AI adoption is a race. The starting pistol has been fired but many organisations are still standing in the blocks. Before business leaders take off at a sprint, there is one thing they must do first.
Around half the global business leaders surveyed recently for the EY CEO Outlook Pulse said investing in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) to improve growth and productivity, was a top priority over the next 12 months.
That begs an obvious question: What is the other half doing?
The speed at which businesses can be disrupted today is truly staggering. Consider real estate, where AI-powered tools can replicate entire sales platforms and online marketplaces overnight. Consider media, which was already at the forefront of digital transformation, and which now has content for ads, images, voiceovers, games and films all poised for further disruption as generative AI (GenAI) accelerates its capability. Or publishing, where AI-generated content can churn out copy in the blink of an eye.
But as business leaders begin to recognise the need for speed, they are jumping straight to use cases. They are looking to develop products and services without having a clear strategy.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how history repeats. We know the consequence of proceeding without a plan because we’ve been there before. My first job, fresh out of university, was as a database administrator. Data was scattered everywhere – across countless disparate databases and isolated data marts and warehouses – analysis was a daunting, if not impossible, task.
Many companies have spent millions of dollars and years of effort untangling the mess of siloed data and duplicate systems that we created over two decades. They’re benefiting from the move away from small, centralised databases to expansive cloud data platforms, or data fabrics. Now, just as we begin to reap the rewards of unified data platforms, we risk of repeating the same mistake with AI – it seems every vendor is releasing AI embedded platforms, products and processes, possibly perpetuating the fragmentation of AI within organisations.
A well-defined plan and execution strategy for AI adoption is, therefore, mission critical. This plan needs to be nimble, agile and pragmatic – and its development needs to start today. As you begin, there are three things to consider:
1. Embrace the responsibility, don’t relegate it to the IT team:
AI is a core enabler of business growth, efficiency and innovation. But many business leaders still see AI as “someone else’s problem”. Market dynamics are being disrupted by it and customer expectations are elevated by it. Business decision-making depends on it – and that means business leaders must understand it.
2. Think cultural change, not technological change:
Anyone using a computer will need to adopt AI, but unless they are forced to use it, they’ll forget it is there. Adopting AI is, therefore, not a technology innovation challenge, but a change management one. The secret is to communicate how people can use AI on a day-to-day basis to achieve better outcomes. Foster a sense of ownership by demonstrating how new tools can aid productivity and enhance career growth, rather than disrupt existing processes.
3. Focus on business value optimisation, not originality:
Instead, of using AI for AI’s sake, or trying to be too original, pinpoint the opportunities within your own organisation that will have the biggest impact. Start with the pain points that, if resolved, would deliver the biggest benefits to revenue growth, cost savings, profit margins or the productivity of people. And remember, it’s not about doing bad stuff faster. It’s about thinking about how to do things better or in new ways.
4. Find your source of competitive advantage:
Again, history repeats. While many companies hurtle ahead with use cases, the advent of the steam engine is instructive. Not every company that thrived in the age of steam did the same thing. Some companies developed new machinery, others built factories or laid down railroad tracks. Think carefully about the adjacent opportunities that could help your company use AI to create competitive advantage.
While a plan is mission critical, no business can afford to spend six months developing a strategy. Being a first follower means being six months to a year behind your competition. Meanwhile the trailblazers are testing, making mistakes, and getting, better, stronger, faster.
EY message? Don't just rush to the finish line; race to develop the plan first to ensure you sprint ahead with purpose.
***
