Artificial intelligence (AI) fever has taken over the market. Companies of all sizes rush to launch pilots, create agents and show that they are surfing the wave. The discourse is of total transformation, but the numbers tell another story. According to an MIT report, 95% of generative AI projects in companies fail to achieve their goals. The data impresses, but it is not surprising, after all, most of these initiatives are born more of the rush in “ter something with AI” of a clarity about what really needs to be solved.
This is the blind spot of adoption, because the problem is not in the technology itself, but in the lack of understanding of the business itself. I have followed from Startups to companies with more than 13 thousand employees invest fortunes in automation without even having defined their workflows. There is a dangerous confusion between two distinct steps: map how the work should happen and create the AI agent that will automate it. When this mixes, failure is inevitable and there is no algorithm capable of saving a poorly designed process.
Another recurring error is the obsession with “magical”. The belief that a system will be able to sell itself, serve alone and manage the entire operation autonomously still seduces executives.It's just that this vision, besides unreal, is a distraction. The future of AI is not in self-sufficient robots, but in stronger and more productive human-machine teams.The biggest advances are not happening on the front line with the customer, but behind the scenes.
It is precisely in the backoffice that the revolution is already concrete. Automation of responses to emails, transcription and summary of meetings, automatic filling of CRMs, continuous market analysis, support for content production, are these uses that have shown real gains. I saw insurers reduce processes from four days to 30 minutes and teams conquer in a single day what previously took a week. Unlike fiction, you can consider this model as tangible productivity. It is clear that AI projects do not fail due to technical limitations, but due to lack of strategic clarity. The mistake is in seeking miracles, when the real opportunity is in redesigning processes and using technology as a substitute for human reinforcement.
The future of artificial intelligence is not in fully independent machines, but in the construction of hybrid teams, where humans and algorithms work together. Companies that can integrate AI strategically in their processes will be able to increase productivity, reduce costs and offer more agile and efficient services. The real competitive advantage will come from those who see AI not as a substitute, but as an amplifier of human talent, transforming repetitive tasks in time for more strategic and creative decisions. Whoever insists on waiting for AI to do magic, will continue to feed the statistics of the 95%.
*Renato Asse is the founder of Community Without Codar, the largest No Code and AI school in Latin America, with more than 20 thousand members, having already implemented Artificial Intelligence Agents in companies with 13 thousand employees.
