Strategic AI Requires More Than Just a Subscription
One of the most overlooked aspects of AI implementation is understanding the difference between tools, configurations, and true transformation. Too often, companies mistake accessibility for strategy, thinking that subscribing to ready-made, out-of-the-box tools is the same as fully integrating AI into their business. This isn’t thoughtful adoption; it’s short-term convenience masked as innovation.
In our work with leaders across various industries, we consistently emphasize three levels of AI implementation. Each level has its role. Each serves a different purpose.
Level One: SaaS
SaaS tools are quick, accessible, and packaged, focusing on a specific task, such as summarizing text, rewriting copy, generating ideas, or automating tasks. These tools can boost productivity quickly but lack some of the transformative capabilities of more tailored and configured offerings.
Level Two: Configuration
Custom configuration sits in the middle. It adapts and modifies existing AI solutions to fit your systems, workflows, data, and goals. It’s the point where AI becomes more aligned and tailored to your business, not just assisting it. Configuration requires cross-functional thinking and intentional design, often involving customization, model training, and specific use cases.
Level Three: Custom Development
Custom development is the most advanced level. It involves building and deploying specialized, purpose-built proprietary AI models, custom applications, and workflows to tackle complex, industry-specific, and organization-specific challenges with sophisticated system integrations. While it requires a higher investment, it provides significant potential for both short-term and long-term ROI.
Most companies will utilize all three in some combination, to varying degrees. The mistake to avoid is thinking that one size fits all or, worse, that any one of them alone makes an organization fully integrated and AI-optimized. The key is aligning the strategy and approach with real business needs.
Choosing the wrong level of implementation can lead to stalled pilots, underutilized tools, and missed opportunities. However, when leaders pause, weigh their options, ask key questions, and consider all possibilities, they don’t just implement AI. They lead with it.
AI is more than a chatbot; it’s a business architecture. And like any structure, its value comes from how intelligently it’s designed, integrated, and scaled.
So ask yourself: are you choosing AI for speed or for strategy? Because the best results don’t come from what’s available. They come from what’s appropriate.
