Whether you are a small business or a mammoth corporation, the use of AI should be part of your business strategy. But who owns the strategy and its implementation is tricky. Is it the CIO or CTO?

It's none of those.

GENAI is a speciality that very few leaders are experts in, and moreover, understand the investment and time it will take to reach any ROI on. In fact, most companies aren't even sure what use cases will deliver the most bang for it's buck.

This is why it is critical to create a GENAI lab run by an AI expert. And since most companies do not have the right skill set for this, it's important you hire the right person who knows how to set up, test, run and deliver solutions that will have a positive impact to the top and bottom line. They must know how to create AI experiences by designing experiential prototypes that mimic real-world scenarios to uncover what really matters to this next generation.

GENAI is new, it's in its infancy, so hiring the right person will be challenging. It's not just about the technology, the person has to have an understanding of process, data science, machine learning, security and the precedent use cases in order to be successful. Add human behaviors and change management to it and now you have a unicorn.

What does a GENAI Lab entail?

It's an autonomous group with individual contributors that together make up the necessary elements to identify use cases, create POCs, enable testing and manage iterative improvements. It is a task force that needs the support of the CEO, which means the Lab Leader reports to the CEO. Having layers in-between will result in lackluster outcomes and lots of money wasted.

Using the right organization to help you navigate the fast changing environment of AI is also critical. A firm that specializes in GENAI recruitment will ensure you find the unicorn you are looking for, and more importantly , provide the reassurance that your investment in GENAI pays off.

Carla Zilka is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner for NexGen Human Capital.