This blog was authored by: Matt How, Head of Data Science | 17 February 2025

Organisations of all varieties are seeking their AI revolution. The opportunity to automate and enhance their ways of working seems tantalisingly close. This is driven by the surge of interest in AI that has sparked the imagination of employees across all levels of an organisation. But, for businesses to succeed on their AI journey, they need to know where they are heading. They need to establish the value proposition. Without this, initiatives will appear aimless and attempts to scale proof of concepts will be swiftly dismissed as not commercially viable.

As businesses begin to decipher where AI can play a part in delivering their overall strategy, typically three key value propositions emerge.

AI is in everything nowadays. From white goods in your kitchen, to the most basic of software used in businesses, it seems anything without AI is irrelevant. But, before Generative AI was popularised, why was Machine Learning or Data Science not thrust into every product and marketed to the extent “AI” is now? It seems that modern-day AI can so clearly articulate its value and capability that it is no longer deemed too technical for the wider market.

However, despite AI being “everywhere” organisations looking to harness AI need to understand the ways that it can be applied. In a modern business setting these typically fall into three categories. Whilst these value propositions help to steer organisations application of AI that can help them deliver on strategy, they still require solid foundations to become meaningful. Establishing a data culture, as articulated in this article, is fundamental, as well as embedding processes for ethical AI governance and supporting employee education and adoption.

Ultimately, choosing the optimal approach to AI enablement depends on the organisations appetite to change. Enabling personal productivity AI is relatively easy given the right access, but will have reduced impact with out a dedicated rollout plan and user adoption training. Additionally, it can be tough to track the return on investment due to how driven by the individual user it is. To use an analogy, imagine having a great set of chef’s knives, excellent for the right user but dangerous if mistreated.

AI purchased through commercial licenses or products may require slightly more configuration or input from users, but is much more likely to drive a meaningful impact for those that operate the system. To continue our analogy, think of a meal kit service. These can produce great results, but are constrained by the design of the kit itself.

Lastly, organisational enhancement requires dedicated input from subject matter experts and usually custom development from software / AI developers. Despite this, the returns can be transformational, due to the bespoke nature of the solutions and their integration with bespoke business data. Just like having a personal chef that would tailor a perfect meal around your tastes and preferences, these solutions are built to fit around your business.