Meaningful implementation is key to delivering on AI’s promise

Recent research from McKinsey & Company reveals that only 1% of C-suite executives believe that AI integration is at a ‘mature’ stage of integration and delivering real business value. 80% of surveyed organisations had yet to see a meaningful boost in earnings (EBIT), highlighting that the challenge isn’t necessarily in deploying AI tools, but using them effectively.

AI-driven innovation is a key component to keeping your business agile and competitive in modern industry landscapes. However, investing without a clear strategy often leads to wasted resources and minimal impact on operations.

Due to its significance in heralding the next era of the digital workforce, AI isn’t something you can ignore. Smart implementation is critical, and business leaders need guidance to tap into its full potential for their organisation. It’s only through a structured, value-led approach that businesses can explore AI integrations in the most impactful way.

It’s no secret that AI has great potential in helping transform businesses. From streamlining operations and sharpening decision-making to driving business growth, its capabilities in business process improvements and delivering powerful insights help organisations innovate faster and stay ahead of business needs.

AI tools themselves are evolving rapidly, becoming smarter and more impactful to allow businesses to operate with greater precision and efficiency. Consumer targeting in particular is more powerful than ever, as businesses can focus on individuals with hyper-relevant content for that much greater competitive edge. C-suite executives are finally capitalising on their available data lakes, transforming siloed data into groundbreaking products through AI-driven innovation.

Business leaders are therefore focusing on integrating AI into strategy, even using AI as the basis for transformation, investing in key technologies and driving a data-driven culture. Yet it is clear that when it comes to building a strategy for implementation, C-suite decision makers are failing their business by underestimating and miscalculating the steps needed to make the most out of their newly bought tools.

While all businesses are at different stages with AI, organisations need clear goals and expert assessments to understand their internal technology capabilities.

Businesses will all be at different stages in their AI journeys. But whether they are just starting or scaling existing systems, realistic expectations and milestones are needed to ensure meaningful, effective progress. Business leaders need practical, expert-led assessments of their internal capabilities; many CIOs don’t have the visibility needed to make effective decisions regarding AI, as they don’t know what their technology stack can handle.

Ensuring AI adoption is smooth requires both an understanding of what technology best complements your data and also that your operational teams have the training needed to fully leverage new technologies and processes. In this, your onboarded solution can give a more competitive advantage, ultimately leading to other benefits like enhanced customer experience, based on what will help their specific journey – optimised supply chain delivery needs, and greater risk mitigation.

Ensure that the AI solution is tailored – your AI solution shouldn’t look the same as everyone else’s, as your business doesn’t look the same. Seeking a partner that knows your business needs and can execute a tailored campaign provides greater value than a generic approach.

Investing in AI without a clear strategy can lead to wasted resources and minimal impact. Instead, utilise a framework that looks at your specific business goals and evaluating the best AI initiative provides maximum impact to driving business growth, improving efficiency and creating a competitive edge. The key is strategic alignment, data readiness and phased implementation.