Generative artificial intelligence (AI) won’t fix everything—and many projects miss the mark. In this quick Byte, Lisa Anderson explains why leaders should resist blanket rollouts, choose one well-scoped use case, and engage the people who do the work so AI boosts productivity instead of creating noise.

According to a study by MIT, 95% of generative AI projects fail to deliver significant revenue impact. This staggering statistic caused a stir of panic as it relates to AI. Although this is a high percentage, it isn’t dissimilar to countless ERP statistics where 80% of projects fail to achieve the intended results yet every organization pursues ERP at the “right” time and with the “right” approach. In fact, these sorts of statistics provide a huge opportunity for executives that beat the odds by following a bit of common sense and exhibit strong leadership. 

We recommend that companies start by pursing focused projects to gain quick wins, engage the team, and accelerate momentum. For example, significant results can be achieved by automating sales order entry processes, performing simple research to speed up your people, rolling out predictive maintenance programs and using sales forecasting tools. Forward-thinking organizations are pursuing simple AI tools as a part of SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning) processes to proactively align demand and supply in a manner that drives service, profitability and cash flow. This allows companies to build on success and strengthen results. 

It is also vital to engage and empower your team. You must involve them in the process, educate them on what’s possible and how they relate to the future vision, and develop their capabilities to work with AI. If you roll out AI and get rid of your people, that is a guaranteed way to get into the 95% failure bucket. Instead, leaders that team AI with people in a way that achieves 1+1 = 222 will surpass the competition and deliver dramatic results. Scalability, profitability, customer service and speeding up decision-making are just a few of the results that you’ll gain.

Will you fight AI and become part of the 95% or collaborate with AI in a smart way and engage your team for exponential success?

If you are interested in reading more on this topic:
AI Action Plan Springboards into Flight: Implications for Manufacturing and Supply Chain