Welcome back to another Unlocking the Future. Today we are diving into the messy, hype heavy reality of AI in the corporate world. Everyone is talking about agents, copilots, and automation, but what is actually going on inside real companies? Let's dive.
Corporates have AI on the brain. Whether it’s chatbots, copilots, or agent ecosystems, firms want in. But most are stuck in the demo phase. The tech is there, the interest is massive, but execution is nowhere near.
Turns out… not quite what the headlines would have you believe.
What Is Going On? 🔍
Many companies are falling into two traps:
Top-down pressure without ground-level buy-in.
Grassroots hacks with no support or scalability.
Leadership might say they’re “AI-first”, but they’re not allocating the time, resources, or strategy to make it real. Meanwhile, employees either lack training or fear they’ll be replaced. It’s a recipe for a deadlocked rollout.
Why It Is a Problem 💥
Hype is clashing with reality. Internally, teams expect silver bullets. Externally, shareholders expect returns. But without structure, companies end up with endless pilots, disconnected tools and rising frustration.
Add in global volatility and cost cutting pressure, and suddenly AI is not just a buzzword. It is a boardroom priority.
Where Companies Are Failing ❌
No unified strategy – Everyone is doing their own thing, creating duplication and wasted effort Poor data access – Teams cannot build agents without internal data being centralised and structured Unrealistic expectations – A slick demo takes days, a real deployment takes quarters Fear led cultures – Agents are seen as job stealers, not tools for productivity Siloed teams – Sales does not know what marketing is building, IT is out of the loop Vendor roulette – Some build everything in house, others buy every shiny tool. Few get it right
What Smart Firms Are Doing Right ✅
Forming AI councils – Cross functional groups steering adoption, strategy and governance Writing clear policies – Even startups are setting rules for how AI fits in Investing in internal champions – Wikis, Slack channels and internal showcases to surface what works Running scoped pilots – Small, focused experiments with an actual success path Planning long term – Using the current lull to prepare infrastructure and team workflows.
What Needs to Change 🧠
Balance the top and bottom – Innovation needs direction, but employees need to be in the loop Fix your data – No good agent runs without clean, accessible knowledge flows Reframe ROI – Agents may not replace your team, but they will absolutely boost what they can do Train for tomorrow – Use this gap between hype and maturity to level up your people Move with purpose – Doing something beats doing nothing. Just make sure it is something that scales
Percs Partners 🤝
Before we're heading to Our Take, we want to give a massive shout out to our partners at Percs, the masterminds behind free marketing tools for onchain creators and Farcaster Games!
Go check them out on Farcaster and X and get involved!
Our Take 🧠
Corporate AI is no longer optional. Whether it is customer support, logistics or knowledge sharing, AI agents are moving in. But tools alone will not save anyone.
Without clear ownership, internal education and the right support, even the best AI will underdeliver.
So do not wait for the perfect moment or the perfect model. That future is already under way. Build your base, train your team, get the data right and get moving.