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title: Most AI pilots produce nothing measurable
author: Giacomo Balli
published: 2026-07-03
url: https://BigBalli.com/blog/most-ai-pilots-produce-nothing-measurable
tags: AI, Product, Leadership, Operations, Reading
---

# Most AI pilots produce nothing measurable

*By Giacomo Balli* | *Published: July 3, 2026*

Most AI pilots produce nothing measurable. That's not a technology problem.

It's a scoping problem, and it looks like this: the pilot starts with "let's see what AI can do for us" instead of a named process with a number attached to it.

Compare two briefs.

Weak: we're testing AI for customer service.

Strong: our team spends 11 hours a week writing quote follow-ups. In 60 days we want that under 4, with no drop in response quality.

The second one can fail. That's the point. You'll know by week three whether it's working, and you can kill it without having spent a quarter finding out.

Pick one process. It should be repetitive, high volume, and something you already complain about. Measure it for two weeks before you change anything.

Vague pilots don't fail loudly. They just quietly get abandoned, and the owner concludes AI doesn't work for their business.

## What's the one process you'd name?

[Discuss on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7494769953624043520)

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**Tags:** AI, Product, Leadership, Operations, Reading

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