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‘AI receptionist’ IVR takes flight with customer service

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AI agents that can answer business phones and route — and even resolve — customer service calls more efficiently than traditional technologies are here.

Small businesses, which have much smaller and less complex IT footprints than large enterprises, are leading the way in ripping out interactive voice response (IVR) answering systems and replacing them with AI agents.

Until now, businesses have had to choose between hiring more administrative employees they can’t afford to answer phones, or send customers into an “IVR death spiral” to get to sales or service, said Alan Brundage, chief operating officer of Jay-Hill Repairs, a Fairfield, N.J.-based company that services commercial kitchen gear throughout the state.

“AI does that a little bit better — it routes [calls] very well,” said Brundage, whose 50-employee company recently ditched its IVR for an AI agent.

Contact center-as-a-service stalwarts such as RingCentral, AWS, Five9, Genesys, Nice, Twilio and Sprinklr offer AI agents to answer incoming calls. Others, such as CallMiner, also provide their versions. The technology could eventually replace the current IVR and its rigid menu-driven topography, which doesn’t always pay off the time customers invest in navigating it.

Small businesses can be more nimble than large enterprises in taking advantage of AI agents. They also don’t have big contact centers with IT stacks that reverberate with unintended consequences when one application — such as IVR — is ripped and replaced.

That’s what RingCentral has seen, said Jake Fry, a solutions engineer at the company. More than 3,000 customers, including early adopters prior to its June 30 release,  have launched RingCentral’s AI Receptionist agent.

While some enterprises are on their way to adopting phone-answering AI agents, small businesses that have high volumes of customer calls — such as car dealers, salons, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, and insurance providers — have jumped right in, according to RingCentral.

“There’s not a company out there that doesn’t have an AI initiative — half of them don’t know what the heck that means, but they know they need to throw AI at something,” Fry said.

Keeping commercial kitchens cooking

At Jay-Hill, restaurants and other commercial kitchens across the Garden State call at their worst time — when machinery such as ovens, fryers, refrigerators and freezers break down, often during peak hours of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The company is replacing its IVR with RingCentral’s AI Receptionist. So far, after integrating content from the company’s website regarding which brands of equipment services it services and pricing data, Brundage said that Jay-Hill has greatly reduced the less-urgent calls from prospective customers who are just looking for general information and can focus on customers who have more urgent repair calls that need a truck dispatch.

Not only has the AI agent reduced the number of calls that technicians and office staff must field in a day, but it has also proven to be a better routing tool for the technicians, Brundage said.

The IVR might have sent a call to the wrong technician or a billing question to the wrong person, which wastes time for both the customer and the company, he said. AI Receptionist is more accurate than IVR, and it integrates with Jay-Hill’s ERP and CRM systems, which can also help save time when a technician is lining up a truck to visit a customer.

Jay-Hill was an early adopter of AI Receptionist, and the company experimented with it earlier this year by turning it on during peak mealtime hours. Those initial tests reduced live call volume by 5%, Brundage said.

He said that at first, he worried about how the customers — especially those in a situation where crucial equipment was not working at their restaurants — would react negatively to something that announces itself as AI, so they paid close attention to playbacks of calls.

“We wanted to see how many times people were just going, ‘Oh, this is AI. Give me a representative! Representative!’ and screaming ‘Representative!’ into the phone,” Brundage said. “We had that — not as much as I thought we would — but we did get a little bit of that.”

Once Jay-Hill saw that the customers accepted the AI agent and measured success with better call routing and resolving some of the calls staff had to do before, it’s moving forward with the next phase: AI-assisted dispatching of repair technicians. After collecting and confirming what needs to be fixed and the location of the customer, AI Receptionist sets in motion the right truck, equipped with the right parts, and texts the customer details.

He predicted that customers will likely appreciate the automated texts, especially in their typically loud environments.

“If you’ve ever been in a commercial kitchen, it’s as loud or as chaotic as the TV shows make it out to be,” Brundage said. “I joke that if you watch Hell’s Kitchen or The Bear, those are mild in comparison.”

