Eat or Be Eaten: How AI FOMO is Reshaping Business Strategy

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Oct 8

According to the Emerging Technology Adoption 2024 report from Ardoq, CIOs across the globe are feeling the heat when it comes to AI adoption. In fact, 66% of them are genuinely worried that their competitors will "eat them for lunch" if they don’t move quickly on AI. This isn’t just idle chatter—AI has the potential to completely reshape industries, and if you aren’t already making moves, you could be left in the dust. Lenovo’s Global CIO Report 2024 echoes this sentiment saying 96% of CIOs expect to increase their AI investments over the coming year, and 37% feel the urgency to speed up AI implementation. On top of that, ABBYY’s State of Intelligent Automation Report AI Trust Barometer found that 67% of IT decision-makers reported that the FOMO phenomenon was a significant factor in their decisions to adopt AI technologies.

The problem? While everyone sees the promise of AI, few know how to fully capitalize on it. Welcome to the world of AI FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), where the stakes are sky-high, and speed is the name of the game. To show you the impact, just look at ABBYY’s State of Intelligent Automation Report, which found that 67% of IT decision-makers reported that the FOMO phenomenon was a significant factor in their decisions to adopt AI technologies.

AI FOMO: The Frenzy Is Real

The Ardoq study paints a clear picture—91% of CIOs believe that if they get AI right, it could catapult them to the top of their market. The potential is undeniable, but so are the risks. While companies are investing an average of $43 million annually in AI and other emerging technologies, only about 53% of those projects have delivered measurable benefits. In short, for every AI success story, there’s another where it flopped or delivered less than promised.

This gap between potential and execution is fueling the FOMO. CIOs know that AI can be game-changing, but they’re equally aware of how fast things can go wrong. 61% of them admitted that fear of missing out is one of the main reasons they’re racing to adopt AI. They don't necessarily know how to make it work perfectly for them, but they sure don't want to be the ones left behind while their competitors figure it out.

Disrupt or Be Disrupted

AI isn’t just another tech trend—it's a full-blown disruptor. The race to adopt AI is fundamentally changing the way businesses operate and strategize. The old days of carefully plotted, long-term tech rollouts are fading. Now, it's about speed, experimentation, and constant pivoting. Why? Because 67% of CIOs say that by the time they’ve fully assessed an emerging technology, it’s often no longer emerging! Things move that fast.

Businesses are under pressure to keep up, or risk falling behind. AI’s rapid advancement has led to a scenario where simply staying in place means losing ground. The challenge is balancing the need to act quickly with the need to do it right. After all, it’s no good rushing to implement AI if it ends up costing more than it delivers.

High Risk, High Reward

There’s enormous pressure to get AI projects off the ground quickly, but the experimental nature of AI means there’s no clear path to success. More than 74% of CIOs admit that by the time they gather all the data and opinions needed to green-light an AI project, they’re already behind their competitors. This is the kind of pressure that leads to decisions driven by fear, rather than careful strategy.

Despite these challenges, the potential rewards are hard to ignore. CIOs are spreading their bets across various AI technologies, with Generative AI leading the pack. They’re investing in everything from custom-built AI solutions to AI-augmented applications for customer service, healthcare, and fraud prevention. But here's the thing: 82% of CIOs say it’s easy to "AI-wash" solutions, implementing AI just to tick a box without delivering real value.

AI: A Long-Term Play

Real ROI from AI doesn’t happen overnight. Only 32% of organizations expect to see tangible returns within the first year of adoption. For most, AI is a long-term play, with the real value expected to materialize five to ten years down the road.

That’s why it’s so critical for businesses to have the right structures in place from day one. CIOs know they need to be nimble and ready to pivot as they learn more about how AI can integrate into their existing operations. But many are struggling to adapt their processes quickly enough to keep up with the rapid pace of AI development.