Most companies celebrate AI adoption too soon. They think that giving every employee ChatGPT access means they’re "AI-first." That’s like thinking giving every employee a calculator makes them a finance expert.
Mass adoption means everyone is using AI tools. Depth adoption means your company is using AI in ways your competitors aren’t. Amazon’s AI-driven supply chain optimization is depth. A company using AI chatbots for customer service is mass adoption. One is a true differentiator. The other is just keeping up.
What should you do? Push for both. Encourage company-wide AI literacy, but also invest in specialized teams that explore high-impact AI applications. Mass adoption is table stakes. Depth adoption is where competitive advantage is built.