RingCentral AI Receptionist setup screenshot
Agents such as RingCentral’s AI Receptionist give users control over the AI character’s language support, look and feel.

Private security on call

Music City Protection is another small business of about 40 employees that’s adopting AI Receptionist. The Nashville firm offers numerous security services, including executive protection, construction details, armed transport and security for corporate buildings and events like weddings.

Brittanee’ Hughes, director of business administrations, said only two people answer the phones at Music City Protection’s offices. Many of the calls are, like at Jay-Hill, people looking for information about the company — services, pricing or security training on earning a Tennessee license for handgun carry, armed security and unarmed security.

Music City Protection decided to be an early adopter of AI Receptionist instead of hiring new administrative staff. The phone rang a lot before the company turned on the AI agent, but after training it, running extensive tests, updating website content and fine-tuning business processes, call volume is down 60%, Hughes said.

Calls routed to Hughes’ phone now involve direct business, like people ready to sign up for services, prospective employees applying for jobs or trainees who want to take the company’s courses. While AI can handle many pricing and scheduling questions, the company has set up an exception for when a prospective customer asks for a large quote and routes that straight to Hughes’ phone.

AI Receptionist has automated many processes around the company’s trainings, such as answering students’ questions about enrollment or next steps after they complete a course. Hughes advises companies that use agents such as AI Receptionist to regularly check call logs and monitor what drives hangups to make sure they’re not missing out on business leads. That should be done on an ongoing basis, but especially during the early days of using the technology.

“During that trial period, I had a lot of friends, a lot of employees and even myself and our chief of security operations doing a lot of calling, asking questions or intentionally trying to trip [the agent] up to see if this is a response that we’re satisfied with,” Hughes said. “You do get those one-off cases, but you don’t want to miss an opportunity because of something that you didn’t get a chance to fully vet.”

Mass adoption coming?

When set up well, AI agents that answer the phone can improve on standard contact center metrics such as customer satisfaction, time to answer and hold time compared with IVR. The systems can also perform more comprehensive call analytics because they transcribe every conversation, as opposed to manually handpicked calls with technology that predates AI. These agents can also offer information on call volume and type, which can inform contact center workforce management.

Other benefits to the technology both Brundage and Hughes point out — as well as the industry association Conversational Design Institute — include 24/7 availability, cost efficiency, more accurate call routing and deeper data collection.          

RingCentral’s Fry said that in the case of AI Receptionist, early adopters have used call analytics to identify calls that the agent cannot solve. Then, based on that information, they make decisions such as continuing to allow these calls to go to a human or voicemail, updating a knowledge base or other website content, or retraining the AI to better address or route customer questions.

“Analytics is a great ROI tool for a customer to validate that it’s worth it,” Fry said. “They are getting insight into what calls are resolved, versus unresolved.”

In AI Receptionist’s early days, marketers have also crossed over into customer service to use the agent’s conversational insights feature, Fry added. Seeing what the customers are talking about — and asking for help with — can inform new products or marketing campaigns.

Don Fluckinger is a senior news writer for Informa TechTarget. He covers customer experience (CX), digital experience management and end-user computing. Got a tip? Email him.



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AI in K-12 Education Market Size to Reach USD 5.24 Billion

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Austin, Sept. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The AI in K-12 Education Market size was valued at USD 0.37 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 5.24 billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 39.29% over 2025-2032.

Growth is driven by the increasing adoption of AI-powered learning tools, personalized education platforms, and intelligent tutoring systems that enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Schools are leveraging AI for real-time performance tracking, adaptive assessments, and administrative automation. Additionally, rising digital literacy, government initiatives promoting EdTech, and the integration of AI in online and hybrid learning environments are accelerating market expansion across the K-12 education segment globally.


Download PDF Sample of AI in K-12 Education Market @ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/8071 

In the U.S., the AI in K-12 Education Market was valued at USD 0.11 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 1.51 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 39.05%. Growth is driven by rising EdTech investments, adoption of AI tutors, personalized learning solutions, and classroom analytics that enhance student engagement, learning outcomes, and operational efficiency in schools.

