It’s been more than two years since ChatGPT first promised to redefine the corporate landscape, yet businesses today still struggle to harness AI to add real value to their companies. The early frenzy has evolved into a sober contemplation of practical use: despite the hype, only 22% of companies have advanced beyond the proof-of-concept stage of AI implementation, and just 4% of companies are creating substantial value with AI.
In our extensive work with clients, we’ve found that generative AI demands a marathon while many brands are still in the crawl stage. In trying to play catch-up, they’re tempted to look at a menu of AI ideas implemented by other businesses and try one that seems like a good fit, which inevitably leads to wasted resources, frustrating conversations, and disappointing outcomes. What’s needed is a solid, actionable framework that simplifies the complexities of AI, fosters organizational alignment, and inspires a holistic look at business and customer needs.
Let us introduce the AI Business Value Canvas (AIBC).
A Framework Rooted in Design Thinking
Inspired by the Business Model Canvas introduced in 2009, the AIBC applies the concepts of design thinking to AI planning – creating a process that is interactive, visually engaging, and centered on the customer. While retaining core elements of the original, the AIBC is customized to address AI-specific considerations, such as training data for generative AI, AI governance, LLMs, and fine-tuning.
This adaptation not only honors the customer-centric foundation of design thinking but also navigates the unique challenges of AI, ensuring the framework aligns with the needs of the digital age.
The Building Blocks of AI-Powered Business Solutions
Our AIBC features nine key building blocks, each crucial for developing AI-powered business solutions. Each block connects to form a complete picture of how AI can be effectively integrated into business operations, with an emphasis on creating value and maintaining ethical and practical standards. The nine blocks that make up our canvas are:
- Customers in Context: We must understand and articulate customer needs within their specific context to ensure AI solutions deliver true value.
- AI Value Proposition: AI must enable a compelling value proposition by solving customer problems like no other technology can.
- Conversational User Interface: Seamless, intuitive interactions are key, enabling customers to realize the AI’s value proposition effortlessly.
- Finetuning & Master Prompts: We must define and refine the AI-customer interaction by adding character, ensuring a precise fit for the customer’s requirements.
- The Business Case for AI: Validated AI value propositions that meet customer needs should translate into a clear business case and projected benefits for the enterprise.
- AI-Ready Training Data: Essential and company-specific data must empower the AI, creating unique value beyond generic solutions.
- AI Governance and Security: Safeguarding the value proposition with stringent AI governance and data security is non-negotiable in a user-friendly strategy.
- LLMs and AI Solution Architecture: The right LLMs, AI technology, and structure are crucial for delivering the value proposition and solving customer problems.
- AI Cost Structure and Environmental Impact: Every aspect of the canvas contributes to the cost structure, with AI-powered solutions also having an environmental responsibility.
For AI-powered business solutions to truly deliver value, it’s imperative that all nine building blocks are considered as a cohesive whole. Each component — from the customer-focused value proposition at the center to the intricate value loop of customer experience and technology integration — must work in harmony. The synergistic approach keeps the customer at the heart of the AI-powered business solution, while the dynamic interplay of all building blocks, as shown in the canvas’s design, enables truly transformative AI-powered business solutions.
Connecting Data, AI Tech, and CX: The AIBC Philosophy
At the heart of the AIBC lies the AI Value Proposition, serving as the core for all strategic considerations. It is the central foundation for AI’s potential to transform customer experiences and operational processes. Emerging from this core are two critical loops, each a microcosm of the broader AI integration journey.
On the right, we have the “AI-powered Customer Experience Loop,” a cycle that starts with the AI Value Proposition and extends outward to encapsulate finetuning and conversational user interfaces — elements that breathe life and personality into AI-powered solutions. This loop comes full circle as customers engage with these tailored experiences, their actions and feedback fueling and enriching the Value Proposition. It’s a reminder that an AI solution’s worth is measured not just in its technological sophistication but in the tangible value it delivers to users and customers. As a result, this loop naturally creates the reasoning behind the business case for our AI-powered solution.
Mirroring this, on the left, unfolds the “Data and AI Technology Loop.” This segment delves into the underpinnings of AI solutions — LLMs, AI technology partners, AI-ready training data, and the requisite AI-governance and security frameworks. These components are instrumental in crafting the value proposition, yet they also culminate in a cost structure and an environmental footprint, reminding us that innovation carries both a price and an impact.
The intricate dance between these two loops underscores a fundamental truth: balance is key. The most advanced AI technology represented on the left amounts to little without a clear customer need or business problem to address. Conversely, a well-defined customer need remains unaddressed without the appropriate technological solution. This delicate equilibrium between the AI-powered customer experience loop and the data and AI technology loop ensures that our endeavors in AI remain grounded in genuine value creation.
How the AIBC Gets Put into Practice
The AIBC is designed to be a dynamic working tool that actively guides organizations through the intricacies of integrating AI into their operations. We believe the AIBC must be at the heart of strategic planning sessions, innovation workshops, and development cycles, serving as a live document that evolves with your AI journey.
Each pillar has its own set of critical questions to guide the exploration. For example, the Customers in Context building block asks questions like:
Who are the key customers of the AI-powered solution?
What are the key pains and gains of that customer?
Which problem are we addressing for them?
How do they solve these problems today?
What’s the context of the customers or users with regard to time, location, and technology?
What are the switching costs for these customers?
By leveraging these guiding questions, teams can engage in a productive dialogue that not only fosters alignment and consensus but also ensures that every aspect of the AI solution is scrutinized and optimized. The ultimate goal is to craft AI-powered business solutions that are not just technologically sound but also deeply connected to customer needs and business objectives.
Putting the AIBC into action will help you generate various ideas and concepts to address your most critical business challenges, while also aligning with user needs, your AI value proposition, and your data and technology. See the example below of how two different workgroups at a European bank conceptualized their first AI-powered banking advisor through the AIBC, using the same foundational values to dream up different solutions.
Conclusion
True innovation lies not just in adopting new technologies, but in aligning them with human needs and business outcomes. Instead of choosing from what’s already out there, brands must dig into each of the pillars we’ve outlined to understand their unique customer and business pain points, how AI can help address them, and the data and technology required to make that a reality. The AIBC provides a strategic lens for doing that by providing a model for clarity and innovation.
Please reach out if you’d like to discuss how we can work together to envision and craft the future of your organization, turning the potential of AI into tangible success.
