5 steps for a successful GenAI adoption

When it comes to GenAI adoption, ensuring that your business is ready is just as important as the technology itself.  

Successful AI  adoption and implementation requires more than just excitement about the tools—it needs careful planning and alignment with business needs.  By defining clear use cases, assessing current tools, maintaining an AI repository, and balancing investments with returns, you can ensure your business is fully prepared to adopt AI successfully. 

Want to know where you stand? Take our GenAI assessment to find out. 

Balancing GenAI adoption investment vs. return

For a successful GenAI adoption, balancing the cost of AI investments with returns is a crucial step, but it starts with understanding where those returns will come from.

Deploying AI incrementally—starting with analytics, process mining, and then scaling up to GenAI—helps balance initial costs with long-term gains.

The key is to measure the impact of AI adoption, whether through cost savings (e.g., reduced full-time employees or FTEs) or increased organizational agility (e.g., handling seasonal spikes in service demand with AI-driven scalability). 

Defining business use cases

One of the first steps in ensuring business readiness for GenAI adoption is defining clear use cases for AI. Rather than pushing technology for the sake of it, start by identifying the specific pain points within your organization that AI can address. Ask questions like: 

What inefficiencies exist?

Where can AI help us scale or perform tasks more efficiently?

How do we measure the improvements AI will bring? 

Measurement can take many forms—whether it’s tracking cost savings by reducing manual tasks or improving agility through AI-enhanced operations like customer service, where AI allows businesses to scale up support during busy times (e.g., holidays) and scale down during quieter periods. 

Exploring existing applications and AI capabilities 

Another important step is assessing the tools and software your company is already using. Many applications, including ServiceNow, are increasingly incorporating AI and GenAI features. By understanding what AI capabilities are available in your current applications, you can avoid unnecessary investments and maximize the functionality of your existing tools. 

One example comes from a company that dedicated a small team for a few days to investigate AI use cases across their applications. They explored what features were already available in their current software and identified areas where AI could be applied to improve processes. This approach allowed them to make informed decisions about where to start with AI, ensuring a smoother transition. 

Tracking AI progress 

As businesses adopt more AI, it’s essential to keep track of where and how AI is being used. This is where an AI repository comes in. By documenting the AI capabilities you’re leveraging across various software platforms (e.g., SAP, ServiceNow), you can: 

• Stay in control of AI use across your organization. 

• Comply with increasing AI regulations and security measures. 

• Measure AI success in different areas, helping you expand AI readiness across other departments. 

Keeping an AI repository also allows you to stay conscious of how AI is being utilized to drive business outcomes, helping you scale successes across the organization. 

Continuous expansion 

AI readiness doesn’t stop at initial adoption.  

As your organization begins to see success with AI, it’s essential to expand readiness to other areas. By continuously assessing and updating your AI strategy, you can ensure that all departments are prepared to adopt AI when the time is right, whether it’s through GenAI or other AI capabilities.