If your feed has felt a bit odd this week, you're not imagining it. "Super intelligence" is suddenly everywhere.
Here's what actually happened, and why, for a gym or studio owner, the label matters far less than what happens to your next enquiry.
What's actually happened
On 29 September 2026, President Trump signed an executive order telling US federal agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" in their official communications, according to the White House.
The next day, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed his own executive order directing the state agencies and departments under his authority to keep calling it "Artificial Intelligence", according to the Governor of California's office.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Slovenia's national domain registry described an "unprecedented" rise in registrations of .si web addresses, the same two letters as the new abbreviation.
That's the news. Whatever you make of it, it's a US story about words.
The label changed. The technology didn't.
Here's the detail most of the memes skipped. According to the White House's published text, the order says that, for now, "Super Intelligence" covers the same technologies already covered by the existing US legal definition of artificial intelligence.
So nothing new switched on overnight. The tools are the same tools. Only the name tag moved.
For a UK gym or studio owner, that's a useful reminder. Buzzwords come and go. The people thinking about joining your gym or booking a class don't care what the software is called. They care whether someone gets back to them.
What actually matters: the enquiry in front of you
Think about the last week at your gym or studio. How many people:
- rang while you were on the gym floor or teaching a class?
- filled in your web form late in the evening and heard nothing until the next day?
- emailed a question about prices, and the reply got buried under everything else?
Each one is someone who put their hand up. They were interested enough to get in touch. What happens next is the bit that decides whether they ever walk through the door.
That's true whether the tools behind it are called AI, SI or anything else.
Where enquiries leak
Most leaks aren't dramatic. They're small gaps that nobody owns:
- The phone at busy times. Calls often come in when you're at your busiest, and the voicemail doesn't always get checked.
- The web form inbox. Forms land in a shared inbox and everyone assumes someone else has replied.
- The first reply, then silence. Someone gets a friendly first answer, then nothing when they go quiet. People get busy. One message is easy to miss.
- The handover. An enquiry gets passed from one person to another, and the prospect ends up explaining themselves all over again.
None of this is about clever technology. It's about process.
A quick check you can do this week
You don't need new software to find out where you stand. Try this:
- Mystery shop yourself. Ring, fill in your web form and send an email, as if you were a new member. Note how long each one takes to get a reply, and what the reply actually says.
- Count the follow-ups. Look at your most recent enquiries. How many got a second message when they didn't reply to the first?
- Check the handover. When an enquiry moves between people, are the details passed on, or does the prospect have to start again?
- Look at the booking step. How easy is it to go from "I'm interested" to a booked visit, taster session or class? Count the messages it takes.
Write down what you find. That list is worth more than any headline.
Keep a human in the loop
Automation should take the repetitive work off your plate. It shouldn't replace the personal touch your members value.
A good setup is clear about where the software stops and people start. Routine follow-ups stop depending on someone remembering them. Anything outside the answers you have approved goes to a person, with the details captured, so your team repeats themselves less.
You stay in charge of the tone, the offers and the decisions. The system's job is to stop follow-ups depending on memory.
How we approach it at Omnirexis
At Omnirexis, we build follow-ups for enquiries that come in by phone, web form or email, set up around the tools you already use. Where your calendar allows it, interested people can move straight on to booking without the back and forth.
You can read more about lead follow-up automation and how it works for gyms and studios.
So, AI or SI?
Call it what you like. Governments can argue about the name.
For your business, the question is simpler. When someone asks about joining, does anyone get back to them? Do they get a follow-up if they go quiet? And does it end in a booking?
If you'd like a second pair of eyes on where enquiries might be slipping through at your gym or studio, book a free 30-minute call. Or email us at hello@omnirexis.co.uk.