Key Players:

  • IBM
  • Google (Google for Education)
  • Microsoft (Microsoft Education, Azure AI)
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS Education AI)
  • Carnegie Learning
  • Pearson
  • DreamBox Learning
  • Knewton
  • Century Tech
  • Nuance Communications
  • Blackboard
  • Knewton Alta (by Wiley)
  • Cognii
  • Querium
  • Squirrel AI
  • Jenzabar
  • Duolingo
  • Khan Academy
  • Altitude Learning
  • Osmo (by BYJU’S)

AI in K-12 Education Market Report Scope:

Report Attributes Details
Market Size in 2024 USD 0.37 Billion
Market Size by 2032 USD 5.24 Billion
CAGR CAGR of 39.29% From 2025 to 2032
Base Year 2024
Forecast Period 2025-2032
Historical Data 2021-2023
Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Segments Analysis, Competitive  Landscape, Regional Analysis, DROC & SWOT Analysis, Forecast Outlook
Key Segments • By Component (Solution, Services)
• By Deployment (Cloud, On-premises)
• By Technology (Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning)
• By Application (Learning Platform & Virtual Facilitators, Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), Smart Content, Fraud and Risk Management, Others — Administrative automation, Special education support tools)
Customization Scope Available upon request
Pricing Available upon request

If You Need Any Customization on AI in K-12 Education Market Report, Inquire Now @ https://www.snsinsider.com/enquiry/8071 

By Component, Solution Segment Leads AI in K–12 Education Market in 2024 with 71% Revenue Share

In 2024, the solution segment dominated the AI in K–12 Education Market, capturing 71% of revenue. Its leadership is fueled by extensive deployment of AI-enabled platforms, including intelligent tutoring systems, adaptive learning tools, and learning management systems (LMS). Continuous investment in digital curriculum and AI-based learning platforms ensures the solution segment remains the primary driver of market growth, supporting enhanced student engagement and personalized learning experiences.

By Deployment, Cloud Segment Leads AI in K–12 Education Market in 2024 with 69% Share

In 2024, the cloud segment dominated the AI in K–12 Education Market, capturing 69% of the share. Its leadership is driven by scalability, cost efficiency, and easy access across devices. The growing demand for centralized AI-integrated learning platforms and cloud-based learning management systems (LMS) further strengthens the cloud segment’s role in transforming digital education and enhancing personalized learning experiences.

By Technology, Machine Learning Segment Leads AI in K–12 Education Market in 2024

In 2024, the machine learning segment dominated the AI in K–12 Education Market with a significant revenue share. Its leadership is driven by extensive applications in adaptive learning, predictive analytics, and student performance tracking. The growing personalization of algorithms and automation of student progress monitoring reinforce machine learning’s central role in enhancing learning outcomes and educational efficiency.

By Application, Learning Platform & Virtual Facilitators Segment Leads AI in K–12 Education Market in 2024

In 2024, the learning platform & virtual facilitators segment dominated the AI in K–12 Education Market, capturing a major revenue share. Its growth is driven by widespread adoption of virtual assistants, learning management systems (LMS), and remote teaching platforms. The increasing use of hybrid learning environments and virtual classroom support tools further reinforces this segment’s position as the primary contributor to market expansion.

North America Leads AI in K–12 Education Market in 2024, Asia Pacific is Projected to Record the Fastest CAGR

In 2024, North America dominated the AI in K–12 Education Market, holding the highest revenue share. The region’s leadership is fueled by early adoption of EdTech solutions, strong funding support, high digital literacy, and widespread integration of AI-driven curricula across schools, establishing it as a benchmark in educational technology deployment.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to achieve the fastest growth in the AI in K–12 Education Market. Expansion is driven by government-led digital education programs, rising private sector investments, and increasing student populations. Countries including India, China, and Indonesia are adopting AI-powered, inclusive, and scalable education models, fueling rapid market adoption and digital transformation across the region.

Buy Full Research Report on AI in K-12 Education Market 2025-2032 @ https://www.snsinsider.com/checkout/8071 

Exclusive Sections of the Report (The USPs) – Check Section 5

  • USP 1 – AI Adoption & Readiness by Region and School Type

Helps clients identify regions and school segments with the highest potential for AI-based learning tools deployment.

