Now is an excellent time to improve service, increase productivity, and start utilizing AI in practice. AI agents are no longer the future. They are already working in many organizations worldwide, and their use brings quickly measurable benefits.
Finnish organizations, on the other hand, have been more cautious. Microsoft's recent Work Trend Index study shows that only 23% of Finnish employees use AI agents, while globally the figure is already 40%.
Interest exists, but decisions are postponed. Many wait for the organization's comprehensive AI strategy or perfectly organized data. This doesn't have to be the case.
In fact, AI workforce adoption can be fast and smooth. It's not a heavy IT project, but a practical way to organize and develop work in a new way and a unique opportunity to learn safely, controllably, and with a low threshold.
What does AI workforce mean in practice?
AI workforce is an umbrella term that covers various role-based solutions:
- AI assistant supports the user, for example, staff or customers
- AI agent operates more independently and handles a defined task as part of the workflow
- AI agent team consists of multiple AI actors who can handle different roles and collaborate
All of these can utilize the organization's own information quickly, reliably, and transparently.
It's worth starting with an AI assistant that serves employees or customers in a limited task. As experience accumulates and impacts can be measured, the assistant can be grown into an increasingly independent and multiple agents.
AI workforce adoption 1, 2, 3
1. Choose a clear use case
Typical obstacle: "We don't know where to start."
Solution: Choose a work task where information is scattered, difficult to find, or where expertise and service capacity is lost due to retirement, resource shortage, or bottlenecks.
Examples:
- AI-Matti in production and maintenance: answers questions about electrical diagrams, instructions, fault history, and internal conversations.
- Ava in customer service: handles the most common questions and directs to human colleagues when needed.
- Perttu in onboarding: acts as a new employee's first support and source of information.
- Olli as a documentation guide: helps find and interpret instruction manuals or process descriptions.
Tip: Start with one limited role. Set a goal, measure results, learn. Don't build a comprehensive AI strategy before you've tried it in practice.
2. Define information and build foundation
Typical obstacle: "Data isn't in order."
Solution: An AI assistant doesn't need all data. It needs the right and purposeful information for its task: instructions, questions and answers, documents that are used or should be used right now.
Example:
In customer service, you can often start with frequently asked questions and related internal instructions. The AI assistant supports responders and speeds up service while helping especially new employees to quickly become independent in their work.
Tip: The necessary information can be cleaned and formatted as part of the adoption process. Perfection is not a prerequisite for starting, but starting is a prerequisite for understanding to grow.
3. Name owner and launch
Typical obstacle: "This isn't anyone's responsibility yet, and it's not in the budget."
Solution: AI workforce adoption is an operational, not technical decision. Ownership belongs to someone who understands the work's daily life, processes, and goals, for example, a production manager, service manager, or development manager. The first step can be light in costs too, and a pilot can be utilized risk-free. IT can support if needed, e.g., in integrations, but doesn't own.
Example:
AI-Matti was adopted on the initiative of the production driver. The adoption didn't require IT integrations, but a clear task, limited information, and a responsible person who had the will to develop.
Tip: When ownership is with the right person, things progress quickly. Information security and data protection at the desired level can be ensured naturally as part of the adoption, without heavy separate processes.
Why is now the right time?
AI workforce adoption is not a risk, but a unique opportunity:
- Solves work bottlenecks
- Helps make visible and utilize key personnel's tacit knowledge for everyone's benefit
- Brings new understanding of processes and development opportunities
- Accelerates organizational learning
- Creates a foundation for future AI strategy and organizational development goal setting
You can implement a risk-free pilot, for example, together with us. The first step is not technical, but operational.
Get to know AI-Matti – a working example in production and maintenance daily life here.
Further reading and examples from pioneers
- OP's CEO Timo Ritakallio: AI goals higher
- Klarna: AI handles customer service for 700 people
- Ministry of Finance: Guidelines for utilizing generative AI in public administration
AI workforce adoption is an opportunity that shouldn't be missed. Start small, learn quickly, and build success step by step.
