Sponsored by Brennan.

A recent five-state listening tour of Australian boardrooms revealed a strong interest in artificial intelligence, but few tangible outcomes. Brennan’s Head of Digital Solutions, Steve Anderton, observed that while executives are eager to harness AI’s potential, adoption remains limited due to vague goals, misaligned stakeholders, and weak business cases. Only five percent of AI pilots are making it to production—often because of poor infrastructure, governance gaps, or unrealistic expectations. Sixty percent of CFOs surveyed lacked confidence in their organisation’s ability to write effective AI use cases worth funding.

Anderton encourages organisations to adopt a “micro-innovation” approach—small, low-risk pilots driven by cross-functional teams that quickly demonstrate value. He also stresses the importance of modern cloud infrastructure, strong data governance, and addressing cultural challenges, such as fear of job loss. Shadow AI use, where employees adopt tools like ChatGPT without oversight, adds further risk. To hear more insights from Anderton and explore how Australian enterprises can close the gap between AI aspiration and execution, listen to the full podcast. It’s a valuable resource for leaders looking to build a practical, scalable AI strategy grounded in business outcomes.