Jumping into AI without a concrete strategy or guardrails is ill-advised and likely to end in failure, according to technology leaders at the ITWeb AI Summit 2025. They stressed the strategic importance of high-quality data as the bedrock of AI application.
Pieter de Villiers, co-founder and CEO of Clickatell, said AI has been unleashed on customers and customer engagement.
He added that between 5% and 20% of AI users who download an AI app are still actively using it after a month.
“AI is imperative for your business for convenience and context. Convenience is the centre of AI-powered disruption, while context will fuel the fire of adoption,” said De Villiers.
AI-powered chat commerce is the preferred interface, helping organisations reach critical mass, he added.
“Chat is now GenAI infused and has superpowers,” said De Villiers. “Brands must anticipate needs and what your customer wants. It is about responding to customers in a way they expect.”
While there can be no denying this emerging technology has disrupted e-commerce – and convenience is prioritised – brands are advised to be careful of how the technology is taken to market, added De Villiers.
“AI is only as good as the data it learns from,” he said, and added that scale – proofs of concept and operational AI across business platforms – is vital.
Lawrance Reddy, Microsoft AI MVP and cloud chief technology officer at Vaxowave, said formulating a strategy to achieve AI value creation is akin to a mountaineer looking to traverse Mount Everest.
In his presentation, ‘Navigating the stages of AI value creation’, Reddy said in the same way a mountaineer would prepare and fully understand the terrain, so business leaders must prepare and fully grasp AI before embarking on the quest for value.
“Achieving AI value is the ‘holy grail’,” he said. “The objective is to create an AI strategy roadmap based on best practices. We also want to create value at each stage of the AI roadmap before we navigate the route from base camp to the summit."
Just like taking on Everest without a strategy cannot work out, running AI without a strategy will fail, Reddy added.
“If you are going it alone or following a strategy because ‘that’s what everyone is doing’, it will deplete resources and heighten risk because of unpredictable conditions – AI has to align with your unique business needs.”
Readiness for AI means meeting specific criteria, said Reddy. There must be alignment, governance, preparation and eventual execution of the strategy.
He compared the need for oxygen to climb Everest to the need for high quality data for AI, and stressed the importance of a solid foundation.
“Every successful climb begins with a solid base camp or foundation. AI without a strategy is like a climber who doesn’t know where the summit is,” said Reddy.
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