It’s no secret that AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing the world as we know it. Even before generative AI innovations like ChatGPT emerged to help transform sales teams and boost productivity, AI was already beginning to influence day-to-day processes.
For years, we’ve used intelligent tools to analyze data, communicate with customers, enhance business security, and analyze competitors. However, while many professionals have been quick to recognize the benefits of AI innovation the C-Suite has often lagged behind.
It’s time to reassess what artificial intelligence means to the executives and business leaders of today and tomorrow, and begin building a plan for successful adoption.
The Importance of AI for C-Level Executives
Corporate investment in artificial intelligence is increasing every year. According to some industry analysts, like Goldman Sachs, corporations could be spending over $200 billion on this technology by 2025. In recent years, AI has evolved from a unique way to augment and enhance business processes, into a strategic necessity for many organizations.
Artificial Intelligence is now a multi-faceted concept that affects the performance and results achieved by C-Level executives in a host of different ways. Artificial intelligence tools can help executives automate crucial, but repetitive tasks, such as forecasting staffing requirements, and filtering through job candidates. It can help generate training and development initiatives for teams, and assist companies in delivering personalized and timely customer experiences.
Perhaps most importantly, AI has a direct impact on how business leaders make decisions. Digital transformation has led to a rapid increase in the volume of data companies can access when making strategic choices. This might seem like a positive development, but increased data also means increased complexity.
According to a survey of more than 1,000 C-suite executives, the most common barrier to business progress is the inability to make decisions due to “overwhelming amounts of data”. AI presents a solution to this problem. With the ability to assess, classify, and draw insights from huge volumes of data at speed, AI gives c-suite executives the insights they need to make choices based on valuable information, rather than “gut instinct” alone.
The Growing Need for AI in the C-Suite
While the ability to use and manage data in decision-making is one of the core reasons AI is so important to the C-suite, there are other benefits to adoption too. All forms of artificial intelligence can assist executives in unlocking new levels of innovation, and retaining a competitive edge.
However, some, newer technologies are becoming particularly appealing to business leaders. For instance, according to a survey of more than 2,300 C-Suite executives, 97% believe generative AI will be a game-changing technology for their company and industry.
Though frequently associated with the automation of creative tasks, such as generating content or responding to customer queries, generative AI has the power to fundamentally change how businesses operate. It can help companies innovate faster than ever, with insights and ideas that inspire and drive company growth. Tools like ChatGPT even have the potential to make employees more productive, helping them with everything from prospecting to customer service.
Failure to adopt AI on a broad scale means C-suite executives can’t take advantage of the benefits that newer AI solutions can offer. More importantly, they risk falling behind the 44% of companies already making major investments in intelligent tools.
Why C-Suite Executives Still Don’t Trust AI
So if AI is so crucial to C-Suite executives, and so beneficial to the growth and success of businesses in any industry, why is adoption still lagging? One answer could be that, like many other employees, business leaders are frightened of the potential AI has to make their roles redundant.
If AI solutions can streamline decision making and assist with strategy development on a massive scale, then C-suite executives automatically lose some of their value. However, AI won’t be the end of leadership, but it will change what is required to be a successful leader.
C-suite executives will need to learn how to use AI to enhance their strategic initiatives, and guide companies more effectively. The demand for leaders with a high level of “gut instinct” will begin to dwindle, as intuition is augmented by additional access to data.
Another reason C-Suite executives may be resistant to AI technology, is that they simply don’t trust the ability of machines to make decisions and analyze data effectively. AI has been adopted on a massive scale for various low-level decision making processes, such as credit scoring and offering product recommendations to customers.
However, the potential of the technology has yet to be fully proven for high-level strategic decisions, such as creating new product lines, re-allocating human resources, and changing corporate strategies. As such, around 67% of executives say they’re not comfortably relying entirely on data from advanced analytics to help them make decisions. Additionally, 67% of executives also say they prefer to make decisions based on their own institution.
