The companies that will win aren’t necessarily the ones throwing the most money at AI. They’re the ones building teams who know how to spot opportunities, experiment confidently, and use AI as a smart co-pilot not a black box. Here’s what “good” AI fluency looks like today — even if you’re just starting the journey.

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1. Teams Know When (and When Not) to Use AI
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High-fluency organisations aren’t using AI everywhere — they’re choosing their spots carefully.

Questions they ask before deploying AI:
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• Is this task repetitive, pattern-driven, and data-heavy?
  
  
• Could AI make it faster, cheaper, or better without hurting quality?
  
  
• Is this decision too sensitive, complex, or human-driven to automate?
  
  

Example:

NatWest Group rolled out AI decision-support for customer service teams — but kept human decision-making for hardship cases.

Result: Faster service on simple queries without sacrificing customer trust.

([Source: Financial Times, 2025])

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2. Non-Technical Teams Are Encouraged to Experiment

You don’t need a lab full of PhDs.

The companies pulling ahead are giving everyday teams permission to explore simple, impactful AI use cases.

Examples of early experiments:

• Marketing teams A/B testing ad copy with AI tools
  
  
• Sales teams speeding up account research with no-code assistants
  
  
• Customer success managers using AI to summarise meeting notes
  
  

Example:

Unilever launched “AI Playbooks” — giving brand managers simple toolkits to run experiments without needing approval from IT.

([Source: Business Insider, 2025])

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3. There’s a Shared Language Around AI
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In organisations still early on the journey, AI can feel mysterious or risky. Fluent organisations strip the jargon out.

They make sure everyone understands:

• What “bias” in AI actually means
  
  
• How pilot projects differ from live deployment
  
  
• Where human oversight needs to stay
  
  
• What “responsible AI” actually looks like
  
  

Example:

Microsoft’s “AI Ready” Programme trained 200,000+ employees in AI fundamentals — from sales to finance — creating a common language across the business.

([Source: Microsoft, 2025])

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4. Problem Framing is Prioritised Over Prompt Mastery

You don’t need your team to become “prompt engineering” experts.
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You need them to be great at framing problems well:
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• Defining the outcome they want
  
  
• Understanding AI’s limits (and strengths)
  
  
• Thinking critically about outputs
  
  

Example:

BT Group created “problem scoping workshops” for non-tech managers — helping them define operational bottlenecks clearly.

Result: Faster proof-of-concepts, less wasted effort.

([Source: UK Tech News, 2025])

Key Insight: Companies that focused on problem design first deployed AI 2.7x faster than those who didn’t.

(Source: McKinsey Global Survey on AI, 2024)

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5. Leadership Encourages Curiosity, Not Perfection

Change starts at the top.

In AI-fluent companies, leaders:
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• Share their own early experiments (failures included)
  
  
• Normalise the learning curve — it’s okay not to be an expert
  
  
• Encourage teams to try something small instead of waiting for perfection
  
  

Example:

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff shared how he personally used generative AI to brainstorm ideas — sparking a company-wide culture of AI exploration, not AI fear.

The mindset shift:

“We’re all learning this together — and that’s okay.”

How to Start Building AI Fluency Without Overwhelm

In 2025, AI isn’t just a technical upgrade — it’s an organisational capability upgrade.

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Final Thought

AI fluency is the new digital literacy. It’s not about having the best models, the biggest budgets, or hiring armies of engineers.

It’s about creating a culture where:
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• Teams can spot smart opportunities
  
  
• Ask better questions
  
  
• Pilot quickly and responsibly
  
  
• Learn and scale what works
  
  

And most importantly: Where AI is seen as a co-pilot for real progress — not a black box that only “experts” can touch.

P.S. If you’re thinking about how to get your teams started — we’re offering a limited number of AI Discovery Workshops in May to help businesses spot quick wins and build early momentum.

Secure a spot here