How to Make AI a Core Part of Your Business Strategy Here's how to transform organizations through thoughtful AI implementation.

Weekly AI integration meetings are an essential part of how our company operates. During these gatherings, team members share their latest discoveries in applying artificial intelligence to game development. I see these events as the culmination of our deliberate strategy to become an "AI-powered entertainment company." However, just a year ago, it was unimaginable.

Everything changed for us in October 2024. Back then, I saw how AI tools could be personalized to solve specific problems — ones that are unique to each individual. This helped me realize that we weren't looking at another technology trend that would be forgotten in a year or two. We were witnessing the beginning of a fundamental shift in how businesses operate.

Related: 5 Tactics for Entrepreneurs to Balance AI with Humanity

Strategic skepticism

Like many business leaders, my journey with AI started with a healthy skepticism. Initially, in our company, AI was assumed to be just another buzzword, and we couldn't see how to apply it meaningfully to our business.

This changed dramatically when I began personally experimenting with AI tools in late 2024. I realized that people don't operate at their full efficiency, not because they're lazy, but because they often make the same mistakes others have made before.

Meanwhile, AI gives us access to collective knowledge about successful and unsuccessful methods, allowing us to make new mistakes instead of repeating old ones. This realization led to a strategic pivot for our gaming company. It allowed me to start seeing AI as a fundamental component capable of transforming every aspect of our business.

The personalization revolution

Delivering experiences tailored to each individual's needs and preferences is at the heart of my AI strategy. AI allows us to achieve much finer personalization than simply targeting cohorts. We can deliver content that feels truly personal, which drives retention.

This approach extends beyond customer-facing applications to internal processes as well. I've implemented AI tools that help our employees work more efficiently by adapting to their individual working styles and preferences.

For instance, I've noticed that sometimes I prefer to interact with information through voice, and other times through text. AI is the tool that can tailor this interaction to what feels right to me at the moment and transform information into any form I need.

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Overcoming resistance to change

Implementing AI across an organization doesn't come without challenges, with human inertia being the primary obstacle. People can be incredibly resistant to change and reluctant even to try new things. They bury themselves in routine tasks and often give up after their first unsuccessful attempt.

To combat the resistance, my company has implemented several strategies:

• Leading by example. I always start with myself. I show what's possible with AI tools and demonstrate the results.
• Creating communities of early adopters. We've established a Telegram channel and Slack groups where AI enthusiasts share use cases and success stories.
• Mentorship programs. Pairing AI-proficient employees with those who are still learning helps provide personalized guidance.
• Regular challenges and workshops. Structured activities keep employees engaged and motivated to continue exploring AI applications.
• Celebrating small wins. Recognizing and sharing successes, no matter how small, helps maintain momentum.

The CEO as AI champion

Leadership plays a crucial role in the successful integration of AI. As CEO, it's my job to inspire and guide people toward adopting an efficient approach to this technology.

It goes beyond simply promoting AI use. It also means helping employees understand how to apply AI to their specific roles. Many people tend to believe that AI can do nothing for their jobs.

To address this, I personally work with employees to identify AI applications in their daily tasks. Sometimes, I have to spend five days in a row asking someone if they've tried using AI for a particular task before they finally do and get amazed by the results.

Related: How to Effectively Integrate AI into Your Organizational Strategy

Balancing efficiency and creativity

While AI can dramatically boost efficiency, I still believe that human creativity remains essential. For something to be created, someone needs to want to create it. AI is a tool in the hands of an author. It can make the process faster or slower, but it won't initiate creation on its own.

This perspective shapes our approach to AI integration as a partnership between human creativity and machine efficiency. It's an amazing symbiosis: humans direct AI, and AI does what it does best.

An AI-powered future

For businesses looking to make AI a core part of their strategy, my advice is to start small, iterate quickly, and focus on personalization.

Our team is only at the beginning of this journey. But if we move at sufficient speed, we'll stay ahead. All we need to do is move faster than others. We don't need to move in exactly the right way. We need to move quickly. I predict that within the next year, we'll have 30% of our content creation and coding processes transformed to leverage AI significantly.

Making AI a core part of your business strategy is more about fundamentally rethinking how your organization operates than about simply adapting a new technology. In my experience, it requires a combination of visionary leadership, systematic implementation, and a willingness to iterate and learn.

The world has changed. Those who embrace AI now will not only gain a competitive advantage but also participate in reshaping the future of business itself.