Remember when “mobile strategy” was all the rage?
Every company scrambled to hire mobile experts, create dedicated mobile teams, and build standalone mobile departments. The panic was palpable. If you didn’t have a mobile strategy, you were toast.
Fast forward a decade. Nobody talks about their “mobile strategy” anymore. Mobile just became another layer in how business operates. It disappeared into the background of everyday operations.
AI is following the exact same path.
Right now, companies are frantically assembling AI teams, hiring AI experts, and creating “AI strategies” as if artificial intelligence is a destination—a place to arrive at triumphantly.
It’s not.
AI is a service layer that will eventually disappear into the background of how every business operates. Just like electricity. Just like the internet. Just like mobile.
The companies that understand this shift won’t waste time trying to “be an AI company.” They’ll focus on being better at what they already do, with AI as an enabling layer.
What does this look like in practice?
The sales team isn’t using “AI sales tools”, they are just using sales tools that happen to be powered by AI.
The marketing team isn’t executing an “AI marketing strategy”, they are implementing a marketing strategy that’s more effective because of AI capabilities.
Customer service isn’t deploying “AI chatbots”, they are providing better, faster service through tools that leverage AI.
The transition will be invisible but transformative. Like all great infrastructure, AI will work best when nobody notices it’s actually there.
The danger comes from treating AI as a destination rather than a utility. When you do that, you create unnecessary departments, roles, and strategies that will eventually collapse under their own weight.
Remember: The companies that won the mobile revolution weren’t the ones with the best “mobile strategy.” They were the ones who understood that mobile was simply a new (and sometimes better) way to deliver their existing value proposition.
The winners of the AI era won’t be talking about their “AI transformation.” They’ll be talking about how they are serving customers better, creating more value, and solving problems more effectively.
AI isn’t where you are going. It is just another part of how you’ll get there.