Here Are The Simple Steps You Need For AI Integration

If 2023 was the year of AI experimentation, 2024 will be the year of AI transformation. Instead of individuals playing with AI tools to create an image of a monkey riding a zebra on the moon, this year more and more companies will learn how to use AI to transform how they operate.

So where do you begin? Something like 9,700 new AIs launched last year; even 10 percent of that number would make your head spin. The AI gold rush shows no signs of slowing down. Below I outline some of the standard best practices to follow when adopting AI within your organization.

Understanding AI Capabilities

Before adopting AI within your organization, your first step is to learn about available AI tools. Most people don’t realize what AI can do. They just hear news story soundbites. Too many people are leaning on generative AI as just a writing tool, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a research tool. It can write basic code. It can generate whiteboards as charts. All those kinds of opportunities are out there. With developing technology like AI, you don’t know what you don’t know.

I implore people to use searchable websites to understand existing AI tools. Search for AI tools related to your business. Explore how AI is already being used within your industry. Research how other companies use AI. Identify AI that may help you. You’ll never know what’s possible without your own research.

Transforming Your Organization with AI

Your second step to successfully adopting AI is to identify processes where AI can potentially streamline work without mitigating the human factor. Where might you be able to interrupt, shift, and change work using AI? Look for opportunities to improve efficiency, save costs, generate revenue, automate repetitive tasks, or redistribute resources.

I caution leaders against jumping at ways to use AI to replace employees. AI still requires human strategy upfront, along with an understanding of the situation you’re walking into and the challenges you’re trying to solve with the AI. Implementing AI requires human analysis throughout the entire process—and particularly after execution. It’s a continuing process; there’s no finish line on analysis because, ideally, your AI is going to continually tell you what you should do next.

For example, a mobile app AI like LighthousePE doesn’t replace your marketing team; it doesn’t even replace the core functions of your mobile app. Rather, it allows you to communicate with customers based on their personal motivations. It’s a tool to get better behavioral analytics in a predictive and customized way. Think of AI not as a way to supplant the work being done but rather as a way to complement and enrich work.

Implementing Your AI Strategy

Perhaps the most complicated part of adopting AI is implementation. I’ve seen confusion inside organizations about what should be implemented, who controls the budget, and who makes the final decision. Navigating internal friction can be daunting, especially when so many areas are invested.

A frequent struggle is the desire to write your own AI versus implementing an existing AI. I caution most people against writing your own AI at this stage. There’s a huge difference between pulling something off the shelf and trying to build it yourself. Even though it’s getting easier, writing an AI is hard. Too many people are writing AIs simply because they can—without a real strategy for how it should be used or adopted—which is probably why we saw nearly 10,000 new AIs created in 2023.

Amid the challenges, my recommendation for implementing AI is universal: Start small. Find one process where you can use AI to improve the quality of your work. Try it for three months on a small scale and measure it. If your employees find it valuable, explore how you can use that AI to change your work process and use it more consistently throughout your organization. Then look for the next opportunity and do the same thing. After you’ve gone through this process three or four times, you’ll find the AI stops being supplemental and starts being transformative.

Embracing Opportunities

In 2024, you’re going to have to make business decisions about AI rather quickly. Not doing so is going to result in missed opportunities, the steepest of which is declining market share.

If you’d like to learn more or discuss how your business can adopt AI, contact me at [email protected] or book a time to speak with me.