Why do clients choose your business? Often, it’s your people, those who build customer trust with your products and services, and manage complex problems that make your business better.
It’s rarely because of the tools you use.
And this is one of the misunderstandings about AI. It is a powerful enabler of people, and the businesses that gain a competitive edge are those that are investing in their people as much as their technology.
AI won’t automatically make your company more productive, sell more products or deliver better services, but when strategically applied, it can help achieve business goals.
For many businesses, the missing piece is defining the business outcomes you expect to see from AI, and to bring your people along so they can thrive rather than fear the technology.
Pitcher Partners’ latest Business Radar report has looked at how businesses are using AI to reshape their operations and workforce. Among the findings:
- 42% of respondents say AI has freed up time for more creative or strategic work;
- 40% report faster turnaround times;
- 42% are spending less time on manual or repetitive tasks;
As one survey respondent put it: “(AI has the) ability to do a lot of the difficult tasks in the background so people can focus on client relationships.”
This highlights AI’s current surface level tactical value, which is clearly being well understood – but is it being strategically applied? The data suggests not.
While about one third of businesses have improved or replaced a process with AI and another quarter are openly using the tools, only a further 13% have made it a strategic priority, backed by budgets and plans to scale.
About 12% of respondents are feeling fully prepared to scale adoption, and almost half report being only partially ready, somewhat unprepared or not at all ready.
Without a clear strategic intent, technology risks becoming a mess of disconnected tools that add complexity rather than delivering meaningful business outcomes.
The companies seeing business-changing results are not just buying the latest AI tools, they are empowering their teams to work smarter, think bigger, and deliver more value to customers.
The right signals need to come from the top to empower this strategic thinking. About 64% of respondents suggested that clear leadership is one of the main factors influencing their level of AI readiness.
When the direction is clear, business leaders can assess the appropriate AI tools available that suit the purpose, and set realistic expectations and success measures, which ensures your technology helps your business and delivers value.
Recent conversations have centred on AI and job losses, assessing the threat of AI-powered “agents” replacing people, and what AI will mean for industries as varied as law, music, or sales.
While AI offers opportunity for business, the Productivity Commission has cautioned that the shift will be a painful adjustment for employees, who rightly feel that the technology is a threat.
This is why the conversation about AI cannot be limited to strategy and efficiency – it must also address the human experience of change.
People who feel threatened or unprepared for change are not going to engage or trust leadership decisions, or see themselves as part of the future that is being built.
If AI is positioned to enhance creativity and open new career paths, it becomes less of a threat and more of an opportunity. But this approach can only work if leaders understand where their people add the most value. It’s time for business leaders to flip the script and start talking to their people about AI with purpose, and their role in shaping and executing the strategy.
When you start thinking of AI technology with purpose, as an enabler to make people more effective to achieve a specific goal, then it becomes a strategic investment for lasting growth.
Your team already has the insights, the ability to understand challenges, and the creative problem-solving that has delivered your business to this point, and they are the reason people use your services or buy your products.
AI is a capability-enhancer that makes people more valuable, not less, so focus on your people and bring them with you as you integrate technologies.
Start with the outcomes in mind, decide what you want AI to achieve so it supports strategy, and define the value that only your people can provide.
