At this stage, it’s clear that to achieve our goals, we need a strong AI strategy.
This plan will move the organization forward and define how we adopt this technology to reach our objectives with the most potential in mind.
So the question is not if, it is how.
How do we build an AI strategy?
Building an AI strategy is a top-down approach.
You start by envisioning what you wish to achieve and work backwards. The only way to reach any destination is by holding a clear picture in your mind of where you want to go.
Even though I can’t provide all the exact details of how it will look specifically within your organization, an AI strategy should achieve three things:
Excitement: Onboarding AI into the business should generate excitement. We need to be excited about the changes it will bring and the improvements to our working day.
Cooperation: Everyone needs to support our AI strategy for it to succeed, just like in any plan. In an AI strategy, it’s even more important for AI’s success. Everyone needs to work together with AI openly and engage with it without fear, train it, and act upon its suggestions.
Problem-solving: Every AI adoption should solve a problem within our working environment. It could be upgrading a process or offering a new internal or external service that wasn’t an option before.
Now we can start working on the supporting details of these three goals and see how everything fits into place and builds upon each other.
How to build team excitement for AI onboarding
Building team excitement for having AI on board can be done by doing two things: providing information and creating a vision.
Information – We need to introduce AI to the team by training them on the concept of what AI is as a technology. They need to see AI beyond its features, functions, and promises of productivity. This will help them understand what can truly be achieved with AI and reduce fears.
Vision – Armed with the right information, you can shape a concept around what AI is. Now you can work with your people to envision new things by asking the question: What do we wish to create? It could be a new service, a new product, or a new working environment that wasn’t an option before.
How to identify the problem that needs to be addressed?
Now that you have a vision, you can start to look at the process, activities or services that need to changed or created new in order to create the vision and make it a day to day reality.
The problems are the missing pieces within a process or an activity that will be fulfilled by onboarding (buying or building) AI technology to fill the gaps.
Defining the problems that needs to be addressed with the use of AI technology will define the KPIs for success and it is important to do this before selecting any vendor, as it will guide your decision on whether to build or buy and help with vendor selection.
Why Cooperation?
Cooperation is crucial for any strategic plan to succeed.
Just like a whole village working together to accomplish a goal, everyone’s cooperation is needed for the plan to be carried out successfully and achieve the goals.
When it comes to developing an AI strategy, cooperation is especially important.
The nature of AI technology is collaborative, meaning it works best when people and AI systems work together. So, for our AI strategy to have the best chance of success, we need everyone in our organization to collaborate and support it.
Luckily, everyone in our organization is already on board.
They’ve been trained and have took part in creating a new vision and know exactly how it will improve there day to day.
Now we can roll up our sleeves and get to the details of what needs to be addressed.
How to build an AI strategy: Checklist
Identify Use Cases
Identify potential AI use cases that align with your objectives. Prioritize use cases based on their potential impact and feasibility for implementation. Consider both short-term wins and long-term strategic initiatives.
New Roles and Responsibilities
After selecting the use case, everyone connected to the use case needs to have new roles and responsibilities to avoid confusion over responsibilities. It’s important to have a clear understanding of what each person needs to do, what AI will do, and how we are collectively working towards achieving our vision. Practically, this means that the day-to-day tasks of people working with AI will change. This is a critical part of the process because it provides a practical way to gauge if we are on the right track and ensuring that we are not disrupting any part of our company’s operation or service level.
This assessment should occur before any investment is made, even if it is a step-by-step program that will happen in stages. This approach helps to ensure that roles are defined, responsibilities are clear, and expectations are aligned with the organization’s goals and vision for AI implementation.
Data Strategy
Develop a robust data strategy to ensure that you have the right data for AI applications. Define data governance practices, data acquisition methods, data quality standards, and data storage solutions needed to support AI initiatives.
Technology Selection
Choose the appropriate AI tools and technologies based on your use cases and data strategy. Consider technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotic process automation.
Build or Buy Decision
Decide whether to build AI capabilities in-house or leverage external vendors and platforms. Evaluate the trade-offs between building custom solutions and using pre-built AI services.
Implementation Plan
Develop a detailed implementation plan that outlines the steps, timelines, and resources required to deploy AI solutions. Define key milestones, success criteria, and responsible stakeholders.
Ethical Considerations
Address ethical and regulatory considerations associated with AI implementation, such as data privacy, bias mitigation, transparency, and accountability.
Change Management
Plan for change management and organizational readiness. Educate and train employees on AI technologies, and communicate the benefits and impacts of AI adoption within the organization.
Continuous Improvement
Establish mechanisms for continuous monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of AI applications. Implement feedback loops to incorporate insights and adapt AI strategies based on performance metrics and user feedback.
In conclusion, creating a successful AI strategy involves aligning organizational goals with the transformative potential of AI technology.
By focusing on generating excitement, fostering cooperation, and addressing specific problems, organizations can leverage AI effectively to achieve their objectives.
It’s crucial to view AI as a collaborator and essential team member, not as a tool. Clear communication, well-defined roles, and a structured plan that includes data strategy, technology selection, and ethical considerations are vital for successful AI onboarding.
The path to onboard AI into business operations is dynamic and iterative.
Organizations must remain adaptable, continuously learning, and open to refining their strategies based on real-world outcomes and evolving technologies.
By embracing AI as a new resource for real-world challenges and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation, organizations can unlock AI’s full potential to drive growth, enhance efficiency, and deliver meaningful value to stakeholders and customers alike that can actually scale as AI technology continues to evolve.
