Beyond Use Cases: Embracing the Generative AI Flywheel

Often, when I visit organizations, I hear, "We need to put together an AI strategy. Here are all the use cases we've compiled." Leaders usually show me an impressive chart with categories like analyzing data, automating tasks, and optimizing operations.

While these actions are well-intentioned, they miss the mark. Why? That list, no matter how long or detailed, is not a strategy.?

Don’t get me wrong—use cases aren’t useless. But if we get stuck in use-case land, we miss the bigger picture. I see this, time and time again: We’re so focused on what AI can do that we forget to ask why we’re doing it in the first place.?

If use cases aren’t strategy, then what’s the alternative—and how can we get there?

Enter: The Generative AI Flywheel.

The Generative AI Flywheel

Instead of a laundry list of use cases, think about a flywheel with three main sections:

1. Operational Efficiency. This is where most organizations start. It's about more than just cutting costs or boosting productivity. It's laying the foundation for sustainable advantage.
2. Customer Engagement. This is where we take those efficiency gains and use them to serve our customers better. It's about personalization, proactive support, and seamless experiences across channels. It’s also about developing new products and services that serve customers better.
3. Transformation. This is where things get exciting! The insights and resources we gain from improved efficiency and customer engagement fuel not just innovation but transformation. Organizations transform themselves and disrupt industries.

The Generative AI Value Flywheel.

The beauty of this flywheel is that it's self-reinforcing. Each section feeds into the next, creating a continuous cycle of improvement and value creation.

Let me share a few examples of how organizations are putting this flywheel into motion.?

Pfizer's Marketing Transformation Pfizer's global marketing department has embraced AI in a big way. They're now generating about 15% of their content using AI. But it's not just about efficiency—they're using AI to personalize messages for different doctor segments and optimize their marketing plans based on AI-generated insights.

One particularly impressive result? About 40% of their content now doesn't require detailed lawyer review. That's a huge time-saver that allows their team to focus on more strategic work.

ING Bank's Customer Service Upgrade ING Bank found that about 20% of their customer inquiries were too complex for their existing chatbots and had to be escalated to human agents. The problem was, these human agents were only available during regular working hours.

So, they built an AI-powered chatbot in less than two months. ??♀??

The results were impressive. It handled 20% more complex inquiries, provided more detailed and empathetic responses, and improved overall customer satisfaction.

Select Quote's Innovative Approach Select Quote created an AI voice agent to answer low-priority calls they weren't handling before. In just two weeks, they developed a system that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first month. By handling these previously ignored calls, they freed up their human agents to focus on more complex inquiries.

Catalyzing the Flywheel—and Measuring Its Success

So, how do you move from a list of use cases to this flywheel approach? Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. For Operational Efficiency: Look at your existing value chains and processes. Where are the bottlenecks? What tasks are repetitive or prone to errors? How could AI address these pain points? Remember, the goal isn't just to make things faster or cheaper. It's to free up resources and create capabilities that will allow you to serve your customers better and innovate.
2. For Customer Engagement: Take your existing customer personas and journey maps, and reimagine them with AI. Where could personalized content enhance the journey? What new products or services could you develop and launch with the capacity and capabilities you gained from operational efficiency improvements? Think about how you could use AI to assist with onboarding new customers or training them on complex products. Consider how real-time data and AI insights could inform your customer interactions and serve unmet needs.
3. For Transformation: This is where you can really start to think big. Pay attention to the edges of your market – those customers who are mildly or extremely dissatisfied with your current offerings. These are often the seeds of disruptive innovation. How could AI help you serve these customers better? What new capabilities do you now have thanks to your efficiency and engagement improvements? Could these lead to entirely new products, services, or business models?

When it comes to measuring the success of these AI initiatives, stick to your existing business KPIs. If you're integrating AI into your business strategy (which you should be!), then use the same metrics you use to measure the success of your overall business strategy. Of course, you'll have some tactical metrics to ensure your AI systems are operating as intended. But those are operational metrics—not strategic ones.

Final Thoughts

Remember: This flywheel approach isn't just about doing AI better. It's about fundamentally changing how your organization creates value. The next time someone shows you a long list of AI use cases, ask them:

• How does this fit into our flywheel?
• How will it drive efficiency, improve customer engagement, and spark innovation and transformation?
• What is the next step in the flywheel after we implement this?

Those are the questions that will lead to real, lasting competitive advantage.?

If this information was helpful, there’s plenty more!?

?? Sign up for updates and early access to my upcoming book , co-authored by Katia Walsh, which is all about creating a winning generative AI strategy.

?? Join me on Thursday, October 24 for my upcoming event with Netguru , “The AI Playbook for Disruptive Leaders.”? You can learn more and sign up here .?

?? Catch my most recent webinars:

• “Unlocking The Power of Generative AI.” I explain how to set up a generative AI “playground,” three ways to elevate your leadership with step-by-step instructions, and the broad outlines of creating a strategy. Get the recording and slides here.

• “Developing a Winning Generative AI Strategy for Competitive Advantage.” I walk through the steps needed to create a cohesive AI strategy that will last. Get the recording and slides here.?

Your Turn?

How are you moving from individual use cases to a comprehensive AI strategy in your organization? What challenges are you facing?