Here at Perficient, we work with strategic business partners and enterprise-level clients to drive strategic growth in their digital, data, and operational processes. Since the advent of ChatGPT, I find myself bearing witness to the hyperpaced digital metamorphosis taking place in businesses across the globe. Central to this paradigm shift is Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Why AI and Why Now?

AI is pervasive. The bulk of our customers have already started implementing, are actively exploring, or in the midst of documenting their point of view and roadmap on AI. AI is revolutionizing how we operate. From our personal lives to our professional desk, AI is embedded in many of our day-to-day activities. It is not new. It is not going away.

The breadth of generative AI tools and their capabilities seems to expand daily. Tools can perform actions varying from predicting behavior, providing meaningful insights based on recent interactions, optimizing workflows and daily tasks, suggesting which products to buy, creating new products, images, and art. The capabilities seem endless. AI is proven to help us optimize our lives so we can remove mundane tasks and focus on what we love most.

Creating a Strategic Roadmap

Start with Your ‘Why’: Despite all the recent hype and organizations feeling pressured to dive head-first into AI, it is best to take a step back and determine your organization’s core objectives. What are your current and near-future (say 5 years) business plans? What are your core values?
Educate at a Healthy Level: Leaders do not have to know everything about everything. That is what we have trusted teams and partners for. Organizations such as Section School offer leadership-focused programs that can help high-level leaders understand the key points and considerations of leveraging AI. Let the technical, compliance, and legal details to the teams who know that space best.  First, focus on enabling your leadership’s strategic understanding of AI, machine learning, and considerations of leveraging these tools. Then align learnings with leads from the related areas.
Align on Responsible Use: Perficient is working with select enterprises to help them build their AI policies and centers of excellence. Without a documented, aligned point of view and methodology, executive buy-in and employee engagement may not last. We help clients ensure AI endeavors prioritize trust, security, privacy, ethics, and education.
Understand Your Data: AI is nothing without solid data. Partner with your data teams to understand your landscape. Pull in your business leaders to analyze the data and align on use case priorities and return on investment.
Find the Right Partner: Implementing AI is no simple feat. A strategic implementation will require change management, data thought leadership, project management, and strategic vision. Every day, here at Perficient we help our clients focus on finding the right balance for their implementations.
Don’t Try to Swallow a Whale: Strategic use cases can be evaluated more meaningfully through the use of pilot projects or proofs-of-concept. Plan and launch pilots.  Test, learn, and iterate quickly. The key here is to find a balance between length of planning and time to implement. With the current speed of innovation, the ability to quickly measure and pivot will set organizations apart. Once we can glean meaningful, trusted insights and understand any nuances, we can plan to scale initiatives.

Final Thoughts

Consider this your clarion call. AI and machine learning are not new. Though the speed of innovation since ChatGPT launched is incredible, moving organizations to optimize and gain efficiencies beyond their wildest dreams. Leaders are enabling their teams to focus on more impactful tasks. They leaving mundane tasks such as email writing, call summarizations, and creative content compilations for generative AI tools to handle. Now is the time to carve out your strategic point of view on AI and chart you organizations’ roadmap. In the words of Wayne Gretzky, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”

Perficient has a dedicated generative AI and data team that is here to help guide leaders toward building a trusted AI roadmap. AI is not a switch. You do not simply just ‘turn it on.’ A strategic, business-aligned point of view needs to be the foundation first, followed by a data strategy. Perficient is here to help. Reach out today to discuss more.