AI That Works: What is creating value and what is not

AI is moving quickly, but many businesses are still unsure how to turn the opportunity into practical value. This session explores where to start, how to identify useful AI applications, how to manage risk and how to embed AI into real business processes. 

AI is becoming a practical business tool that can improve productivity, decision-making, customer service, marketing, sales, operations and product development. 

But many founders and business leaders are still asking the same questions: where do we start, what should we use it for, how do we manage the risks, and how do we move from experimenting with tools to creating real business value? 

This session will explore how businesses can implement AI in a practical, responsible and commercially useful way. It will look at how leaders identify the right use cases, prepare their teams, choose tools, protect data, manage change and measure impact. 

The focus will not be on AI theory or technical jargon. It will be about how founders and business leaders can make AI work inside real businesses, with real people, real processes and real commercial priorities. 

Who should attend

This session is for founders who want to understand how AI can support growth, productivity and competitiveness, as well as CEOs, MDs and business owners considering how to introduce AI into their organisation. 

It will be particularly relevant for scaleup leaders looking to improve sales, marketing, operations, finance, customer service or product development using AI, and for senior managers responsible for digital transformation, operations, technology, people or strategy. 

It will also be useful for business leaders who have experimented with AI tools but have not yet embedded them properly, advisers, investors and ecosystem partners supporting companies that need to become more AI-ready, and non-technical leaders who want a clear, practical route into AI implementation. 

Why it’s relevant

AI is already changing how businesses operate, compete and grow. For founders and business leaders, the question is no longer whether AI matters. The question is how to use it well. 

Many companies are experimenting with AI, but relatively few have turned experimentation into structured implementation. Some are using tools informally without clear policies, training or measurement. Others are waiting because they feel overwhelmed by the pace of change, uncertain about risks, or unsure where AI will make the biggest difference. 

That creates both a risk and an opportunity. Businesses that learn how to implement AI effectively can reduce manual work, improve decision-making, speed up customer response, strengthen sales and marketing, support better internal processes and free people to focus on higher-value work. 

Businesses that do not engage may find themselves falling behind competitors who are faster, leaner and better informed. 

This session is relevant because it focuses on the practical leadership challenge: how to move from AI curiosity to AI capability. 

What you’ll take away

You will leave with a clearer understanding of where AI can create value in a growing business, and a practical way to identify good AI use cases. 

The session will provide insight into how to move beyond individual tool use into business-wide implementation, while also covering the risks around data, accuracy, security, compliance and staff adoption. 

You will gain ideas for using AI across sales, marketing, operations, customer service, finance and product development, along with guidance on how to prepare teams for AI-enabled ways of working. 

The session will also help you think more clearly about what should be automated, what should be augmented, and what should remain human-led. 

You will leave with practical examples of how businesses are already using AI to improve performance, a starting point for building an AI implementation plan, and greater confidence to take the next step without being overwhelmed by the technology.