Taking your AI Strategy Beyond the Hype: Why Boards Should Be Asking About Outcomes, Not Just “AI”

Over the past year, boardrooms have been filled with the same question: “What are we doing with AI?” It’s a fair question, the hype around Generative AI has been impossible to ignore, and many companies feel pressure from investors, analysts, and the media to show they’re “on the AI journey.”

But here’s the problem: focusing on AI for AI’s sake risks missing the point.

What most boards really want is evidence that their business is using data and technology to deliver tangible results, lower costs, more efficient operations, happier customers, and stronger growth. AI can help with that, but so can other approaches that don’t always carry the same buzzword appeal.

The Hidden Value of Optimisation in your AI Strategy

One of these approaches is optimisation. It doesn’t make headlines and it sounds more like something from a maths textbook than a board agenda. But in practice, it’s one of the most powerful ways to turn data into measurable impact.

Think of optimisation as the discipline of making the best possible decision when you face trade-offs. Where do we allocate resources? How do we balance cost and service levels? What’s the smartest way to schedule people or distribute stock?

These are the types of questions businesses ask every day — and yet optimisation rarely makes it into board conversations because the term sounds technical and uninspiring.

Why It Matters Now

Here’s why boards should care:

• It strengthens AI strategy. Optimisation complements machine learning and GenAI by turning insights and predictions into concrete business actions.

• It drives action, not just insight. Most analytics show you what happened and why. Optimisation tells you what to do next.

• It applies everywhere. Beyond supply chains and logistics, optimisation can reshape how you manage marketing spend, workforce planning, product pricing, and even ESG trade-offs.

• It’s measurable. Unlike vague promises of “AI innovation,” optimisation shows its impact in clear outcomes: saved costs, improved margins, reduced waste, better customer experiences.

  
  

A Better Question for Boards

So instead of asking:

“What are we doing with AI?”

Boards should be asking:

“What outcomes do we want to achieve with our AI Strategy?”

Once you frame the conversation around outcomes, efficiency, growth, resilience, customer satisfaction your teams will look beyond the hype and choose the right tools for the job. Sometimes that will be GenAI. Other times it will be optimisation techniques that don’t sound “sexy,” but deliver the real results boards and investors are asking for.

The Takeaway

AI is exciting, but the C-suite’s job isn’t to chase the trend of the day. It’s to make sure their businesses are putting data to work in ways that deliver measurable value.

Optimisation may not grab headlines, but it could be the quiet force that moves your business from talking about AI to proving business impact.