Rapid detection and rapid response (RDRR) has been seen to be critical to managing invasive species, to ensure invasions are dealt with as quickly as possible, in order to minimize economic and environmental costs. Formerly most detection was carried out by expert surveyors (e.g., botanists), but more recently citizen scientists have also been providing valuable input in the process. At the same time, there has been a recent surge in the development artificial intelligence (AI) tools to aid in the surveillance and processing of the data, including mapping to predict potential ranges. We need to ask some critical questions on how these tools work, and how users, especially citizen scientists can make best use of them. The ideal RDRR strategy must be one of “rapid detection and intelligent response.”