The Hidden Cultural Benefits of AI

Don’t Underestimate the Power of AI—or Overlook Its Potential to Reshape Your Organization

Some bad news: when it comes to deploying AI across your organization, you probably haven’t scratched the surface.

Some good news: you probably haven’t scratched the surface.

While many companies have started to embrace the technology, few are on the right path to realizing its full potential. AI will unlock value, improve processes, and strengthen organization culture. All of us will benefit.

But there’s work to be done.

WHAT MATTERS MOST

A recent study by BCG GAMMA , the BCG Henderson Institute , and the?MIT Sloan Management Review shows that while plenty of organizations have started to lay the groundwork for implementing AI, only a handful are seeing material financial benefits.

For these select few, AI isn’t just a path to automation; it’s an integral, strategic component of their businesses. To achieve significant rewards, companies must look beyond the initial, albeit fundamental, steps of AI adoption—putting the right data, technology, and talent in place—to what matters most: the ability to learn as an organization by bringing together human ingenuity and artificial intelligence. Organizations?that create opportunities for learning between humans and machines —while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of each—will reap the rewards.

SURPRISING BENEFITS

There’s significant financial value in scaling AI across an enterprise. And there are other, perhaps surprising, benefits to be had as well. A follow-up study conducted by the team mentioned above found that the vast majority of businesses that effectively implement AI see tangible cultural gains in four areas: team morale, collaboration, role clarity, and collective learning.

That’s because using AI effectively—scaling its use across the organization and structuring human–AI interactions to maximize mutual learning—can lead to a virtuous cycle. Improved efficiency and decision-making abilities inspire confidence among teams, clarifying individual roles and making it easier to learn and collaborate on the human level. The outcome is greater trust and an increased willingness to double down on AI investments.

AI’s beneficial effects on culture don’t end at the team level. They can extend across the entire organization, penetrating the foundation of?business operations , improving assumptions that drive organizational behaviors, and ensuring the pursuit of new KPIs and smarter strategic goals.

But realizing organization-wide progress is a major undertaking that involves reimagining business fundamentals and weaving AI into the fabric of everyday processes. Five actions are critical for companies that embark on this journey:

• Implement AI broadly across many functions and business processes to increase learning opportunities and reap maximum financial benefits.
• Assign the right collaboration mode between humans and machines, acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of each and ensuring that both are carrying out the work that they are most suited for.
• Deploy AI innovatively beyond automation to improve existing processes and explore new ways of creating value.
• Act on lessons learned from ongoing work with AI, and get comfortable questioning long-held assumptions and changing established priorities.
• Embrace openness to change.

Businesses can use AI to sharpen operations, enhance capabilities, and boost morale. Those that build AI-prepared organizations will gain a powerful competitive advantage—and be ready to harness new capabilities as they emerge.

For Further Reading

Five Rules for Fixing AI in Business

Me Myself, and AI: A Podcast on Artificial Intelligence in Business

Why AI Needs a Social License

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