AI's Early Days: Why Chatbots Are Just the Beginning

AI is in its early stages, like when electricity first came out. Back then, factories just swapped gas lamps for light bulbs. It made things brighter and safer, but the real change happened later. Factories redesigned themselves around electric motors. This changed how things were made and whole industries. Today, AI is like those early light bulbs. Chatbots are useful, but they're just the start. The big change will come when companies use AI to change how they work. For example, a bank gave its employees AI tools to write emails and summarize documents. Other banks copied them. These tools save time, but they don't make the company better. That's why many companies aren't seeing big results from AI. AI goes through stages. First, companies panic and try to use AI without a plan. Now, they use AI for simple tasks like chatbots. The next stage is the big one. AI will do complex work and change how businesses operate. Most companies are still in the early stages. They haven't reached the point where AI can really help them. To use AI well, companies should start with boring tasks. Find the tasks that must be done but no one likes. Automate them with AI. This will make the company more productive. AI should also change how businesses work. It shouldn't just make reports faster. It should change how deals are made and supply chains are managed. Companies need to rethink how they measure success with AI. They should focus on specific tasks and set clear goals. AI changes how value is created. By focusing on the right tasks, companies can see the real benefits of AI. History shows that the light bulb was just the start. The companies that used electricity to change how they worked saw the biggest benefits. The same is true for AI. Business leaders should remember this lesson.