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StrategyMay 20, 2026·6 min read
Where AI Actually Pays Off (and Where It Doesn't)
Most AI projects stall because they start with the tech, not the problem. Here's the filter we use to find work that returns real money.
The fastest way to waste a quarter is to ask 'how can we use AI?' instead of 'what is expensive, repetitive, and error-prone in our business?'
Start from the cost. Map the workflows where your team spends the most hours, where mistakes are most expensive, and where customers wait the longest. Those three lists overlap somewhere — and that overlap is your first AI project.
Everything else can wait.