If you haven’t found where AI can help, here’s where to start

By Elodie Flenniau, Aiforya  ·  1 October 2026

You are not alone

71% of UK businesses name “no identified use for AI” as something holding them back. 60% name limited AI skills, expertise or knowledge. So if you’re not sure where AI fits in your business, you are in good company.

Using AI is not the same as integrating it

Your people are probably using AI already. 90% of NI leaders say they use free AI tools themselves, and 62% have no formal policy on them. But using AI on your own is different from building it into how the work gets done.

In my experience, when people say they use AI, it is usually for a couple of things. They check an email, or get a first draft. That helps, but the process underneath hasn’t changed. The same work is done the same way, with AI giving a hand at the edges. Real efficiency comes from reviewing the process first and asking where AI fits in.

Where I start

First, find the one process. Not ten ideas. One process worth looking at first.

Second, find where the knowledge lives. AI is only as good as what it has to work with. Process documents go out of date, and people often stop doing things the way they are written down. So the question is less “where is the file?” and more “who holds the key?” It usually shows up when we map how things are done, and it is often where the first gap appears.

Third, set the measure before you start. Agree the goal and find out where things stand now. Without that, you can’t tell whether anything has changed.

It takes everyone

Bringing AI into a process involves everyone. People need to understand what is going to happen, and their knowledge needs to sit somewhere the AI can use it. Ideas often come from everyday tasks, from the people doing them. Leaders need to understand AI too, but their main job is to create a space where people feel encouraged to share their ideas and test them.

I met two women at an event who showed me this. Their talks described how they changed the way their company works, because they were curious about AI and had some background in tech. One built a tool her company plans to ship. The other saw the impact her own use of AI had when it was rolled out to others, and a new role was created for her to lead AI development and integration.

Start with a call

Think of a treasure map. It tells you there is treasure on the island. It doesn’t show you the path, or where the traps are. That is what I help with. First, we find the path to the one process worth using AI on. Then, through AI literacy and conversation, we make sure the knowledge is there, so you avoid the traps along the way.

If that sounds like where you are, book a free 30-minute call. No jargon, no pitch.