How to implement AI in your business

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming ways of working as profoundly as the advent of computers in the 80s and the internet in the 2000´s. 

Introducing not only new tools, but new habits and attitudes. Technology brought us not a new tool, but an assistant with we can talk to using natural language.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the daily operations of a business can feel like embarking on a grand adventure. AI promises to streamline tasks, provide data-driven insights, and improve decision-making, but like any significant technological shift, it’s not without challenges. These challenges are often cultural, technical, and psychological.

For many organisations, the journey toward adopting AI is filled with resistance, uncertainty, and fear of the unknown. However, with the right change management practices in place, the transition to using AI in daily work can become a transformative journey.

In this article, we’ll explore how change management can help organisations not only overcome the typical hurdles of AI adoption but also embed new cultural values, ensuring that AI becomes a trusted and integral part of the workplace.

To tell this story, we’ll follow "InnoTech Solutions," a fictitious but typical mid-sized company on its journey to adopt AI in its operations. As with any transformational journey, InnoTech faced its trials and tribulations, but through effective change management, it emerged transformed and better aligned with the future of work.

At InnoTech Solutions, the leadership team realized they were falling behind in a competitive market. Competitors were leveraging AI to automate tasks like data analysis, customer service, and inventory management.

Meanwhile, InnoTech’s operations were still largely manual, slow, and error-prone. CEO Luiza saw the potential of AI to optimize processes and improve decision-making. However, the rest of the organisation wasn’t so sure. Employees were comfortable with their existing workflows, and some feared that AI would make their jobs obsolete.

In addition, there was uncertainty about the technology itself—would AI make the right decisions? Could they trust machines to handle tasks that had always been managed by humans? AI adoption represented a significant departure from business as usual. Like any start of an transformational journey, the organisation stood at a crossroads, torn between maintaining the status quo and embracing an uncertain future.

Luiza and her leadership team decided to bring in a change management expert to help guide the company through this transformation.

The change manager’s first task was to create a vision that positioned AI not as a threat but as an opportunity. This is where the employees begin to move into unknown territory, crossing the threshold into the transition. The vision was framed around AI as a tool to augment human abilities, not replace them. AI would take over repetitive, time-consuming tasks, allowing employees to focus on more strategic, creative, and high-value work. This helped alleviate initial fears of job loss and framed AI as an ally in achieving business goals more efficiently.

AI has the potential to help reduce burnout and address the "Great Resignation" by improving workplace conditions, enhancing work-life balance, and supporting employee well-being. Moreover, AI opens opportunities for professional development, equipping employees with new skills that will be valuable throughout their careers.

In every transformational journey, there are trials, obstacles, and challenges. For InnoTech, these came in the form of resistance from employees, uncertainty about the impact of AI on daily work, and confusion about how to integrate AI into existing systems. Common problems during AI adoption include:

• Fear of Job Displacement: Many employees worried that AI would take over their roles, leading to job cuts. This is a natural fear whenever automation is introduced, as people feel their expertise might become obsolete.
• Lack of Trust in AI: Employees and managers alike were skeptical about whether AI could deliver accurate, reliable results. Trust in technology was low, particularly when it came to AI making decisions that had traditionally been the domain of humans.
• Cultural Resistance to Change: InnoTech had a culture of doing things manually, where people felt a sense of ownership and control over their tasks. AI, by automating certain tasks, felt like a threat to that control, leading to cultural pushback.

In the hero’s journey, the protagonist often encounters a mentor who provides guidance and support through the trials. For InnoTech, the change management team played this role. They implemented a series of strategies to address the fears and resistance around AI adoption:

The change management team initiated a company-wide communication campaign to demystify AI. There are no monsters in the path - only misconceptions in our minds. They organized town hall meetings, workshops, and Q&A sessions to explain how AI works, what it can and cannot do, and how it would be integrated into daily work.

Employees were reassured that AI would assist them in their tasks, enabling them to work smarter, not harder. It was explained that AI would handle simple yet tedious tasks—such as summarizing meetings in a “meetings-driven” organisation, managing long email threads, and prioritizing workloads—as well as more complex, data-heavy routines like analyzing spreadsheets. This would free up employees to concentrate on more value-added activities that drive impact and innovation.

To build trust in AI, the change management team introduced pilot programs.

Specific teams were chosen to test AI tools in their workflows, with support from both IT and the change management team. For instance, the customer service team was given an AI-powered chatbot to handle frequently asked questions, allowing human agents to focus on more complex inquiries. And to make the initiative even more engaging, exciting rewards were offered to those who shared their most effective prompts. This not only encouraged collaboration and creativity but also fostered a sense of community, where everyone could contribute to the collective success. Imagine the thrill of seeing your ideas recognized and rewarded, igniting a wave of innovation that transforms our work environment!

By allowing employees to experiment with AI in controlled, low-stakes environments, InnoTech built confidence in the technology. Employees who participated in the pilot programs became AI ambassadors, sharing their positive experiences with others and encouraging broader adoption.

Instead of imposing AI from the top down, the change management team fostered a culture of inclusion. Employees were encouraged to share their thoughts and concerns about AI integration. This participation helped ensure that the AI systems were designed and implemented in a way that complemented existing workflows, rather than disrupting them. This approach fosters the ambassadors of A.I to gather allies, where the organisation came together to overcome the challenges posed by AI.

Through structured change management practices, InnoTech began to see the benefits of AI integration. The AI journey is about transformation, and in this case, the transformation was both operational and cultural.

Operational Efficiency: AI successfully automated many repetitive tasks, allowing teams to focus on higher-value work. The legal department, for instance, used AI to review long documents, cutting the time spent on this task by 60% and in general, every employee saved 30 min per day. According to Microsoft work trend index, 90% of their employees said they saved time and 84% reported they became more creative.

Cultural Shift: Perhaps the most significant transformation was cultural. What began as fear and resistance toward AI evolved into genuine excitement about its potential.

Employees no longer viewed AI as a threat; instead, they embraced it as a valuable tool—akin to having a supportive colleague by their side, helping them accomplish their tasks more efficiently.

The change management team successfully fostered a culture that champions innovation and continuous improvement, creating an environment where employees feel empowered to explore new possibilities.

New Cultural Values: InnoTech's journey to AI adoption also led to the emergence of new cultural values centered around innovation, collaboration, and trust in technology. AI adoption became a symbol of the company's forward-thinking, adaptable culture.

The company also built a strong foundation for ongoing learning and development. Employees were encouraged to continuously upgrade their skills, particularly in data literacy and AI-related tools, ensuring that they could work effectively alongside AI systems.

InnoTech is reaping significant benefits as it embraces its new path as an AI-driven organisation. By successfully embedding AI into its operations, the company has achieved improved efficiency, enhanced employee satisfaction, and a stronger competitive position in the market. Moreover, InnoTech has recognized the importance of adaptability and continuous learning—traits that will be invaluable as they navigate future technological shifts.