Across sectors, AI sits near the top of the board agenda – yet many organisations are still struggling to translate ambition into everyday behaviour change.
Boston Consulting Group’s AI Radar Global Survey found that three-quarters of C‑suite executives list GenAI as a top three strategic priority, but only 25% said they had seen significant value from AI investments so far.
Their research also showed that the organisations getting the most value from AI are those allocating around 70% of their AI effort and resources to up-skilling their people, updating their processes and evolving their culture.
Organisations of different scales are at varying levels of adoption from the FT’s report about ‘refuseniks’ within management at Accenture to Meta reportedly about to link employee performance to AI adoption; and a recent post by cyber security expert Jake Moore, showing a small coffee shop using AI to monitor staff performance and how long customers are sitting at tables.
What’s clear is AI is now moving from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a business performance metric.
Achieving desired results through this AI adoption requires strategic communications and planning before the technology is rolled out. As the team at Blue Goose increasingly supports organisations with embedding AI into their culture, we are seeing three recurring pain points in the transformation:
- fragmented understanding of what AI actually means in day-to-day roles
- big-picture AI narratives from leadership that feel disconnected from the realities of frontline work
- change fatigue – where new tools are perceived as ‘yet another thing’ rather than a smarter way to get work done
Based on our AI transformation frameworks, here are five practical communications and learning tactics to help you close that gap:
Lead with purpose, not platforms. Anchor AI to your business strategy and employee value proposition, not just efficiency. Your people need to understand how AI supports better decisions, stronger customer experiences and more meaningful work.
Tell a clear internal story. Move beyond buzzwords. Use simple, consistent language and human examples that show how AI augments – not replaces – people. Make it explicit what will change, what won’t, and what support is in place.
Invest in capability-building. Reflecting the 70% rule, prioritise skills, process, and culture over technology spend. Blend micro‑learning, role-based training and peer-led ‘show and tells’ so people can try AI safely in the flow of work.
Make experimentation visible. Recognise teams who pilot new use cases, share lessons and iterate openly. Storytelling around small wins is one of the fastest ways to normalise new behaviours.
Listen, measure, adapt. Use pulse surveys, listening groups and manager feedback to track confidence, understanding and adoption. Treat AI as an ongoing change journey, with communications that evolve as fast as the technology.
If you’re serious about AI, the success differentiator won’t be the tools you buy, but the stories you tell, the employee behaviours you reward and the culture you evolve around this new capability.
Talk to Blue Goose to hear more about how we can help you integrate AI into your organisation.
Ilustration by Chenspec
