Introduction
Originally written by Techify CEO Brendan Howe for Forbes Technology Council. View original post here.
In the two years since ChatGPT emerged, we have learned a lot about the AI opportunity and have seen some big mistakes in rolling it out for business use.
Like any new technology, there are a few camps we have seen. Early adopters have jumped right in, and some are doing amazing things with generative AI. Others have dipped their toes in the water but are struggling to see the business value. And many are worried about security concerns, leading them to hold off entirely.
While there are many options available, most SMB executives looking to leverage generative AI to improve their business have turned to ChatGPT or Microsoft’s Copilot. Other options, like Google Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, have emerged but are playing catchup, or in the case of options like Perplexity, are focused more on a specific benefit like research.
Mistakes in AI Rollouts
In the rush to implement AI, mistakes have been made. But there is a lot we can learn from these rollout errors.
Samsung executives probably weren’t too impressed when employees put proprietary code into a ChatGPT chat session and inadvertently made that code available to everyone because of the service’s learning mode.
Many business owners have pumped the brakes on AI rollouts but subsequently found out 75% of their staff are quietly using generative AI. This shadow IT approach is being done without rules or direction, mainly by people very new to using this technology.
While some businesses are rolling out Microsoft Copilot, they are struggling to see the value. That is often because there is no adoption plan for it and no user training. They haven’t identified a success team or an AI council or identified resources to support their staff.
A Roadmap for AI Success
If you’re looking to implement AI within your business, here are eight ways to improve your rollout:
1. Have a plan. Seems obvious, right? Yet, many don’t have a plan and simply activate some licenses and essentially tell their team, “We are with you win or tie.” Build an AI roadmap that incorporates the elements below.
2. Pick your platform. If you want accessible and easy-to-use, you may want to look at ChatGPT. If you have confidentiality concerns and want to integrate with work in Microsoft Office applications, consider a tool like Microsoft Copilot.
3. Review your data security. Have your IT team or company perform a technical review of cybersecurity policies and data locations to determine what steps you need to take to ensure that your data interacts securely with AI.
4. Create an AI council. This is a leadership group of executives, IT and operations people who will guide the implementation of AI. This group should meet at least quarterly.
5. Identify an AI success team. While they may not necessarily be the most technical people in the office, these employees will be your champions, your power users and the folks who are most excited about AI. This team should meet monthly.
6. Create governance and acceptable use policies. Be clear with your team about what is allowed and not allowed within your company. For example, some businesses are banning ChatGPT over security concerns and using Microsoft Copilot instead.
7. Brainstorm use cases. Pull your team together to brainstorm all the different areas of your operation where AI could help. Once you have that list, you can start implementing some quick wins.
8. Share successes. Have your team share key use cases where they have saved time and/or served customers better utilizing AI.
Implementing AI is hard because you are asking people to work differently than they have ever worked before. Look at this as a cultural change in your company.
If you want to be superpowered by AI, it will mean including AI in everything you do, from your strategic plans to hiring to day-to-day work. Implementing it effectively is a huge leadership challenge.
Are you up for it?
