Is AI just another marketing tool or a foundation for growth? 8 AI Considerations for CEOs

Transformative technologies enable traditional companies to reinvent themselves, remain relevant and grow. As CMO of CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) I had a front row seat to the most important innovations of recent years, including AI, quantum, AR/VR and digital twins. Global leaders like John Deere, Abbott Health, Walmart, Siemens, Carnival Cruise Lines and L’Oréal see tech as foundational to their evolution.  

Generative AI (gen AI) is the latest AI tech that has gone from a novelty to being adopted by the organizations in less than 12 months. Companies have moved quickly from proof of concept to scaling up gen AI solution in their operations. It is changing how businesses go to market and how they tell their brand story. 

As a result, we are seeing a boom in gen AI based tools for all aspects of business. We have seen a range of solutions emerge to help us with everything customer engagement and brand building to operational efficiency. The most established are those launched by tech leaders like Microsoft, Google and Salesforce, who have integrated new capabilities into existing platforms like Co-pilot for MSFT 365.  

With this plethora of solutions, companies have scrambled to get their arms around how and what they should use. Before getting into the weeds of the products, many of which may not be around in 12 months’ time, CEOs should start with the strategic “why’s” of adopting generative AI. 

8 Gen AI considerations for CEOs 

1. Think of AI, and particularly generative AI, as a transformative business technology and not just a set of tools. McKinsey & Company in their “What matters Most? Eight priorities for CEOs in 2024” report, list gen AI as number 1- “Gen AI: the start of something big”. 
2. Set your AI vision and strategy - Plan for generative AI in the context of your overall business strategy and not just as a side initiative. 
3. Establish an AI Council - Identify AI champions from across the business who can lead innovation and adoption. 
4. Create a set of guiding principles to guide your generative AI journey. What do you want to do?  Early enterprise uses focus on managing customers, managing operations or managing support functions.  
5. Establish, and communicate, your principles for ethical use of AI to guide your organization's work.
   
6. Encourage a culture of openness to test and innovate with generative AI solutions. Allow people to test, maybe fail, and continue to refine. You will not get it right the first time. 
7. Track and measure your results.
8. Invest in AI training and education. According to the Marketing AI Institute’s “State of AI 2024” report, 67% of respondents state that lack of training and education is the main barrier to adoption. 

Many of the early generative use cases are in marketing and, when done right, can help organizations better engage customers, reach more prospects and be more productive. There are many specific point solution tools for market functions - writing, copy-editing, image creation and video production and editing. These tools enable marketers to quickly create engaging content without having deep expertise in each medium. 

AI, and particularly generative AI, should be viewed as a fundamental technology that changes your business. It will help your organization to adapt and remain relevant. When done right, it will allow your business to growth.