2026 is likely to turn out to be a key year for business.
It has now been three years since the Gen AI world exploded. Since then, businesses have been running around with their hair on fire trying to work out what to do with it, so they can show their shareholders how amazing the potential is. But, let’s take a look at what have really seen happen, and if you don’t believe me, ask others who work in a similar role.
- All mouth and no trousers – the noise around what is being done is far louder than what is actually being done.
- Dillusions of grandeur – Investments in AI are all too frequently being underpinned by ‘productivity increases’ that neither sell more, nor save real-world costs.
- Most ‘strategies’ are based on finding problems for AI to solve – it is a form of false-pretense to justify shoehorning AI into a business.
- Burying of heads in the sand – There is a reluctance to have direct conversations about where the ROI and cost savings are going to come from.
This year will be the year that businesses realise that deploying an AI solution and teaching users how to prompt, is nowhere near enough. AI, in all its forms, requires a different type of user to get the best out of it, this will be someone who understands the business, is wholly trusted and has the support to change how processes are executed. It will be someone who is capable of creative and critical thought and someone who the business wants to invest in. It will also be the year that businesses understand that, whilst some employees are steadfast and reliable, they might not be the ones to help define the future.
We will also see CFOs and FDs start to question and challenge the increases in licensing where there is no visible return. A business justifying AI based on ‘we need to be doing it’ or ‘we’ll fall behind’ or even, ‘users are more productive’ will get a sharp awakening this year. Excitement and enthusiasm will only get AI so far, as will will using AI to take minutes or create a document for you.
Once the penny has dropped. Leaders will start to understand that what they have done so far will not build them a business and workforce that is designed for the future. However, with the year of realisation will come many good things; a redesign of the organisation and the redefinition of roles, refreshed OKRs and KPIs, more strategic skilling of employees, an increase in creative thinking, and frameworks or processes that lead towards real, tangible ROIs and cost savings.
There is a lot of work involved and it might seem overkill for a tool that speaks your language, but this is the first tool that operates with a level of intelligence, and that means that we cannot treat it the same way as we do everything else. We need to address this differently, we need to see the cultural change, and with that comes a shift in leadership thinking and behaviour, a change in how the business operates, and a change in mindset about the roles in the business, what they look like, and who is going to fulfill them. Only then will businesses start to really become AI ready, AI first or AI enabled.
