My latest for Forbes explores why AI in customer service must evolve beyond mere cost-cutting to deliver intelligent, personal, and experiential journeys. The traditional CRM, once a siloed record system, is transforming into an orchestrated action hub, leveraging AI agents. However, a critical “platform problem” arises from disparate vendor agents, causing sprawl and inconsistent controls. The solution is a unified control plane, acting as a central nervous system to govern and coordinate all AI assets, ensuring accountability. This shift demands…
What CEOs Say About AI in Private and What That Means To Leadership
Originally published in Forbes AI is now firmly on CEO and board agendas. But many leadership teams are still asking the wrong questions. Recently, I led several workshops with roughly 100 CEOs and Chief Operators at a leadership conference in Arizona.The topic was AI. But the real conversation was leadership. These were honest conversations with operators who are under daily pressure to grow revenue, protect margins, improve customer experience, support stretched teams, open better organizations, retain talent and make faster…
Forbes: Ford Offers a Powerful Lesson and Story About Replacing People with AI and Learning from It
Brian Solis shared a cautionary tale in Forbes about what happens when executives replace people with AI vs. empowering them with AI. His article explores the stories of Ford and Klarna and what CEOs should do instead of replacing people with AI. Summary Ford initially replaced quality inspectors with AI, leading to significant quality issues and a realization that AI alone couldn’t replicate crucial human judgment. The company subsequently rehired 350 experienced technical specialists, or “gray beards,” to mentor staff…
Forbes: The AI Conversation CEOs Are Not Having Out Loud
My latest article in Forbes explores what CEOs shared with me about AI business transformation during a full day workshop. AI is now firmly on CEO and board agendas. But many leadership teams are still asking the wrong questions. Recently, I led several workshops with roughly 100 CEOs and Chief Operators at a leadership conference in Arizona. The topic was AI. But the real conversation was leadership. These were honest conversations with operators who are under daily pressure to grow…
Forbes: Why Leaders Are Prioritizing AI Platforms And People To Reinvent Their Business
Via Brian Solis, Forbes Every week, another enterprise and frontier company announces a new AI model, another copilot, another assistant, another agent. And yet, when you ask leaders whether their organizations are actually operating differently, whether decisions are faster, outcomes more autonomous, models of work truly reinvented, the honest answer is often a hesitant, “no.” This creates an enterprise transformation gap between AI that thinks at the individual level and AI that can execute across workflows. Companies are investing billions,…
What Sets AI Pacesetters Apart? An Executive’s Guide To Advancing Enterprise AI
From 2023-2024, I studied how companies were and weren’t evolving in their adoption of generative AI. That research led to a framework for tracking enterprise AI maturity across eight pillars: Vision and Strategy Leadership Data Governance AI Governance Talent, Skills, and Development Workflows Responsible AI Measures In partnership with Richard Murphy and René Stranghoner, we turned a large and complicated spreadsheet into what ultimately became the ServiceNow AI Index. Launched initially in 2024 and again in 2025, we now have…
Forbes: Brian Solis on AI for Marketers
Sandy Carter’s latest article in Forbes explores the optimistic and cautious perspectives of AI heading into 2024. The article features thoughts from Brian Solis. As we approach the brink of 2024, the entwined paths of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and spatial computing are not merely transforming industries; they’re also sculpting new ethical and societal contours. With every conference now an AI Conference including the upcoming CES in Vegas, everyone needs to think not just in terms of technology. In exploring how…
Making The Business Case For The Metaverse: How Companies Can Create Value In The Next Web
The metaverse represents an evolving version of the next web, creating immersive 3D experiences that evolve traditional 2D websites into a connected series of virtual worlds. Already, consumers and businesses are exploring ways to enhance their everyday activities, deepen connectivity, and unlock more exciting applications. New McKinsey research estimates that the potential economic value of the metaverse could generate up to $5 trillion by 2030. The report, “Value Creation in the Metaverse” also found that 57% of metaverse-aware companies say…
Reimagining Customer Experiences In Web3: What Are The Big Questions Companies Need to Ask To Create Value For The Next Web?
This is a very important time and inflection point in the evolution of web3. There’s a fantastic opportunity for brands and marketers willing to engage with this new technology. That said, in the wake of the recent volatility in the NFT and crypto markets, waves of industry layoffs, thefts, hacks, and SEC probes, it’s clear that web3 leaders and the supporting ecosystem must prioritize trust and safety, utility, and long-term value and community to encourage adoption. At the recent CMO…
Beyond the Hype of Web3: Delivering Utility, Value And Community in the Next Web
Originally published in Forbes My dear friends Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells asked me to open Web 3.1, a new unconference series they founded. The goal of the event was to explore ways to deliver the promise of web3. This article is inspired by the research that went into my presentation and the conversations that followed. You can watch the presentation here. Since October 2021, Google Trends data shows that “web3” as a search term started to take off. The…