  • USP 2 – Curriculum Enhancement & Personalized Learning Insights

Provides guidance on how AI can tailor learning paths, adaptive assessments, and student engagement strategies.

  • USP 3 – Teacher Productivity & Classroom Automation Analysis

Shows clients how AI solutions can automate grading, administrative tasks, and performance tracking to free teacher bandwidth.

  • USP 4 – Student Performance & Learning Outcome Analytics

Offers insights into improving student outcomes through predictive analytics, skill-gap detection, and learning trend analysis.

  • USP 5 – EdTech Integration & Platform Compatibility Assessment

Helps clients integrate AI tools with existing LMS, e-learning platforms, and digital classrooms for seamless adoption.

  • USP 6 – Regulatory & Data Privacy Compliance (FERPA, GDPR, COPPA)

Ensures AI tools meet data privacy and safety regulations for children, minimizing legal and reputational risks.

  • USP 7 – Future Trends & Innovation Roadmap

Prepares clients for emerging applications such as AI tutors, gamified learning, AR/VR classrooms, and real-time feedback systems.

About Us:

SNS Insider is one of the leading market research and consulting agencies that dominates the market research industry globally. Our company’s aim is to give clients the knowledge they require in order to function in changing circumstances. In order to give you current, accurate market data, consumer insights, and opinions so that you can make decisions with confidence, we employ a variety of techniques, including surveys, video talks, and focus groups around the world.


            



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A Boulder Creek tech startup is using drones and AI to detect the next big wildfire

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Quick Take

After the CZU fire devastated their community, a group of Boulder Creek residents, firefighters and engineers began meeting regularly to figure out how to better protect their homes and neighbors from future fires. Their solution, an AI-powered system of sensors, cameras and drones, joins a growing wave of technology aimed at taming California’s intensifying fire seasons.

What began as weekly meetings between Boulder Creek residents and local firefighters outside the Brookdale Lodge in the months following the CZU Lightning Complex Fire has evolved five years after the blaze into a pioneering wildfire detection system that could transform how communities respond to fire threats. 

Their creation: a network of artificial intelligence-powered sensors that scan for smoke every minute and alert both residents and emergency services to the early signs of a blaze, paired with autonomous drones that can deliver fire suppressant to remote locations.

The startup behind this technology, Ember Flash Aerospace, emerged from conversations between Lee Kohlman, a NASA Ames Research Center employee who was living in Boulder Creek when the CZU fire hit, and Joseph Norris, a former Coast Guard member with experience in software and driverless cars, who traveled to Silicon Valley frequently for work. Along with local firefighters and tech-savvy neighbors, Kohlman and Norris identified a critical gap in wildfire response: the need for faster detection in those crucial first minutes when a small fire can still be contained.

The company’s Vigilant Raptor is an autonomous drone that can quickly navigate into hard-to-reach areas to dispense fire suppressant. Credit: Ember Flash

Ember Flash joins an increasingly crowded field of new technology that is reshaping the fight against wildfires. Researchers, governments and the private sector are racing to detect blazes earlier and stop them before they spread using tools like sensors, satellites and artificial intelligence to identify the lightning strikes most likely to ignite fires, or detect the earliest whispers of smoke. Private companies are also experimenting with autonomous helicopters, smart sprinkler systems and mobile water delivery to help battle blazes as hotter, drier conditions fuel larger fires.

The growing frequency and intensity of wildfires prompted XPrize — a nonprofit-run competition program that offers millions of dollars in prize money to entrepreneurs to solve big problems through technology — to launch a new challenge focused on wildfires in 2023. 

“XPrize is a California-based organization and so many of our staff, sponsors, board members have experienced destructive wildfires so this was both a personal challenge for many as well as a global challenge,” said Andrea Santy, program director for the new XPrize Wildfire contest.  

Ember Flash was named a semifinalist in the XPrize Wildfire competition. The winners stand to make as much as $3.5 million when they’re announced in 2026. Finals testing is scheduled for July of next year. 

