13 hours ago
CFOs Can Drive AI Adoption To Supercharge Growth
David Kelley is the CFO at Diesel Laptops, a top provider of diagnostic solutions and repair information for the commercial truck industry.
Customer acquisition is evolving fast, and many companies are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to sharpen their approach. But success requires strategy and leadership, not just tech. That's why one of the most influential people driving AI adoption isn't in IT or marketing—it's the CFO. With their focus on ROI, planning and alignment, CFOs are uniquely positioned to make AI a truly effective tool to connect with customers. In the process, there are a number of things they should keep in mind.
Clear Goals
If you're using AI just because it's trendy, you're setting yourself up to waste money. Every AI initiative should clearly support specific business objectives, whether that means lowering customer acquisition costs, increasing conversion rates or entering new markets. It's crucial to establish KPIs upfront and make sure every stakeholder understands what success looks like. This is where the CFO can play a pivotal role, by ensuring discipline in both planning and execution.
Smart AI Starts Small
One of the biggest mistakes I see is companies trying to 'boil the ocean.' They throw millions at AI initiatives without a clear sense of ROI, or even a plan for how to measure success. That's dangerous.
AI adoption should start with low-complexity, high-impact use cases. For example, lead scoring is a great starting point: AI can quickly sort through historical data to highlight which leads are most likely to convert. Similarly, tools that segment customers based on behavior or demographics can boost targeting efforts.
What matters most is proving value early. Small wins build momentum and help teams gain trust in both the technology and the process.
Data Readiness Is Nonnegotiable
AI is only as good as the data behind it. Without good data, your models are flying blind. Yet many companies still struggle with messy, siloed or incomplete data, and that can be a huge hurdle when bringing AI on board.
CFOs need to collaborate with CIOs and data leaders to make sure the companies' data is clean, accessible and well-managed. This can include building a unified view of the customer, ensuring real-time data flow and setting up reliable attribution models.
It Takes A Team
AI can't be successful if it's owned by one department. It needs marketing, sales, IT, finance—and leadership—to pull in the same direction. CFOs can serve as the connective tissue between these groups, balancing innovation with fiscal responsibility. One best practice is working with department leaders to co-create initiatives. When teams are involved in building a solution, they're far more likely to adopt it.
Change Management Is Part Of The Job
Even if you buy the best AI tool on the market, if no one trusts it or knows how to use it, you've wasted your investment. That's why I recommend designating AI champions within departments. These 'citizen data scientists' can help demystify the technology and guide their peers through the adoption process. Training and upskilling your team is essential; people don't need to become data scientists, but they do need to understand how AI supports their goals.
Monitor, Measure And Keep Iterating
AI needs time, data and feedback to get smarter and more effective. If you don't give them real-world exposure and actively monitor results, they'll never deliver meaningful value. So, you need to be patient—but also stay accountable. It's key to set up a feedback loop that ties campaign results directly to business outcomes. What's working? What's not? Be ready to adapt.
Be Careful With Your Data
One caution I always share: Don't blindly use public AI models like ChatGPT for proprietary work. You have to be careful—once your data flows through a public model, you may lose control of it.
In our case, that's why we've built our own private large language model (LLM) and secure database. It's the only way to protect our intellectual property and maintain full control over what data is being used and how.
Vet Vendors Thoroughly
There's a lot of AI hype out there, with everyone claiming to have the greatest solution since the internet was invented. It's critical to do your homework: Ask about their track record, and look at their past use cases. If they can't show results, they're not worth your time or your budget.
AI can be a game changer, but only if we approach it carefully and strategically. My advice? Jump in. But know how deep the water is before you do. Don't just run with AI because everyone else is doing it. Make sure it's working, and make sure it's worth it.
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