A CEO’s guide to AI implementation

CEOs are the linchpins to championing an AI business strategy, creating value, and encouraging implementation. They must identify use cases where AI can drive growth. At the same time, they are required to invest in data quality and security and foster a culture of learning and iteration.

The rapid rise of AI over the past few years, however, is taking place against a backdrop of decreasing productivity. The world over, only 23% of employees are engaged. What’s more concerning is that India is among the top three countries with the lowest percentage of thriving employees. 

India is not keeping pace with productivity, relative to international peers. Moving forward, AI could be the answer to combatting the productivity gaps, not just in India but the rest of the world. In such an environment, it’s the CEO’s call to step up as a tech visionary and steer the ship towards becoming an AI-powered powerhouse or risk watching everyone else get ahead. 

The opportune moment is now for CEOs to tap this technology as it lets everyone get more done in a day—but that doesn’t mean productivity gains will skyrocket. Implementing AI successfully requires a synergy between the right AI tools and the people who use them.

The future of AI is about how people get work done

With AI, CEOs have a lot of hype to sift through and it’s not about robots taking over the world. The reality is so far removed from HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, CEOs do have a more pressing concern — the proliferation of numerous AI tools in the market, leaving them wondering which one to choose and where to effectively deploy it. 

AI is meant to streamline creative work, from content creation to experience design and automate repetitive tasks, from data analysis to research. This indicates that businesses need to choose AI Agents that can perform specific tasks. It’s up to CEOs to identify which systems and processes can improve with AI Agents.

For example, the customer service function can use AI Agents to offload routine questions, allowing employees to spend more time on sales enablement. Coders can ditch mundane programming and focus on improving code quality and cybersecurity. However, the competitive advantage of AI Agents comes from scaling employee expertise and expanding organisational capabilities.
CEOs who understand how to power their people with AI, will ensure AI becomes a force multiplier for their business. It’s perhaps why 50% of executives say AI will improve multiple aspects of their business, from decision-making to customer experience to revenue growth, a recent study by IBM found.

Be specific about AI implementation

While it is great to encourage employees to adopt AI, CEOs must be specific about their AI game plans. Skimping on guardrails for data protection and the ethical use of AI will only spell trouble in the future. CEOs must be mindful of what solution they choose as many existing tools haven’t prioritised data protection. Adopting AI Agents built with data protection in mind is the first step. The next is motivating teams to maximise the potential of AI because it’s not about AI replacing jobs; it’s about those adept with AI outpacing those who aren’t. It benefits CEOs to let teams identify and test where they can effectively use AI. Additionally, leaders must be tasked with underscoring the strategic importance of AI Agents, and their adoption across the enterprise.

Leaders can’t be fearful of change. It’s up to CEOs to demonstrate openness to AI adoption by integrating it into their work. This paves the way to make AI upskilling an advancement opportunity for employees. Smooth implementation of AI across the business requires buy-ins at different levels. Make AI Agents central to team building, to create a sense of employee equity as the ultimate goal is ensuring people spend their time productively, and more creatively.

With all of the benefits of AI laid out, CEOs must focus on implementing AI now. Identify the use cases that truly matter to the business, optimise investments in those directions, and avoid getting side-tracked by the endless possibilities AI offers. Indecision impedes growth and speed to scale. With 74% of business leaders saying AI will be ready to roll out in the next 3 years, most have already lost the battle in the waiting game. Stalling AI adoption until the business has all the answers will only give competitors the advantage. The time to implement AI is now.

Raj K Gopalakrishnan

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Raj K Gopalakrishnan is Co-founder and CEO at KOGO, a Bengaluru-based AI startup