Perspective from Srikumar Ramanathan, Partner at Bain & Company
Everyone says they have an AI strategy. But when you ask what’s actually changed, leaders struggle to give a clear answer. Tools are live, dashboards are green, but sales motions look the same as before. That’s the disconnect. Adoption is happening, execution isn’t. And as Highspot shows in their recent Go-To-Market Performance Gap Report, that’s where the real story begins.
What’s your AI strategy? It’s a question every leader is expected to answer. But for many senior teams, the path forward is uncertain.
What does a real AI strategy look like? How do you tell the difference between performance-driven AI and tools that overpromise and underdeliver? How do you know which tools will drive performance and which will add noise to an already stretched tech stack?
The answer starts with the impact you want to make. As Srikumar Ramanathan, Partner at Bain & Company, puts it, the real breakthrough happens when AI stops being a buzzword and becomes embedded in the workflows that drive behavior change, alignment, and execution.
The most effective transformations are marked by senior leadership setting the tone, translating AI ambition into specific use cases, and building trust through transparency.
Across industries, Bain sees the same patterns uncovered in our research. Deployed tools. Launched pilots. Green dashboards. But sales motions don’t change, coaching habits stay the same, and Go-to-Market (GTM) processes remain fragmented. AI is present, but performance isn’t moving.
This disconnect is what Srikumar calls the AI paradox: widespread adoption without behavior change. Our research shows the same.
- 77% of GTM leaders say they’ve adopted AI
- But only 28% say it’s driving measurable performance
- And 72% still rate their maturity as low-to-mid
In short, adoption is happening. Execution isn’t.
Srikumar notes that AI success hinges on operationalizing it at the frontline and embedding it into daily work with clear business outcomes. Change management is one of the hardest parts of AI transformation, and the most overlooked. Winning teams are choosing informed AI. AI that aligns with how they go to market, guides sellers, and helps every team scale what works. The coordination, communication, and clarity it takes to unlock value from AI.
It’s a shift Highspot CEO Robert Wahbe sees in the field, “The teams seeing results are the ones who aren’t afraid to change. They’re not waiting for the next shift, they’re building the muscle to move with it.”
This mindset marks the new dividing line. High-performing organizations aren’t waiting for the market to settle; they’re investing in enablement, integration, and AI literacy right now. They’re aligning strategy to action and building the systems that help teams execute consistently.
Srikumar’s advice is clear: start with the business, not the tech. “You need to start with clear business outcomes and align AI use cases to them,” says Srikumar. “That means embedding AI into GTM processes, not just layering it on top of existing tools.”
From there, he advocates piloting in close partnership with the teams who will use the technology. Build cross-functional teams. Create strong governance. Foster a culture of experimentation.
And most importantly: ensure you embed AI into end-to-end GTM execution, not just the toolset.
Because in the end, the teams that win with AI are the ones who know how to use it to execute.
Highspot’s report, polling senior GTM leaders around the world, highlights how successful companies are doing just that and why the ones making the shift today are already pulling ahead. Download the full report here.
