idea, [ask] something like ChatGPT: 'I have Idea X, has anybody done it? Why hasn't [it] worked? Where should I best do this?'"

In addition to summarizing market research and offering feedback, some AI chatbots can write you a whole business plan. That free feature in ChatGPT, as well as in other platforms like Grammarly and Canva, can help give you a significant boost without the need to pay thousands of dollars for a freelance business consultant, Blank says.

"Just imagine you have Steve Blank over your shoulder, helping you ask these questions," says Blank. With AI, "you have at your fingertips a pretty good consultant [who] in the past would have charged you $10,000."

AI is like 'riffing' with a 'pretty smart friend'

Though they have made rapid advances in recent years, AI tools are still far from foolproof. Their responses frequently include errors known as "hallucinations." Blank advises that anyone turning to AI for a business plan take recommendations with a grain of salt.

"Somewhere between 10% and 50% of their answers are bullshit, sure. And the problem is you don't know which ones," Blank says. One 2023 study from AI startup Vectara found that chatbots hallucinate as much as 27% of the time, while a recent BBC study found that roughly half of AI assistants' answers to news-related questions contained errors.

Even if they're far from perfect, though, Blank argues that these tools still have plenty of value, particularly for first-time entrepreneurs who want to move forward with a business idea and aren't entirely sure what steps to take. He compares getting business feedback from AI tools to "having a pretty smart friend who's kind of riffing." Maybe every single suggestion they have isn't brilliant, but they could give you some good starting points you might not have thought of on your own.

"If you take everything at face value, you might drive over the cliff, but they're giving you some great ideas to think about, particularly if you've really never done this before," Blank says.

Feed a few simple initial questions into an AI tool, he suggests: The answers generated can help give you some clarity about whether there is a legitimate "product-market fit" for your idea. For example:

• "I'm thinking about starting 'X'. Can you find me a business model?" 
• "Who should be my first customers?"
• "What do they care about most?"
• "Who should I test these hypotheses on [and] how can I find them?"

AI can't replace actual market research

AI-generated insights should never be a stand-in for boots-on-the-ground research, Blank says — putting in that work remains essential for any entrepreneur mapping out a new business. The crux of the "lean startup" method Blank has taught for decades is speaking with a cross-section of potential customers and clients as early in the ideation process as possible, and then using their feedback to determine the viability of any concept.

AI still "doesn't eliminate the need for getting out and testing the fundamental assumptions," Blank says. "Whether it's a restaurant or a consulting business or gardening store or whatever, you have a set of assumptions. The most important one is: 'Well, who are my customers?' And the second one is: 'What do they want?'"

Answering those questions before moving ahead with a business idea is essential, because they speak to the fundamental focus and strength of any potential business, Blank says. Not doing so is a major mistake that can doom a new company before it launches.

That said, prospective business owners who are unwilling to use AI tools put themselves at a distinct disadvantage, too, Blank says.

"You don't want to compete with someone who has an AI at their shoulder, because they're acting like they have a team of 20 people coaching them," says Blank. In addition to testing the hypothesis of a business idea, after all, AI assistants can help overwhelmed founders handle aspects of their business' finances, administrative tasks and web design.

"If you don't want to use it as a tool," fine, Blank says. "No one is going to stop you not wanting to succeed."

Want to earn some extra money on the side? Take CNBC's new online course How to Start a Side Hustle to learn tips to get started and strategies for success from top side hustle experts. Sign up today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $97 (+taxes and fees) through April 1, 2025.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.