Enterprise AI: Cost Savings vs. New Capabilities & Why Efficiency is the New Path to Irrelevance

In enterprise AI adoption, two distinct strategies are emerging.

The first is Automation for Efficiency. This applies AI to optimize existing workflows—an operational play focused on protecting current margins.

The second is Augmentation for Differentiation. This uses AI to create new products, services, and capabilities that were previously out of reach.

While the first strategy is rapidly becoming table stakes, its universal accessibility means it’s not a source of durable competitive advantage.

This reveals the real strategic failure: It's not pursuing automation, but only pursuing automation while ignoring the transformative potential of augmentation.