AI is everywhere right now. Every boardroom, every tech roadmap, every strategy deck. But here’s the reality most leaders don’t want to admit: a lot of AI projects are not delivering value.
The problem isn’t the technology. It’s where and how it’s being used.
Too often, AI gets rolled out in isolation. One department runs a pilot. Another team experiments with a tool. A chatbot gets launched. And after a few months, people wonder why nothing changed.
The answer is simple: if AI isn't embedded in your core business processes, it won’t move the needle.
Processes are where your business happens. It’s where decisions get made, money moves, customers are served, and risks are managed. This is where AI should be working — not sitting on the edge waiting to be called.
To drive real impact, AI needs to be inside the workflows that matter most. It needs context, structure, and continuous access to the data that fuels your operations. That’s how you go from a promising pilot to actual transformation.
If you're serious about making AI work, here’s where to focus:
Start with your most critical workstreams. Where are the biggest bottlenecks, costs, or missed opportunities?
Look at how decisions are made. Where could AI speed things up, improve accuracy, or free up human capacity?
Ensure AI is working with real-time, high-quality data.
Build governance into the process. Make sure there’s oversight, transparency, and accountability.
Track results, measure outcomes, and scale what works.
This isn’t about layering AI on top of broken systems. It’s about using AI to optimise what’s already in motion — and doing it in a way that ties directly to your business goals.
The future of AI in business isn’t about more tools. It’s about smarter, tighter integration into the operations that keep the business running.
If it doesn’t sit inside the process, it won’t scale. If it doesn’t scale, it won’t deliver impact.