From the ashes of CZU

For Norris, Kohlman and their colleagues, pairing Silicon Valley technology with wildfire fighting seemed like a no-brainer.

Kohlman and his wife had been living in Boulder Creek for about a year when the fire broke out. The couple had moved from Virginia to take jobs at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University and NASA’s Ames Research Center. When lightning storms happened on Aug. 16, 2020, Kohlman didn’t think much of it at first; as a Midwest native, he and his wife were used to it, even if it was a little abnormal for California. It wasn’t until the next day that they heard about a potential fire, but he wasn’t too worried. Then his wife received a notification on her phone and called him from work, and he stepped outside to look. 

“I saw an orange glow to the northwest, just a couple of ridges over,” he recalled. “We had to quickly figure out what to do next.” 

A sign points the way to Boulder Creek amid the CZU Lightning Complex wildfire in 2020. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

He gathered the couple’s two dogs and two cats and packed a few bags. He and his wife decamped for a short-term rental on Foster City, where they’d end up staying for six weeks. For an agonizingly long time, they weren’t sure if they’d have a home to return to. Their house survived the blaze, but they came back to a forever-changed community. 

In those weeks and months after the fire, Kohlman spent a lot of time taking photographs of burnt buildings and trees to get a clearer picture of the fire’s extensive damage. He spoke with neighbors about their experiences with the CZU Lightning Complex, including those who’d lost their homes. He felt helpless and wanted to change that. So about six months after the fire, he put a call out on a Facebook page for Boulder Creek neighbors, looking for other people to discuss their experience and what had happened — everything from how they found out about the fire, to how they felt going through this experience, and what the rebuilding process would entail. 

A group of residents, including several local firefighters, met up and then kept meeting weekly, with topics ranging from community recovery to how wildfires are fought. Kohlman invited his friend and former neighbor, Joseph Norris, to attend. 

“We started having some little meetings,” said Norris. “Our first meeting was at the Brookdale Lodge at the picnic tables outside. We weren’t thinking about much more than what could be done, ‘How can we help others do more?’”

For Norris, who started his career in the Coast Guard, emergency response had long been an interest. He’d been a volunteer firefighter in his younger years before getting into software, working for companies focused on everything from software for nonprofit organizations to artificial intelligence and driverless cars. He and Kohlman befriended each other when they were both living in Virginia, and the pair had long talked about possible business ideas.

“There were a lot of people in Boulder Creek who had a lot of skills and wanted to do something [in the wake of the fire],” said Norris. “We felt like we were way too close to Silicon Valley to not be using a little technology for this.”

As the group discussed barriers to response, such as being located in rural areas where homes are farther apart, and current firefighting approaches, a key challenge emerged: the need to speed up wildfire detection. 

“Those first few minutes are really important, when [a fire is] small, just ignited,” said Norris. “If you can get to those quickly and put them out, you can stop a wildfire.”

‘New era in megafires’

Fighting fires in rural, often rugged terrain is complicated and becoming harder. Fires like the CZU Lightning Complex are fast-moving and can leap from one place to another, faster than a car can drive, wildfire experts say. 

California has been in a “new era of megafires” for about a decade, driven by factors including climate change, buildup of dry brush and dead leaves, and the fact that more people now live in wildfire-prone areas, said Chris Field, a professor at Stanford University whose research focuses on climate change and the impacts of wildfires.

Even for experienced firefighters, these blazes are incredibly challenging. 

“California has some of the most sophisticated and well-trained firefighters,” Field said. “It’s not that we don’t have the people [with skills] – it’s that these fires are getting more intense and harder to fight, which is where new technologies can come in.” 

Earlier notifications could also help residents make better preparations in the event of a fire, such as asking a neighbor to pick up your pets for you rather than driving back to Boulder Creek from your job in Santa Cruz, said Norris. 

Statewide, California’s evacuation alert systems came under scrutiny following fires throughout the summer of 2020. As the Associated Press reported, notifications were sometimes spotty or slow, and some residents said they never received them. Santa Cruz County leaders launched a new and improved alert and warning system, CruzAware, in 2023, driven in part by the lessons learned from the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. 

