The typical setup places AI talent under a chief digital officer or innovation lead who lacks authority to change workflows, incentives or decision rights in the actual business units.
Operational executives treat these teams as optional service providers. They attend the showcase meetings, nod at the accuracy numbers, then go back to the same manual approvals and legacy handoffs.
Without direct line accountability for revenue or cost outcomes, the AI group optimises for model performance instead of throughput or margin. The business never feels pressure to adapt.
Real adoption only happens when the people who own the P&L also own the redesigned process. Anything else produces a growing library of unused pilots and a growing headcount bill.
The fix is structural, not technological. Move AI capability and budget into the operational divisions and make those division heads explicitly accountable for measurable process changes within six months.
Leave it in the centre and you will keep funding slide decks and proofs of concept that never reach the only place that matters: the daily operating rhythm of the firm.