2024 was a year when every business strategy presentation included the letters' AI', and every CEO, CTO, or COO was either excited or utterly terrified while presenting their AI strategy and implementation. But here's the thing about AI that you won’t find in most presentations: the gap between its potential and practice is where most organisations get stuck. 

At In The Pocket, we've spent seven years bridging that gap—sometimes gracefully, sometimes not—and in the last two years, we turned those lessons into tangible results, bringing impact on a company level.

Stop postponing your AI journey

The AI landscape has undergone a fundamental transformation. Two years ago, when tools like GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 emerged, this shift democratised AI implementation, making it more accessible to organisations of all sizes. However, it also introduced new complexities: How do you keep data secure? How do you turn this powerful technology into practical tools? These weren't theoretical questions, which will be solved by someone else, but problems specific to your organisations’ context, and which you need to learn how to solve.

As the barriers to entry lower, the real challenge becomes not just adopting AI but implementing it strategically, sustainably, and, most importantly, meaningfully. Our experience taught us that success in AI adoption isn't determined by budget alone—it's about making informed choices, understanding practical applications, and building genuine organisational capability.

Three steps to build an AI mature organisation

1. Start with curiosity

Great things happen when you give smart people room to explore. In 2022, we started gathering and connecting people who are excited about AI's potential. Now, we have a core team of 20 people exploring AI's possibilities, supported by over 100 colleagues who regularly share their discoveries and engage in conversations via our #generative-ai Slack channel.

Every month, this community comes together to share what works (and what doesn't). Our channel has become a hub of the latest AI news, developers' tips, internal experiments, and relevant questions. 

Action points: 

• Create an AI interest group and dedicated communication channel
• Start with 3-5 enthusiastic employees (you can call it a tiger team), schedule monthly knowledge-sharing sessions, and actively encourage experimentation. 
• Set up a simple system to document and share learnings across the organisation.

2. Create a safe environment

‍When we noticed our teams were using various AI tools, we saw an opportunity. Instead of blocking these tools, we learned from it and built something better, custom made for our organisation: Chat ITP, our own secure AI platform. The usage stats tell an interesting story: after the initial excitement and inevitable drop-off, people started using it more and more. Why? Because it actually helped them work better. The platform has now handled over 122,000 messages, but the number itself doesn't matter. What's important is that each message represents someone finding a practical use for AI in their work.

We've since added more tools—GitHub Copilot for our developers, specialised design tools for our creative teams—but always with clear guardrails.  We have a lightweight process, supported by our DPO to balance practicality and compliance as tools move from experimentation to adoption, keeping transparency in mind.

‍Action points: 

• Audit current AI tool usage in your organisation. 
• Develop clear guidelines for AI tool adoption and security protocols. 
• Start with one department-specific AI tool implementation as a pilot project. 
• Create a simple approval process for new AI tools that balances innovation with security.

3. Back it up with strategy

‍Talk is cheap, especially when it comes to AI. That's why we're putting real resources behind our vision that AI will fundamentally change the way we build and use digital products. We're investing significantly in training our people—every team member has dedicated learning time and budget for AI skills. But this isn't just about investing in our people. Strategy means also finding answers to fundamental questions: How can we deliver the most value to our clients? And how does a technology like AI challenge our way of working? 

‍Action points: 

• Invest in a vision and strategy by considering the ‘To-Be’ situation, where you take advantage of AI technology.
• Allocate a specific budget for AI training and development.  Offer a mix of targeted AI learning opportunities and self-discovery.
• Designate 10-20% of team time for experimenting with AI-enhanced workflows. 
• Create a measurement framework to track AI initiative's impact on productivity and quality. 
• Review and adjust team structures based on AI integration findings.

Skip the learning curve

‍At In The Pocket, we like to say, “Walk the talk”. By implementing AI internally and learning first-hand about AI, gives us a better perspective on how we can make better AI products for our clients. Working with us means you get immediate access to battle-tested AI knowledge and capabilities that will help move forward:

• You’ll know what actually works (because we've tested it ourselves): When we recommend an AI solution, it's because we've seen its value firsthand. We've already worked through the challenges you're likely to face—from data privacy concerns to getting teams comfortable and confident with new tools.
• You’ll get work done faster—much faster: What used to take three weeks can now take one. That means more time for testing, refining, and getting things right. But speed isn't everything; it's about doing better work, not just faster work.
• Most importantly, you’ll avoid the pitfalls: Think of us as your guide in the AI landscape—we've mapped the territory because we've walked it ourselves, sometimes taking wrong turns and learning from it, so you can avoid these risks.

Ready for your AI journey? We’ll lead the way.

As we step into 2025, maybe it’s time we stop using AI (only) to do the same things faster. It’s about rethinking how we build digital products. This means smaller, smarter teams using AI to punch above their weight. It means new ways of working that weren't possible before. And it means better results for our clients.

With new tools and capabilities emerging daily, it can all be a bit overwhelming, so if you’re unsure why, where, and how to start with AI, we’re here to support you. Let's talk.