For CIOs whose organizations have implemented GenAI, what specific adjustments are you making this year to better connect GenAI initiatives with measurable business outcomes? (e.g., refining KPIs, investing in employee training, exploring new use cases, etc…)?

Investing in AI training and refining use cases. 

As a CIO at a marketing company, the focus this year is on aligning our GenAI initiatives more closely with business outcomes, ensuring they drive measurable value. Here's our approach in human terms:

1. Refining KPIs to Bridge the Gap Between Tech and Business Goals
We’ve shifted from generic performance metrics to outcome-based KPIs. For instance, instead of measuring the number of campaigns generated by GenAI, we now track metrics like uplift in conversion rates, ROI per campaign, and time-to-market improvements.
Regular reviews ensure these KPIs remain relevant as our use cases evolve.
2. Investing in Employee Training for Real-World Adoption
GenAI is only as effective as the teams using it. We're doubling down on workshops and hands-on training to empower our marketers, creatives, and data analysts to integrate these tools into their workflows.
Training focuses on use-case discovery and practical skills, ensuring employees see GenAI as an enabler, not a disruptor.
3. Exploring New, High-Impact Use Cases
This year, we’re expanding beyond creative content generation. For example:
Personalizing customer journeys at scale.
Automating insights generation from campaign performance data.
Enhancing predictive models for market trends.
We involve cross-functional teams early on to co-create and validate these use cases.
4. Embedding GenAI in Workflow Automation
To make GenAI outputs actionable, we’re integrating it into our existing Martech stack. For instance, we’re automating the handoff between content generated by GenAI and its deployment in email or ad platforms.
This reduces manual steps and ensures that insights and outputs don’t get stuck in silos.
5. Proactively Addressing Ethical and Quality Concerns
A significant focus is on ensuring the outputs from GenAI align with our brand voice and ethical standards. This includes setting guardrails for content accuracy and bias mitigation.
We’ve also introduced a review loop where humans refine GenAI outputs to maintain brand authenticity.
6. Fostering a Culture of Experimentation
We encourage teams to experiment with GenAI in their daily tasks and reward innovative applications that show promise.
The goal is to normalize GenAI as a part of our culture rather than a separate initiative.
By focusing on these adjustments, we're not just using GenAI as a tool but embedding it into the core of our strategy to amplify creativity, efficiency, and measurable impact. It’s about making sure the technology serves our business goals—not the other way around.

In my organisation, we are only just rolling out AI initiatives. These are supported by broad training for the entire organisation (mandatory digital training that includes AI), specific communications and training on topics such as Copilot, Do's and Don't of AI, a board approved AI policy document and then specific AI training for users of tools with AI embedded within such as our Legal contract review tool.