The divergent effects between high and low performers stem from applying AI to fundamentally different problem types: low performers focus on problems of competition and survival (e.g., 'my business is facing drastic change and incurring losses'), while high performers focus on problems of growth (e.g., 'I have capital to expand to a new location'). The AI provides useful tactical advice for growth problems but provides unhelpful generic advice (like 'go get financing') for survival problems, causing low performers to become discouraged and make fewer business changes than the control group.