Chris O’Neill builds and scales enduring companies. Currently the CEO of GrowthLoop, he has led teams at Google, Evernote, Glean and Xero.
Since I started cycling, I’ve noticed something about walking into a bike shop—it’s both exciting and a little overwhelming. The latest models glisten under the shop lights, each promising to make your ride faster or more comfortable. But when you’re standing there surrounded by so many options, it can be hard to know which one will help you get the results you’re after.
Sound familiar? It’s a lot like sifting through today’s AI solutions. In the martech landscape, new AI tools pop up daily, each promising to revolutionize how we do business. But with so much promise, how do you know which one will truly deliver?
Like finding the right bike, choosing the right AI tool requires more than sitting in on a flashy demo. You’ve got to dig deeper.
Let’s break down four steps you should take to find the AI tool that will drive real, tangible results for your business.
1. Look For Solutions That Deliver More Than Just Efficiency Gains
We’ve all heard it before: AI tools will save time and cut costs by automating tedious tasks. And don’t get me wrong, I know how vital efficiency is to running a successful operation. But truly revolutionary AI tools will drive real business results, not just increases in productivity.
The most innovative AI tools will improve critical business outcomes: revenue, customer satisfaction, brand visibility. Ask yourself: Will it drive actual business outcomes, not just free up a few hours? Dig deeper and look beyond the surface of efficiency.
A lot of AI out there today is just flashy demoware—like that bike trainer you swore you’d use every day but instead just collects dust in the garage. Sure, the demo looks impressive, but the key is moving from “wow” to “how.” How can your business apply that technology in a practical way and will it scale as your business grows?
2. Seek Out Real Customer Stories And Use Cases
Since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, we’ve seen countless AI companies rise fast and fall even faster. The promises were there, but the results? Not so much.
This is why it’s essential to look at real-world use cases. Find out how companies in industries like yours have applied AI, and whether it helped them solve the same problems you’re facing.
Perhaps most important is asking how the company maintains enterprise-level security and data privacy. In a world where a data breach seems to make headlines once a week, it’s vital to partner with companies that are built on trust, allow you full control of your data, and adhere to the highest standards of privacy and security.
And don’t just rely on case studies. If you can, talk to people who’ve used the tool. What was the learning curve like? What results did they see? Did it deliver a delightful experience?
3. Make Sure There’s Still A Role For Human Expertise
AI is powerful, but it’s not a magic bullet. The best AI tools don’t replace human expertise — they enhance it. They’re designed to take some heavy lifting off your plate, but ultimately, you still need human judgment to interpret the results and make decisions.
AI has speed, but it lacks human ingenuity and creativity. It can analyze data in milliseconds, but it’s still up to a human to interpret it with context, intuition and experience.
So, as you evaluate AI solutions, look for ones that give you transparency into how decisions are made. Does the tool leave room for human ingenuity? Will it empower your team to make better decisions and elevate their creativity, or will it just spit out answers from a black box?
4. Read Between The Lines—And The Jargon
Tech marketing loves buzzwords. Words like “paradigm-shifting” and “agile solutions” are always thrown around. But when you look closely, do these phrases mean anything?
Complex tech doesn’t have to be hard to understand. AI companies that offer clear, value-based messaging in plain language are less likely to hide behind smoke and mirrors. If you can understand right away how the tool works and what it does for your business, you’re off to a good start. And if the company is willing to show you exactly how their AI works—what data sources they use, how decisions are made—that’s a good sign, too.
But if you get a lot of jargon and not much else, be careful. You might be dealing with a dog that’s just painted to look like a panda—one thing on the surface but something entirely different underneath.
AI Is Everywhere—Look Closely To Find The Right One For You
The surge in AI tech is unlike anything I’ve seen in my career. It seems every day, a new, shiny tool or model with “unprecedented capabilities” lands on the showroom floor. While this AI revolution offers heaps of promise, it can be challenging to cut through the noise to find a solution that provides tangible business results for your organization.
As you navigate the crowded showroom floor of AI, look closely at how a solution will provide real business value and not just time savings. And don’t be afraid to dig deep—find out if the tech is real, how other people use it and whether it’s the right use case for your organization.
Like finding a new bike, choosing the right AI tool will take time and effort. But it’ll be worth it when you find a solution that truly delivers business impact and helps your organization reach new heights. As we say in cycling, “the view is worth the climb”—something I always have to tell myself on those big hills.
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