It wasn’t that long ago, maybe the first year after ChatGPT 4 came out, that business and tech leaders were scared that making too small a bet on Generative AI could put their enterprises at risk by leaving them hopelessly behind competitors who, they imagined, were diabolically getting ready to roll out some game-changing application of the technology that would decimate erstwhile industry leaders. It was the ultimate Innovator’s Dilemma panic.
It's fair to say we haven’t really seen that scenario in any industry I’m aware of. Instead, we’ve seen AI in all its forms behave pretty similar to every other new technology that’s come along over the past 30 years: Some variation of the familiar Gartner hype cycle curve, complete with Trough of Disillusionment preceding wide-scale adoption.
Technologies that go through this cycle can wind up being as transformative as the initial hype foretold; it just takes longer. But, as the Internet and Web show, it happens eventually and it is a big deal.
When it comes to AI, there’s growing evidence that a more measured approach yields the best results and sets an enterprise up for better, more sustainable success. This article in CIO Dive features perspectives from Matt Price, CIO of Gold Bond Inc., a company that makes promotional products. Price told CIO Dive, “If you can, take small use cases. Find where the company is paying X amount, or using this amount of resources, and see if you can get AI to automate that small workflow and get some small wins.”
For Gold Bond, that win came in the form of invoice automation, a use case with clear parameters and easily defined measure of success. The company was encouraged enough by the results that it’s now looking at an outward-facing use case: An AI agent to help customers deal with relatively simple needs like ordering and billing inquiries.
This article resonated with me because its title almost exactly matches one of the titles of an Enterprise Connect 2026 session that I’m most excited about. Sinead Aylward of Johnson Controls International will be presenting a session at EC26 entitled, Forget the Moonshot: Build Your AI Strategy One Micro Win at a Time. Sinead is one of the smartest and most engaging speakers I know, and her session description shows the takeaways you can expect:
“The path to sustainable, enterprise-wide AI isn't a moonshot--it's a mosaic. In the world of contact centers and collaboration, real transformation happens by stitching together high-impact micro use cases--like intelligent routing, live agent assist, and real-time sentiment analysis--that deliver immediate ROI. These targeted wins create momentum, build trust, and lay the foundation for scalable AI strategy. Think big, start small, win fast. Your long-term AI vision might just start surprisingly small.”
At Enterprise Connect 2026, we’ll take hard looks at what AI approaches make sense, and what you have to do to make AI succeed on the ground in your enterprise, not just on the drawing board. Success requires dedication to the blocking and tackling, getting the basics right, from vendor selection to user adoption to, yes, use case selection. For 3 days in Las Vegas next month, you’ll have the chance to immerse yourself in these issues and gather with your peers to share solutions and ideas. I hope you can join us.
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