Solving not selling: what AI needs to do better

How a simple mindset shift paves the way for AI success 

We are at a point where AI is a lot like the Internet was in the 1990s – everyone sees a huge change coming, but nobody knows exactly what it will look like. Understandably, business leaders do not want to be left behind, but it’s still all too easy to ‘do AI wrong’, and blindly chase the new shiny thing rather than think carefully about how the technology can deliver for your organisation. A report from MIT’s NANDA initiative earlier this year suggested that up to 95% of AI projects are failing. The issue doesn’t lie with AI technology itself, but rather with the way it is being implemented. The mistake that businesses are making, over and over again, is starting with AI, rather than with real business problems.  

It’s easy to see how people can be sucked into the hype. Everyone is talking about AI and AI agents, and a lot of that discussion focuses on the tech itself, rather than the impact it has on  organisations. It’s only natural to think, ‘Hey I just heard about this new tech – how can I apply it?’ But it’s a trap. What businesses actually need is a practical, problem-first approach, and to focus on what AI can deliver, rather than use AI for AI’s sake.  

What AI can deliver 

AI and automation does not just save time, or cut down on unnecessary tasks. When used carefully, AI and automation can deliver improved agility in a changing market, enabling businesses to adapt quickly to dynamic environments, whether that environment is internal or external.  

That’s the real value proposition of AI and automation. When combined, they enable a transformation across your business. It can be used to equip your people with the right tools for collaboration and first class execution, enabling quality work within teams and better collaboration across the organisation.  

Taking advantage of AI 

So how can businesses truly take advantage of AI and automation and avoid the pitfalls of the AI hype? The first step is to take  a look at your organisation’s problems and see how AI and automation can help overcome them . As an example, a leading auto services company had a familiar business problem where service teams in dealerships faced an overwhelming number of calls from clients, which left them struggling to support customers. As delays  crept in and frustration grew It was clear change was needed.  

Leaders within the company identified the need to manage customer communications in a smarter way and created a two-way messaging process powered by AI and automation. The system incorporated sentiment analysis to understand the tone and intent behind every message. Over 12 months, it automatically analysed 47,000 messages and closed 18,000 of them as “no action required.” When a manual response was needed, the AI alerted the right teams instantly, identifying subtle nuances in customer communication that would have otherwise been missed. By automating message analysis, service teams saved the equivalent of five working days that would have been spent manually reviewing messages. That time was redirected towards helping customers and improving service quality, boosting the all-important Net Promoter Score (NPS) in the process.  

The most amazing part? This transformation wasn’t led by engineers. It was driven by everyday team members who used accessible AI and automation tools to solve real business problems. That’s the power of using the right technology, with no code platforms, AI and automation are no longer just for technical experts, but for everyone.

The right approach 

It’s clear that AI can unlock the power within organisations to unleash their creativity, do more and drive meaningful results for the whole business. What is crucial is to get that technology into the hands of the right people: the people on the business front line, who want to really change things. That means it’s not simply about ‘buying in’ on some AI capability, but about ensuring that technology is presented in a clear, simple visual way which the creative people at your organisation can easily understand.  

Visual low-code and no-code approaches where non-technical users can see an overview of how technology is being used within a business are incredibly powerful, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence. AI can bring complexity at the same time as it brings possibilities, and a visual, no-code or low-code approach to automation can simplify this and give leaders an understandable and immersive way to see the efficiencies AI drives across their organisation. Clarity around how AI is being used in workflows enables leaders to orchestrate thoughtfully and experiment quickly, driving real results.  

Driving results 

At this stage in the AI era, the pitfalls of adopting ‘AI for AI’s sake’ remains a very real risk for organisations. Business leaders need to have a mindset shift around AI, and avoid being tempted by shiny technology and instead focus on business value, and how technology can improve their real day-to-day processes. By adding this clarity and purpose to AI adoption, business leaders can empower their employees to drive real change through clear, visual approaches and purpose-driven design. This is the pathway to real AI success.