Author: Kerry Robinson

Most executives I speak with are at least starting to see how big of an impact AI is going to be in their industry.

But they’re still stuck.

The opportunity is too big.

The threat is existential.

The path forward is opaque.

The noise is deafening.

There’s an elephant in the room, and it’s too big to eat.

There’s a simple, time-proven solution to this: Start small.

More and more are starting. And they’re starting small. But in my opinion, not the right kind of small.

Bad small is:

  • Encourage people to use ChatGPT more.
  • Kick the tires of some vendors and their platforms.
  • Getting a couple of smart people to build something cool.

OK. Those options aren’t bad-bad. At best they’re table stakes. But the reality is, they won’t give you a lot of signal.

They won’t cut through the noise, and they won’t help you see a clear path forward, navigate the threats and seize the opportunity.

Good small is:

  • Do a quick workshop with a few smart, knowledgeable and open-minded people across your business to find an area where you can utilize AI in a meaningful way, and where the roadblocks are small enough that you actually stand a good chance of getting a solution into production. Check out the tips from master facilitators AJ&Smart on how to run a workshop here.
  • Assemble a small team: 2-5 people, to build a prototype of what the solution might look like, and ‘beta test’ it with internal team members or friendly customers. Don’t sweat which platform to use. Start with OpenAI, or use the AI capabilities of Azure, or Google, or Amazon cloud. Pick whichever you feel most comfortable with. Don’t let the decision slow you down!
  • The prototype should focus on a real and specific use case in the target area your workshop identified. It should use real data, and real AI models, and actually work, so your beta testers can properly test it out and give useful feedback. But it doesn’t need to integrate with back-end systems, or be connected with your phone or website.
  • With the feedback from your beta-testers, iterate on the prototype until you’ve got enough confidence in it working, and having real impact, that you want to put it into production.

This kind of small is good, because it makes you smarter. Not about AI in general, or AI in your industry, but about AI and your business. AI and your team. AI and you.

The other reason this kind of small is good, is because it paves the way to action. You now have the confidence to push this prototype into production, the requirements for the platform on which to build it. The benefits to justify the cost and the effort to convince everyone who needs convincing, that it’s time to put AI to work.

I hope I’ve encouraged you to take a wholesome bite of the AI elephant. If you need a helping hand we’ve put together a Gen AI starter project that will help you do “good small”:

Reach out

This is something you can – and should – feel empowered to do for yourself. But if you keep putting it off, or find yourself, your team or your business keeps reverting to ‘bad small’, maybe it’s worth your while getting the help you need to make progress.

Because as I’ve said before: in the AI race, it’s winner takes all.

Kerry

PS: You are building with genAI right now, aren’t you? If not, what’s stopping you? Check out our latest blog on gen-AI blockers, or sign up for a complimentary Strategy Workshop to help you get started.

PPS: If you want a more regular dose of insights, follow or connect with me on LinkedIn for regular posts on conversational AI, mindset, and egg juggling, among other things!

If someone forwarded this to you, please subscribe yourself for weekly insights that’ll make you think differently about your IVR, voice, and chatbots.

Helping you get maximum ROI from conversational AI — whatever the platform.