Why most AI pilots never reach production — and how to make yours one that does

We are often asked to rescue AI projects that impressed in a boardroom and then stalled. The technology was rarely the problem. The pilot had no owner, no baseline and no path into the systems people use every day.

Four questions

• —Which decision will this improve, and who makes it today?
• —How is that decision measured now?
• —What happens when the model is wrong?
• —Who owns it once the project team leaves?

“If you cannot measure the decision today, you will not be able to prove the model improved it.”

Answer those four before writing any code, and your pilot has a fighting chance of becoming part of how the business works.