Even with upgraded warning systems, gaps remain; systems vary by region, phone alerts can be ignored as robocalls, and sometimes alerts still come too late for residents to return home to gather their belongings before evacuating. 

Ember Flash is combining cameras and AI technology to create special sensors that can detect wildfire smoke and issue alerts for residents and emergency services. Credit: Ember Flash Aerospace

To help solve these problems, Ember Flash developed Vigilant Detect, which essentially involves special sensors that combine advanced cameras and AI. The cameras can capture images every minute and the system then uses AI to analyze those images in real time for early signs of wildfire smoke. The idea is that these monitors could be installed in neighborhoods and Firewise communities, groups of neighbors who’ve come together to reduce wildfire risks in the community. Property owners and emergency service agencies could then receive notifications through an app when the system detects a wildfire. 

The company is currently doing pilot programs in a few sites in Santa Cruz County and other fire-prone areas, including residential neighborhoods, municipalities and local vineyards, Norris said. The Ember Flash team works on site to identify the best locations for the sensors and ensure everything runs smoothly. These tests help the company refine its detection algorithms, test the durability of the hardware and the product design in real-world conditions while also collecting feedback about the user experience. Ember Flash is looking for more property owners interested in joining its pilot program.

Norris said the company expects to be able to start selling their products to neighborhood associations and fire protection districts next year.

Vigilant Detect isn’t the only project the company’s working on. It’s also working with Dutch company Kitepower to mount Ember Flash’s AI-powered smoke-sensing devices on Kitepower’s high-tech kites that generate energy from wind. The idea there is that these kites could be flown into remote, windy places to detect wildfires while they’re still just wisps of smoke. 

Another effort is using drone technology for both gathering real-time data about existing fires and rapidly helping to put them out. The company’s Vigilant Raptor is an autonomous drone that can quickly navigate into hard-to-reach areas to dispense fire suppressant. These could be owned and used by private citizens, but Norris said the company envisions fire protection districts (the local government entities responsible for fire prevention and suppression in a specific geographic area) as the primary customers for these devices. 

“Our goal is to make them inexpensive, make them smart and make them fast,” Norris said of the company’s products. 

Eyes on the XPrize

The company’s Vigilant Raptor is currently a semifinalist in the XPrize Wildfire competition, in which teams around the world are competing in two different tracks to transform how wildfires are detected, managed and fought. 

The competition is divided into two tracks, space-based detection and intelligence and autonomous wildfire response, according to Santy. From more than 150 submissions, 49 teams were selected to advance and in 2025, semifinals testing began. 

Ember Flash was one of 15 semifinalists in the intelligence and autonomous wildfire response category and it now moves on to finals testing, which is slated for July 2026. The company will have to demonstrate to the contest’s judges that within 10 minutes, it can autonomously detect and suppress a high-risk fire in a 621-square-mile, environmentally challenging area. 

“The competition kind of kicked us into a slightly different route,” Norris said. “It kicked our suppression efforts into high gear.”

While the Kohlmans have since moved back to their native Ohio, Ember Flash Aerospace remains firmly rooted in Boulder Creek. Its local team members include Zach Ackemann, a former Felton firefighter who now runs the company’s business operations, and Steve Lindsey-Guerrero, a deputy fire chief in Palo Alto who serves as a technical expert.  In addition to the San Lorenzo Valley, the company also has an engineering team in Oklahoma. 

So far, Ember Flash has been funded by investments from its founding team and early employees, but company leaders said they’re also looking for investors and funding to help them scale.

For Kohlman and Norris, Ember Flash is now their full-time job, and both spend a lot of time in Santa Cruz County as testing, prototyping and development continue, with pilot programs underway. Involving community members to test out their products is a key part of the company’s efforts and harkens back to the conversations that inspired Ember Flash in the first place – giving residents a way to help out with efforts to improve wildfire notification and response. 

