Artificial intelligence (AI) has been touted as the future of business, promising efficiency, automation, and transformation. Although AI is advancing rapidly, meaningful adoption creating business value has been moving slower than many expected. The issue isn’t fear or resistance—it’s something much more fundamental: most businesses simply don’t have the data infrastructure needed to make AI effective.

This became abundantly clear in a recent conversation with Scott Newman, the Chief Strategy Officer at OneSource. OneSource operates contact centers across the globe, handling everything from customer support to sales. With AI transforming their industry, Scott’s insights offer a crucial perspective on where companies go wrong—and what they should be focusing on instead.

The Real AI Adoption Problem: 80% of Companies Aren’t Ready
One of the most surprising insights from our conversation was that according to data shared at the AI4 Conference 2024, 80% of companies lack the foundational data infrastructure to fully leverage AI. Businesses aren’t rejecting AI out of fear that it will replace jobs; instead, they’re struggling because AI needs clean, structured, and easily accessible data to work effectively.

“AI can’t be layered on top of nothing,” Scott explained. “It needs comprehensive knowledge bases, well-maintained data warehouses, and structured training models. Without these, AI is just another flashy tool that doesn’t deliver results.”

This lack of a strong data foundation results in companies implementing AI solutions that are either ineffective or create more friction than value. Without a structured way to collect and analyze data, companies miss out on the full benefits AI can offer, like automation, efficiency improvements, and better decision-making.