A portfolio company was running five-plus AI tools across different functions. On paper, they were ahead of the curve. In reality, usage was close to zero.
Every team had access. No one had a reason to use it consistently.
The problem wasn’t capability — it was integration. So we made one change: instead of layering AI on top of existing workflows, we embedded it directly into them. Tasks couldn’t be completed without it. Outputs depended on it. Managers reinforced it.
Within weeks, behavior changed — not because the tools got better, but because the environment did.
That’s the real lesson. AI adoption doesn’t come from availability. It comes from necessity. Make the tool the path of least resistance for getting real work done, and usage takes care of itself.