“We really want to empower them to be part of the solution,” Kohlman said of community members and non-firefighters. “People want to help. If a lot of people do a lot of small things, it can make a big difference.”

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The Board’s Playbook for AI: Strategy, Tech, and Culture

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The Gist

  • AI is a board-level mandate. Boards must go beyond ROI and ask if the organization is strategically, technically and culturally ready for AI at scale.
  • Strategy, tech and culture matter equally. Customer experience leaders need forward-looking bets, the right tools and ownership and a workforce empowered to adapt.
  • Readiness defines leadership. True AI advantage comes from holistic readiness, not isolated pilots—boards that wait risk narrowing their opportunity.

AI is now central to strategy, not just operations. But many boards still lack a clear lens to evaluate its impact? And as AI adoption accelerates, boards and executive teams are grappling with an essential question: how do we know it’s working?

Evaluating AI impact isn’t just about tracking ROI or measuring model accuracy. It’s about understanding whether the organization is truly ready — strategically, technically and culturally — to embrace AI at scale. The real opportunity lies in turning AI from isolated pilots into a sustained source of advantage.

So where should business leaders start? Let’s break it down across three critical areas: strategic awareness, technical aptitude and cultural readiness.

Table of Contents

Strategic Awareness: Are You Seeing the Big Picture – and Acting on It?

To lead with AI, boards should first ask: do we have a forward-looking, competitively informed view of how AI is reshaping our industry? If the answer is unclear, it may be time to revisit strategic priorities.

High-performing organizations place bold, forward-looking bets. That might mean investing in customer experience transformation, rethinking core product offerings or experimenting with entirely new business models enabled by AI.

Importantly, this isn’t a one-time strategy session. Many leading organizations systematically monitor AI moves by competitors, startups and emerging players. They use AI to help set strategy and envision opportunities, along with keeping an eye on how hyperscalers, research labs and ecosystem partners are evolving and act accordingly.

Technical Aptitude: Do You Have the Tools, Talent and Infrastructure to Execute?

Even the best AI strategy can stall if the technical foundation isn’t there. Boards should assess: does our organization have the infrastructure, data, and leadership to build and scale AI responsibly?

This isn’t just about hiring more data scientists. It’s about aligning cloud, data and app platforms to support real-time decision-making, automation and agent-based systems. It means building AI capabilities that are unified, governed and reusable – think modular pipelines, agents and APIs that scale across use cases.

Another key question: Who owns AI execution?

In top-performing companies, AI is not confined to an innovation lab. Ownership is shared across business and technology functions. And more importantly, those leaders are technically fluent in the sense that they understand how AI works and feel empowered to act.

A final, often overlooked question: what’s our plan to manage technical debt?

Legacy systems, siloed data and outdated workflows can quietly sabotage AI progress. Modernization efforts should run in parallel with AI deployment, otherwise, progress often stalls before it scales.

Cultural Readiness: Is the Organization Willing – and Able – to Change?

Perhaps one of the most underestimated components of AI success is culture. While AI requires new tools, it also demands a completely new mindset. One that encourages exploration, experimentation and rapid iteration.

Boards should ask: is our leadership and workforce ready to continuously adapt and adopt AI?

An innovative culture isn’t built overnight. It requires visible AI champions who are credible, resourced and empowered to lead. It also means investing in AI literacy across all levels of the business, not just in data teams.

Even more than upskilling, this is about embedding AI understanding into fundamental decision-making, operations and even customer conversations. Everyone, from frontline employees to the C-suite, should have a baseline understanding of what AI is and what it’s not.

Finally, cultural readiness means staying connected to the broader ecosystem, which includes startups, venture capital firms, academia and research communities. This is because no single company can build the future of AI alone.

Related Article: Your Missed Opportunity in Customer Experience Culture

A framework for AI readiness in the boardroom emphasizes strategy, technology, and culture, highlighting six core elements leaders must align to scale AI responsibly.Simpler Media Group

A New Mandate for AI Leadership

The boardroom conversation around AI is shifting. It’s no longer just about “should we invest?” but instead, it’s about “are we investing wisely – and are we ready for what’s next?”

Learning Opportunities



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