If you spend enough time around technology leaders right now, the conversations will eventually end up in the same place. It’s about automation, efficiency, and how AI can quickly reshape your business. The assumption behind many of these conversations is that more AI is inherently better, helping businesses run faster, teams more efficient, and operations smarter.
As someone who runs a technology company, I understand the excitement. We are building AI into our products. We believe that this creates meaningful value for our customers. But I also think many leaders approach this in the opposite direction.
Too many companies start with technology rather than strategy. They’re asking, “What is our AI strategy?” Before asking the more important question, “What problem can our business solve for our customers?”
It may sound obvious, but there is now a lot of pressure on companies to implement AI first and understand the business impact later. Boards of directors and investors are asking questions. Employees are trying out new tools. In such an environment, it is easy to mistake the application of technology for strategic advancement.
Michael Porter, one of the most influential thinkers in corporate strategy, points out that there are two general strategies, and only two, that companies can pursue. One is “low-cost leadership,” where companies drive higher profits through a sustainable low-cost structure, and the other is “product differentiation,” where customers choose to pay more for better products and services.
Technology is not the only strategy. This is a tool that supports one of Porter’s general strategies. Particularly in service industries like healthcare and hospitality, the real differentiator remains how customers feel when they interact with your business, and whether that interaction drives a desire to spend more time with your business or come back again.
Its importance is increasing as customer expectations increase. Across industry segments, people increasingly expect instant, personalized, and frictionless experiences. At the same time, companies are operating under constant pressure to streamline teams, increase workloads, and increase efficiency.
AI can help address some of these challenges. But efficiency isn’t the only goal, unless you’re working towards a commoditized customer experience and the lowest shipping costs. For many, customer enthusiasm for your brand is the goal, which drives spending decisions with your company. As Porter points out, pursuing this goal always results in higher spending, higher profits, and higher stock multiples.
For example, at Kipsu, we eventually realized that despite offering a messaging product, we weren’t actually in the messaging business. We are doing satisfactory business. Messaging is one of the tools that helps organizations improve guest experience and loyalty.
Defining business success in terms of healthy customer relationships rather than technology allows you to be more disciplined about where technology adds value and where it doesn’t.
That mindset has shaped how we approach AI. If automation improves the guest experience, it’s a good strategy. If interactions start to feel cold, transactional, or disconnected, it can go against the very thing your business is trying to build.
This is especially important in industries where relationships and trust are important. In the service industry, customers rarely remember behind-the-scenes operational efficiency. They remember if someone listened to them, solved a problem, or made them feel valued.
Careful use of AI could make more room for key human moments. One example that we often discuss internally is luxury hospitality. Staff are trained to end interactions with a simple question: “Is there anything else I can do for you?” They may sound like small details, but these moments have a huge impact on how guests perceive their experience.
Ironically, intentional use of AI can eliminate time-consuming and repetitive tasks, giving you more room to serve your customers in the moments that matter. The goal is to give front desk agents more time and mental space to create meaningful experiences.
This is part of the AI conversation that businesses are currently losing sight of.
There is a tendency to frame the future as a competition between humans and machines, as if each increase in automation makes people less important. I think businesses that succeed in the long term take a more balanced approach. They use AI to improve speed, consistency, and efficiency while protecting the human element that customers value most.
None of this means that companies should ignore AI. Leaders must experiment, learn, and identify areas where these tools can create value. But the companies that benefit most from AI are not necessarily the ones that are the earliest to adopt it. They will be the ones who use it most intentionally.
It starts by asking a much simpler question than “What is an AI strategy?” It starts with the question, “What is our business strategy? What kind of business are we trying to build?”
