AI Won’t Work Without People: Why Engagement Is the First Step
I’ve sat in rooms where executives roll out AI plans like software updates. A new chatbot here. A summarising tool there. Maybe a dashboard that nobody asked for.
The thinking is often the same: “If it improves efficiency, people will just use it.”
But it rarely plays out like that. The tools get ignored. The workflows don’t stick. Or worse, productivity drops because the change wasn’t explained, tested, or tailored to real tasks.
Here’s the part leaders often miss: AI doesn’t succeed because of the tool. It succeeds because of the people using it.
A recent Fast Company article says it plainly: “To realise AI’s full potential in the workplace, you must involve your employees early.” Not just in training, but in designing how AI is used.
This isn’t a ‘nice to have’. It’s the difference between AI being seen as a threat… or a teammate.
So how do you actually do it?
Start by involving staff in the problem definition, not just the rollout. If your frontline team spends 3 hours a day triaging emails or double-entering data into outdated systems, that’s where AI can help. But they need a say in what good looks like.
One of the most effective moves I’ve seen is simple: run a joint workshop.
Bring operations, P&C, IT, and end users together. Spend 90 minutes mapping:
- What’s slowing people down
- Where mistakes or bottlenecks happen
- What AI tools are already being used (you’ll be surprised)
- What success would feel like on the ground
This shifts the conversation from “Which tool should we use?” to “What outcome are we solving for?”
And that’s when things click.
You stop getting pushback. You start getting buy-in. People become part of the change — not just subject to it.
I worked with a mid-tier professional services firm where the directors had bought AI licenses but hadn’t rolled them out. Staff were wary. Middle managers felt stuck.
We ran a session with cross-functional teams to map real-world workflows. Within a fortnight, they’d shortlisted three AI pilots all nominated by frontline staff. Three months later, those same teams were coaching others in how to automate the tedious parts of their day.
If you’re trying to make AI useful at work then stop looking at it as a tech adoption problem. It’s a change leadership challenge.
That’s why our AI Business Workshop starts with the business, not the tools.
We help you:
- Identify where AI can create value in your actual workflows
- Involve the right teams from day one
- Design small experiments that build confidence
- Move from pilots to production with clear metrics
- Ready to make AI useful in your organisation?
Book an AI Business Case Workshop and bring your people into the process. That’s where momentum starts.