There’s a certain fear of missing out, or FOMO, at play here. In a recent survey in the United Kingdom, for example, 58% of IT leaders said they are worried their companies will be left behind if they don’t use AI. Almost all respondents, 95%, in the State of Intelligent Automation: AI Trust Barometer report said they plan to increase investment in AI in 2025.

The issue then becomes how to use AI in the best way possible. Concerns over simply missing out cannot be a basis for a solid strategy.

“There’s obviously huge pressure to adopt AI technologies simply because everyone else seems to be doing it,” said Vukasin Ilic, co-founder of Linkter, a Delaware and Serbia-based company that helps company websites rank higher on search engines. “I’ve seen companies rush into using AI tools because of the hype without a clear understanding of how it fits into their overall strategy, often leading to wasted resources and fragmented efforts.”

The key is to identify specific problems or inefficiencies inside a company and see how AI might address such problems, Ilic said. For him and Linkter, internal linking for search engine optimization purposes was a time-consuming task prone to human error. The response? Build a solution for it using AI.

“But we didn’t adopt AI for that process because it was the trendy thing to do. We did it because it provided a tangible solution to a real problem,” he said.

Taking it slow even though life may depend on it

Podcast host group Blubrry is approaching AI “as if the company’s survival is at stake,” said Todd Cochrane, CEO of the Columbus, Ohio-based company.

That doesn’t mean a headlong rush into using AI without a strategic mindset, however, he said. The company is using AI with a focus on ethical use, particularly in the content production of its customers, statistical analysis, and creator support.

“There’s awareness of the AI trend, but Blubrry prioritizes strategic and ethical integration while recognizing that AI will be transformative,” Cochrane said.

The company spent six months laying out various AI tools to help improve the production process of its customers and what exactly such processes should look like.

Even people’s lives may depend on using AI strategically and effectively, says Toon Segers, co-founder of Utrecht, Netherlands-based Roseman Labs, a tech startup that uses cryptographic techniques to enhance data security and data collaboration in the healthcare space. AI is an “integral part of revolutionizing data science for healthcare,” Segers said.

“The healthcare system is collapsing due to aging populations, increasing costs, and the scarcity of professionals,” he said. “Data sharing and data science are seen as key to improving treatment effectiveness and alleviating bottlenecks in care pathways.”

Getting buy-in?

Perhaps the one thing that worries people most about AI is that it could be a threat to their jobs. The machines are taking over everything kind of concept.

This can be a real problem when it comes to implementing AI processes, sources say.

Ben Clayton, CEO at Media Medic, a Springfield, Missouri-based company that cleans up audio and video files for use in legal areas, said that while some of his teams are positive about the prospects of AI because of its potential to automate tasks and boost productivity, other employees are not so sure, particularly those who have been around longer.

“They worry about AI replacing jobs, and in our field, where human expertise is crucial, that fear is valid,” Clayton said. “We’ve got to balance adopting new tech without losing the human judgment that’s essential to our work.”

While there is pushback from some of his employees who are also fearful of losing their jobs, such fears may be misplaced, said Cache Merrill, CEO of Utah-based software development company Zibtek.

“But we see it as augmentation rather than replacement — using AI to do the grunt of the job task and allowing people to do more interesting things,” he said. “Mostly, the resistance comes from people who are in the traditional roles and have not yet seen the scope of AI’s full potential.”

Work in progress, hopefully

It’s a brave new world out there, and implementing solid and beneficial AI processes within companies is still very much a work in progress for many.

It is clear many are still sitting on the sidelines even as some companies have fully embraced AI, perhaps because their business model largely depends on it.

Others are simply not receiving the necessary training, with 65% of employees reporting a complete lack of training on the subject while 32% of employees say they are expected to work things out on their own, according to recent data from educational services group Bright Horizons.

While regulation of AI is a separate matter, companies themselves need to be aware of how to use it ethically and perhaps use it selectively, said Carrie Goetz, owner of IT consultancy StrategITcom.

“This technology is not as mature as it can be, and I recommend my customers use AI for specific purposes as it relates to their business,” she said. “I also recommend that they have clear HR and legal policies in place whether they implement it as a tool or just use it as a resource.”

If not, there is the persistent threat of unethical practices such as deepfakes and “AI washing,” in which service providers can use marketing practices promising the hype of AI but without any real follow-through.

So, as daunting as AI is, and as things in the field seem to progress exponentially from one day to the next, perhaps the most beneficial approach is not to rush in for the sake of it but to use AI strategically and as a true advantage for companies. AI needs to be embraced, but carefully.

“Once you’ve got that (creative) spark and you’re off to the races, make AI your collaborator,” said Greg Bradley, director of content at VShift, a New York City-based digital experience agency that works with enterprise-scale brands in regulated industries. “Use it to help you refine drafts, explore different tones, seek visual ideas, make things simpler, make things elaborate. This isn’t ideation, it’s iteration, and AI can be a powerful teammate.”

Nick Thomas is a writer based in Denver.