At Gold Bond Inc., a promotional products company, a strategic approach to artificial intelligence adoption, led by the IT department, resulted in significant gains in employee productivity and AI usage. CIO Matt Price recognized that simply introducing AI tools like chatbots would not be enough to drive adoption among the company's workforce. Instead, the focus was on integrating AI into existing, cumbersome workflows.
Price and his team identified areas where employees faced challenges, such as ERP intake, document processing, and call follow-ups. A small group of "super-users" was created to identify Gold Bond-specific use cases and train other employees. AI models, including Gemini, were then integrated into these high-friction workflows, with sandbox testing, guardrails, and human review implemented for any public-facing applications.
The results were notable. Daily AI usage increased from 20% to 71%, and 43% of employees reported saving up to two hours per day. "I wanted to bring everybody on the journey," Price told VentureBeat. "After we reset some expectations, people started leaning towards it. Our adoption has taken off."
Gold Bond Inc., a major player in the $20.5 billion promotional products industry, provides custom swag and corporate gifts to 8,500 active customers. The company's experience highlights a critical factor in successful AI adoption: the importance of IT-led workflow integration. Rather than focusing on the hype surrounding AI, Gold Bond concentrated on practical applications that addressed specific pain points within the organization.
This approach contrasts with many AI deployments that fail to deliver tangible benefits due to a lack of integration with existing systems and processes. Experts emphasize that AI is most effective when it augments human capabilities and streamlines workflows, rather than simply replacing human workers. The integration of AI into ERP systems, for example, can automate tasks such as data entry and invoice processing, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic activities.
The success at Gold Bond underscores the need for organizations to carefully consider how AI can be integrated into their existing infrastructure and workflows. This requires a collaborative effort between IT departments, business units, and employees to identify the most promising use cases and ensure that AI tools are properly implemented and supported. As AI technology continues to evolve, organizations that prioritize IT-led workflow integration will be best positioned to realize the full potential of AI and drive meaningful business outcomes.
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