Leveraging AI for Business Growth – Example
The example provided illustrates that the foundational framework and objectives of an AI strategy remain consistent across various organizations. However, the key to successful implementation lies in tailoring the specific details to address each organization’s unique needs and challenges.
As the representative of your organization, you are the expert in adapting these ideas to maximize their effectiveness for your specific circumstances.
The example below demonstrates that while the framework remains the same, the details within it can vary significantly based on the organization’s requirements.
Company Overview:
Tech Innovations Inc. is a technology company specializing in innovative software solutions for businesses. We develop and sell a range of software products aimed at optimizing operations, improving customer experiences, and driving business growth.
Example AI Strategy Implementation:
Introduction: Recognizing the vast opportunities AI offers, our company has decided to integrate AI into our operations to explore new business avenues and enhance existing processes.
Information: In this example, the company’s decision to use AI was based on preexisting knowledge. We then provided training and workshops on the behavioral and business aspects of leveraging AI.
Training Delivery:
- Workshops: Interactive sessions conducted by AI experts to facilitate hands-on learning of the human impact when working alongside AI.
- Online Courses: Accessible resources and e-learning modules covering AI fundamentals and behavioral aspects.
- Guest Speakers: Inspirational speakers sharing insights on the future of AI.
Vision: Encourage employees to envision new possibilities with AI. Facilitate brainstorming sessions and innovation workshops where teams can collaborate and generate ideas for AI-driven services and process improvements.
Selected Vision: New AI-driven Customer Journey Identify key areas where AI can add value, such as customer scoring, engagement, communication, website optimization, customer service, teaching support, and more.
Decisions: Within the broader vision of a new AI customer experience, we decided to focus on tech support by implementing an AI chatbot to provide first-level support.
Identify Use Cases: Evaluate the current process of providing first-level support. Prioritize the most established, well-documented, and widely encountered use cases that the organization deals with frequently. These use cases will be the first ones considered for bot responsibilities.
Reorganization – New Rules and Responsibilities: Job Description Adjustment for AI Onboarding – Support Representative Overview: As a Support Representative, you will play a critical role in ensuring excellent customer service and technical support for our products. You will be responsible for addressing customer inquiries, troubleshooting issues, providing timely resolutions, and overseeing our AI chatbot providing first-level support to enhance overall customer satisfaction.
Key Responsibilities:
- Respond to customer inquiries via phone, email, or chat in a professional and timely manner.
- Support our AI chatbot by overseeing the answers it provides, escalating issues if needed, and documenting data to facilitate its continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with our AI strategy team by providing information, feedback, and new suggestions to enhance and support the growth and evaluation of our AI chatbot within our company.
Data Strategy: After selecting the use cases, we can start working on our data strategy:
- Collect all documented responses the chatbot will provide based on the selected use cases.
- Review and improve content for user-friendliness, including screenshots and other means.
- Define a process for customer feedback loops to gather new data and improve existing information.
- Ensure that all information provided by the chatbot does not contain sensitive customer or internal company information.
KPI (Key Performance Indicators): Define success metrics. For example, reduce response time by 50% from 10 minutes to 5 minutes.
Technology Selection:
Based on use cases, data, and KPIs, select technologies that:
- Support data structure.
- Provide NLP algorithms to support natural customer conversation experiences.
- Ensure fast processing, infrastructure, and language support.
Build or Buy Decision: The company has decided to build AI capabilities in-house to maintain control and customization over customer support solutions.
Ethical Considerations: Address data privacy, bias mitigation, and transparency to ensure ethical AI implementation in customer support operations.
Change Management:
Develop a change management process to support in-house development and address changing needs.
Continuous Improvement:
Implement a change management plan to facilitate smooth adoption of AI technologies within the organization.
Provide ongoing training and support to employees and communicate the benefits and impacts of AI adoption transparently.
Establish mechanisms for continuous monitoring and evaluation of AI applications.
Implement customer feedback loop and NPS to support our non human employee, AI. continuance support and evolution to be able to provide on going amazing customer expiriance.
Measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as accuracy, efficiency, and user satisfaction to assess the impact of AI initiatives and identify areas for improvement.
My Thoughts:
AI is a new team member integrating to our company with any AI strategy, whether it’s implementing ChatGPT to assist employees or deploying a new AI customer engagement solution.
Thinking of AI as a new employee helps us address common reasons why AI strategies fail, that are challenges with data management and job security.
When we look beyond the technical aspects of bringing in a new system, we realize we’re part of a significant moment in human history—the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Our AI strategy plan connects directly to the larger narrative of transforming your organization permanently.
Even if vendors change, plans evolve, and roles shift, one thing is clear: AI technology is here to stay.
You’re now writing the first chapter of your organization’s revolution—the first step toward joining the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
What better way than being part of the first chapter of collaboration between humans and AI, working together to achieve business goals?
This isn’t like previous industrial revolutions because AI mimics human cognitive abilities; it’s not just a robot.
You interact with AI every day. And don’t worry, it’s not going to turn against us—I want to assure you of that.
The success of this plan hinges on human collaboration with AI technology.
AI technology can’t do it alone, and you’re setting the tone right now. Collaboration is key for scalability and ongoing success built upon this AI strategy plan you are writing.
I understand this isn’t a traditional viewpoint, and getting excited about AI isn’t a neutral feeling.
I’m here to help. Let’s discuss how we can create something innovative and beneficial for your organization.