Implementing AI: Considerations for the C-Suite
Embracing the evolving world of artificial intelligence, and the benefits it can offer doesn’t mean executives have to ignore their own intuition or expertise. Indeed, many experts championing the potential of AI still believe it’s crucial to keep the “human in the loop” for high-level decision making.
AI algorithms aren’t likely to replace humans at the top of the organizational chart, but they do have the opportunity to augment and enhance the C-level executives responsible for leading business growth. By embracing an AI-enabled C-Suite, companies can combine gut instincts and experience, with powerful data analytics, insights, and automation, to unlock new levels of opportunity.
Executives can use artificial intelligence to collect the data they need to make strategic decisions rapidly, and validate their ideas before implementing them. However, like any transformational strategy, the decision to implement AI initiatives comes with some key considerations to address.
Notably, executives and business leaders will need to think about:
- Workflow disruptions: While AI has the power to significantly improve the efficiency of business processes, it will cause disruption. This disruption may be positive in the long-term, but effective change management and planning will be important to minimize risks.
- Company culture: AI can’t successfully transform business processes unless employees throughout all levels of the business are willing to adopt it, and experiment with new tools. Leaders who have created a culture of innovation are more likely to be ready to adopt new solutions effectively. However, those with a risk-averse culture may encounter more hurdles.
- Regulatory issues: AI, like many technologies comes with risks. The rise of generative AI alone has created a host of concerns about intellectual property protection and data privacy. Business leaders will need to ensure they have the right governance strategies and policies in place to protect their business, employees, and data from the dangers of AI tools.
How C-Level Executives Can Strategically Implement AI
Successfully embedding AI into the enterprise can be more complex than it seems. Even if executives and business leaders can overcome their fears of AI technology, they still need to ensure they have a clear roadmap in place for integrating this technology into business processes.
To minimize the risk of negative disruption, executives will need to:
- Define clear objections: Like any form of technology, AI in the business landscape should serve a specific purpose. Executives need to carefully audit their existing processes and workflows, to identify the specific problems that AI can address. From there, they can begin to set measurable goals for their AI initiatives.
- Develop an AI roadmap: AI can influence virtually every business process and workflow, but most companies won’t want to transform their entire landscape at once. Creating a roadmap outlining the steps and milestones required for AI implementation will allow companies to prioritize use cases based on their feasibility and potential impact.
- Foster collaboration: To ensure the successful implementation of artificial intelligence, business leaders will need to establish cross-functional teams designed to drive AI adoption. These teams may comprise of data scientists, domain experts, IT professionals, and everyday employees, all working together to drive the same results.
- Invest in talent: Business leaders will need to ensure they have the right talent within their teams to enable AI innovation. Recruiting and training AI experts capable of developing and deploying crucial AI models will be essential. Additionally, business leaders will need to introduce ongoing training programs to upskill existing employees.
- Embrace change: To encourage adoption of AI technologies, business leaders also need to be able to adopt and use these solutions themselves. This means investing in your own education as a business leader, and fostering a culture of innovation and continuous learning for teams.
Paving the Way for AI in the C-Suite: Quick Tips
Artificial Intelligence will have an impact on every level of the modern business, whether C-level executives like it or not. Business leaders can’t afford to hide from or avoid innovation. However, they can ensure they’re taking a strategic approach to AI adoption.
C-suite executives can minimize the problems associated with AI adoption by:
- Seeking genuine value: Don’t just implement AI technologies because they’re new and exciting. Align the implementation of new tools with critical business goals and outcomes. Focus the AI agenda on select projects, and measure results.
- Encouraging experimentation: Creating a culture where employees are encouraged to experiment with new tools and technologies streamlines adoption. Give employees from all environments the freedom to explore and learn about new AI initiatives.
- Prioritizing continuous learning: Investing in the education and development of both C-Suite executives and other team members helps to simplify the path to AI transformation. With the right resources, people are more likely to recognize the benefits of AI technologies, and use them effectively in their workflows.
AI will change the C-Suite. It’s up to today’s business leaders to decide whether the transformation will be positive or negative. Learn more about the technology changing the business landscape, and embrace a culture of continuous learning right here, with the HSE community.
