This isn’t the plot of a sci-fi movie. It happened. And it’s a wake-up call for entrepreneurs, startup founders, and business owners everywhere.

Let’s get one thing clear: this isn’t some “test” or simulation. This is real, live business. A publicly traded company swapped out their top executive for an AI powered decision maker, and they haven’t looked back.

What’s even more insane? The company started performing better after they made the switch.

So… what does a robot CEO actually do? How does it make decisions? And could entrepreneurs one day “clone” themselves and let an AI run parts of their business?

Let’s break it all down.

In 2022, a Chinese gaming and metaverse company called NetDragon Websoft made international headlines when they appointed an AI-powered humanoid named Ms. Tang Yu as CEO of one of their subsidiaries.

The announcement wasn’t a gimmick or PR stunt. According to the company, Tang Yu was put in charge of real, operational decisions, including:

• Risk management
  
  

• Organizational efficiency
  
  

• Data analytics
  
  

• Performance evaluation of employees
  
  

• Strategic deployment of resources
  
  

Basically, everything you’d expect a real-life CEO to do—except this CEO doesn’t sleep, doesn’t take a salary, and makes decisions based entirely on data and logic.

And here’s the wildest part: since appointing the AI CEO, NetDragon’s stock outperformed the Hong Kong stock exchange average. Some financial analysts say it beat out even some of the major tech companies in China.

Let’s clear up a common misconception. Ms. Tang Yu isn’t a physical robot walking around the office. She’s a virtual AI model a system built into the company’s digital infrastructure that analyzes data, makes executive decisions, and manages performance in real time.

Here’s what she was reportedly tasked with:

• Real-time performance monitoring of departments
  
  

• Objective evaluations of team members using behavioral and productivity metrics
  
  

• Fast decision-making based on large datasets (internal + market-facing)
  
  

• Zero emotional bias, which helped streamline promotions and restructuring
  
  

• Rapid execution of strategic adjustments based on analytics
  
  

In other words, the AI isn’t dealing with gut feelings or playing politics. It’s all about efficiency, clarity, and scaling operations with minimal waste.

Imagine having a CEO who never procrastinates, never lets ego cloud judgment, and doesn’t get burned out. That's the kind of leadership AI could offer especially for operations-heavy businesses.

At first glance, this might sound crazy. But let’s think about it from a small business perspective.

Hiring a top tier human CEO often costs millions per year. And even then, they’re making decisions based on intuition, past experience, and (let’s be honest) gut feelings half the time.

Now consider an AI model that:

• Never takes a vacation
  
  

• Makes decisions based on live data
  
  

• Updates itself in real time
  
  

• Costs a fraction of a human salary
  
  

• Isn’t influenced by personal relationships or stress
  
  

For big corporations, it might start with testing AI for assistant roles. But for entrepreneurs and startups, this concept is a roadmap for scaling yourself without burnout.

AI tools are already available that can act like mini-CEOs for different parts of your business.

You might not replace yourself entirely (yet), but you can build a system where AI runs core functions while you focus on big-picture strategy.

Here’s how entrepreneurs are already doing it:

1. Financial Oversight

AI tools like LivePlan and Fathom can track your P&L, spot trends, and send real-time alerts for anomalies so you make better decisions faster.

2. Hiring and Team Evaluation

Platforms like Harver and HireVue use AI to evaluate applicants based on performance indicators, not just resumes. Some even offer automated onboarding workflows.

3. Marketing and Sales Decisions

Tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and HubSpot’s AI tools can generate content, run A/B tests, and optimize funnels in real time. That’s a marketing executive’s job done in minutes.

4. Operations and Workflow Automation

Use tools like Zapier or Make to connect your apps and automate 80% of your daily admin tasks. The AI isn’t just analyzing it’s executing.

Let’s say you’re a digital course creator with 3 part time VAs, an email list, and two paid ad campaigns running.

An AI workflow could:

• Pull your email open rates
  
  

• Compare that to ad click-throughs
  
  

• Suggest where to allocate more budget
  
  

• Generate a new subject line and landing page variation
  
  

• Test it automatically over the weekend
  
  

• Report back Monday with results
  
  

That’s what AI can do today. You’re not firing yourself, you’re multiplying yourself.

Now let’s hit pause and talk ethics.

Handing over decision making power to AI isn’t just a tech upgrade it’s a philosophical shift.

There are real concerns here:

• Bias baked into algorithms
  
  

• Lack of emotional intelligence in sensitive decisions
  
  

• Security risks tied to automation of sensitive data
  
  

• Accountability who’s responsible when the AI makes a bad call?
  
  

We need to be aware of the limits and risks. But for everyday business decisions like scaling content, automating reports, or managing resources the upside is enormous.

It’s not about removing humans. It’s about removing bottlenecks.

Ready to let AI run parts of your company while you focus on your zone of genius?

Here’s a simple roadmap:

Step 1: Identify Your Repetitive CEO Tasks

List out everything you do each week related to data review, people management, and operational planning.

Step 2: Choose One Area to Automate

Start with finances, marketing, or reporting. Pick a tool like Fathom, Jasper, or Zapier to handle that zone.

Step 3: Create a Dashboard

Use something like Notion, ClickUp, or Trello to give your AI tools a central command hub.

Step 4: Run Weekly Reviews

Just like a human CEO would. Get reports, evaluate performance, and course correct where needed.

Step 5: Slowly Scale Out

As your trust builds, let AI handle more decision-making across departments, supported by your strategic vision.

What seemed like a stunt in China is now a mirror reflecting where business is going.

Entrepreneurs aren’t being replaced—but they are being multiplied by smart systems.

The truth is, your company already has an operations team, a marketing team, and a product team you just haven’t given them a machine to work with yet. That’s where AI comes in.

You don’t have to name it “Tang Yu.” But if your business could use a little less chaos and a little more consistency… maybe it’s time to hire your own robot executive.