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Publications
Publications
  • July–August 2023
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

What Smart Companies Know About Integrating AI

By: Silvio Palumbo and David Edelman
  • Format:Electronic
  • | Pages:10
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Abstract

AI has the power to gather, analyze, and utilize enormous volumes of individual customer data to achieve precision and scale in personalization. The experiences of Mercury Financial, CVS Health, and Starbucks debunk the prevailing notion that extracting value from AI solutions is a technology-building exercise. That thinking holds companies back from capturing the power of AI. They needn’t build it; they just have to properly integrate it into a particular business context.

But AI is probably only about 10% of the secret sauce. The other 90% lies in the combination of data, experimentation, and talent that constantly activates and informs the intelligence behind personalization. Personalization is the goal; it’s what constitutes a company’s strategic brawn. The technology is merely the tool for reaching it. The authors describe what it means to integrate AI tools and what it takes to continually experiment, constantly generate learning, and import fresh data to improve and refine customer journeys.

Keywords

AI and Machine Learning; Customization and Personalization; Integration; Technology Adoption

Citation

Palumbo, Silvio, and David Edelman. "What Smart Companies Know About Integrating AI." Harvard Business Review 101, no. 4 (July–August 2023): 116–125.
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More from the Authors

    • February 2024
    • Faculty Research

    SundaySky: Changing Customer Experiences through Personalized Video

    By: David C. Edelman and James Barnett
    • May 2023 (Revised January 2024)
    • Faculty Research

    Quigley-Simpson & Heppelwhite: The Ad Agency Model in the Age of AI

    By: David C. Edelman and James Barnett
    • September 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Pointillist: Building a Business in Customer Journey Analytics

    By: David C. Edelman
More from the Authors
  • SundaySky: Changing Customer Experiences through Personalized Video By: David C. Edelman and James Barnett
  • Quigley-Simpson & Heppelwhite: The Ad Agency Model in the Age of AI By: David C. Edelman and James Barnett
  • Pointillist: Building a Business in Customer Journey Analytics By: David C. Edelman
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