Scaling Gen AI: how to steer your organisation to long-term success

As organisations look to scale generative AI and maximise value from this transformative technology, the whole leadership team needs to be involved to drive sustainable success. Here are three priorities to set you on track.

Early Gen AI pilots and the roll-out of AI assistants have given organisations a glimpse of the technology’s transformative potential. Leading companies, especially those with a strong digital and technology heritage, have deployed AI at scale. Now more organisations want in. They’re planning broader deployments, eager to empower teams and pinpoint opportunities to drive growth and boost competitiveness. For some, the instinct will be to hand over this responsibility to IT leaders. However, this overlooks the profound, organisation-wide changes that Gen AI will bring. From reshaping people and processes to transforming technology, scaling Gen AI requires input and leadership from the entire senior team.

The stakes are high 

Organisations that unlock Gen AI’s full potential will set the pace in their industries. Those that don’t, risk falling behind. So, what steps can leaders take to ensure their organisations are on the right track for successful Gen AI adoption at scale?

Define your vision

Scaling Gen AI successfully requires a strategic, structured approach. Simply investing in a collection of promising use cases misses the opportunity to unlock the technology’s full potential. The question isn’t, “Where can we deploy this next?”. Instead, leaders should ask, “What type of organisation do we want to be and how can Gen AI help us get there?”.

Take our work with a financial services organisation focused on resolving complaints, as an example. They have a clear vision: to deliver the best service possible by achieving fair outcomes, speeding up resolution of complaints and providing accurate timelines for case resolution. We are working with them to deploy Gen AI solutions that will turn this vision into reality.  

In another project, we are partnering with a global retail bank to refine its vision to provide the best customer service in the industry. By working with over 500 bank employees, we are reimagining the customer journey, focusing specifically on reducing complaints. In future, Gen AI will play a key role in identifying friction points and automating solutions, ensuring faster, more satisfying customer service.

Set rock-solid data foundations

Rolling out simpler Gen AI applications is relatively straightforward, but more ambitious implementations require the right cloud and data capabilities. Without these, organisations risk comprising their long-term ability to capitalise fully on Gen AI. Think of this investment as laying the groundwork for future success – building the technical, physical and intellectual capabilities the organisation will need in an AI world.

Data is the bedrock of all Gen AI initiatives – it’s key to training and fine-tuning Gen AI applications. To use Gen AI responsibly, organisations must be confident the data the applications are using is clean and accurate. This includes both the organisation’s own data and data from additional sources that AI may reference to improve outputs. Inaccurate data will cause Gen AI to generate misleading insights.

A strong data infrastructure was critical to our work with Energy Networks Association (ENA). We helped build the first-ever central industry platform for the UK power distribution network, consolidating data structures, systems and processes for seven organisations into one unified system. This new platform is now enabling ENA to deploy AI solutions, transforming how thousands of new low-carbon-device registrations are managed every year.

Prepare for transformational impact

For organisations scaling Gen AI, the technology will act as a catalyst for profound transformation, reshaping everything from service delivery to customer engagement to employee experience. The key challenge for executive leaders and sponsors is how to guide the organisation from where it is now to where they want to be. Success in realising the vision will depend on educating employees, inspiring curiosity for new ways of working and building trust in this transformative technology.

Who will drive Gen AI change within the organisation? The experience required to lead the charge has shifted. Today, up-to-date technical knowledge and an intuitive grasp of how Gen AI is reshaping industries often outweigh years of traditional organisational experience. Above all, leaders must bring understanding, ambition and confidence to inspire change and navigate the disruption.

At all levels, a relentless focus on engagement and communication is non-negotiable. Winning hearts and minds is essential. Our engagement programme for a global energy leader is a prime example of how focused communication and leadership can shift the dial on what employees think about AI and how they use it.

Next steps on your AI journey

Scaling Gen AI is more than just a technological exercise – it’s a transformational journey that requires a clear vision, solid foundations and engaged leadership at every point. The future belongs to those who not only embrace the technology, but also inspire their teams for the profound changes ahead. The next steps in your AI journey are critical – are you ready to lead your organisation into the future?

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