The Hidden Cost Of Inaction On AI: Why You Can't Afford To Wait And See

Forbes

7 hours ago

Alessio Alionço is the founder and CEO of Pipefy, a global leader in AI-driven low code business process automation solutions.
It's already clear that AI will have a transformational impact on companies, fundamentally reshaping how decisions are made, how work is done and how value is created. That's why if leaders are waiting to adopt AI, they are already late to the game. Inaction is a silent killer when it comes to AI and how it can leverage efficiencies.
AI Adoption Is Gaining Speed
A new survey on the state of AI by McKinsey found that 78% of respondents now report that they're using AI in at least one business function. This is up from 72% in early 2024, which was a huge jump from 55% a year earlier. A 'wait and see' approach risks talent shortages, slower innovation cycles and reduced relevance in a market where speed and adaptability are critical.
It's like the invention of electricity: AI has the power to transform every aspect of business, regardless of your industry. Like electricity, the full potential of AI won't be realized instantly, but over time, it will become absolutely foundational to business competitiveness. It will eventually be an assumed part of doing business, as integrated and accepted as flipping on the lights in the office or sending a colleague an email.
Why Waiting Is A Fatal Mistake
Many leaders find themselves paralyzed by a peculiar paradox: The fear of moving too quickly is causing them to move too slowly. Recent data makes it clear that the technology's adoption is not only already widespread—it's accelerating rapidly.
To take just one example, the 2025 State of AI report by McKinsey shows that AI implementation in IT departments jumped from 27% to 36% in just six months. As many companies take time to 'warm up' to the idea of implementing AI in their workflows, their competitors are reaping the benefits of dramatically increased efficiency. Every single day that a leader waits to welcome AI into their organization is a day that they are silently eroding their company's competitive advantage and future readiness.
The Dangerous Allure Of 'Wait And See'
It seems like sensible caution: 'Let's see how AI performs for our competitors before we upset the apple cart and make a big investment.' This stance appears to mitigate risk—but in reality, it magnifies it.
How exactly are you falling behind? There are four key areas where your company will face growing gaps compared to your competitors:
1. Widening Knowledge Gaps: While you wait, your competitors are educating leadership, training AI models, upskilling teams and integrating AI into core business processes. These strides create a knowledge and capability gap that becomes exponentially harder to close with each passing quarter.
2. Losing Top Talent: It can't be denied: AI is exciting. That's why the best technical and strategic minds want to work with the new technology. Companies that embrace AI will attract superior talent, leaving cautious organizations struggling to recruit top candidates.
3. Missed Learning Opportunities: AI isn't a single event but an iterative journey. Early adopters gain valuable organizational learning that compounds over time. This institutional knowledge, based on experience, can't be purchased or quickly replicated.
4. Efficiency Deficits: Each day that you do business without the benefit of AI-enabled processes is another day of choosing operational inefficiency compared to your AI-boosted competitors. Over even just one year, these daily efficiency deficits accumulate into significant competitive disadvantages.
Three Steps To Get Moving On Adopting AI
If you have been sitting back to see what the impact of AI will be on your industry, it's not too late to catch up. Here are three concrete steps you can take to get your organization moving:
1. Educate leadership. Don't assume that all of your business leaders understand what AI is and how it impacts your industry and business model. How to begin? Demystify AI through a multipronged educational approach: Start with executive briefings; provide expert-led workshops; seek out partnerships with external advisors. Your goal is to clarify the strategic relevance of AI for your organization and establish a common language across leadership.
2. Create an AI task force. Form a cross-functional team that will be responsible for identifying opportunities, fostering collaboration and driving your AI initiative forward. It's imperative that this group has the authority and freedom to experiment, share insights and scale successful applications of AI.
3. Launch a strategic pilot. Choose one business-critical use case where you believe AI can drive tangible outcomes in your organization. Likely candidates include automating manual processes, mining for customer insights or improving forecasting accuracy. Build a well-defined scope for the pilot with clear success metrics. Then, use the learnings from your pilot to scale technical implementation and organizational adoption to other areas of your business.
It's Never Too Late To Begin
If all of this has you feeling like you've already missed the boat, don't despair. Start today: It's not too late to begin your AI journey. The most successful transformations don't necessarily belong to the earliest adopters but to those who implement with clarity, purpose and organizational commitment.
Yes, it's true that the hidden costs of inaction are mounting—but making a decision today to move forward can rapidly translate into tomorrow's competitive advantage. The window remains open, but it won't stay that way indefinitely. Your organization's AI transformation doesn't have to be perfect from day one; it simply needs to begin. The time to take that first decisive step is now.
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