How digital teams can close the AI capability gap and deliver strategy at scale

Why ambition is not enough to deliver your AI strategy

As AI becomes embedded in most digital strategies, we've found that the challenge has shifted to how well teams can implement it. But strategy alone is not enough. While organisations are ambitious about what AI could do, many can not deliver on that potential. 

In our recent Townhall and conversations with clients, a clear pattern has emerged. Strategy is taking shape. Ownership is becoming defined. However, when it comes to delivery, capability gaps begin to appear. 

The issue is not ambition but operational readiness. 

What prevents digital teams from delivering AI successfully, and how to fix it

We speak to CMOs, CTOs and digital leaders who are confident about the direction but concerned about their capacity to execute. Often, three common issues hold them back: 

Teams do not know who is responsible for AI

AI activity is spread across marketing, product and IT without clear leadership. This ambiguity leads to overlaps and missed opportunities. No one owns prompt design, content quality or ethical governance from end to end. As the Financial Times noted, the most at-risk roles are those that involve easily scalable, repetitive tasks without added insight. AI strategy suffers the same fate without clear ownership. 

Team structures for continuous delivery

Most digital teams organise around campaign cycles. AI requires rapid iteration and collaboration across disciplines. We've found that teams built for waterfall delivery are not set up to test, learn and adapt quickly. The New York Times reported that new hybrid roles, such as AI designers and prompt engineers, are emerging to address exactly this misalignment. 

Platforms are not ready for scale

Even when the strategy is sound, poor content structure or disconnected systems make it difficult to scale AI. We've found that a CMS that lacks flexibility can turn even the best AI initiative into a siloed experiment. As The Economist put it, the competitive advantage does not come from having AI tools; it comes from knowing what to do with them and building platforms that can support them. 

How digital teams can develop AI capability without hiring new roles

Training helps, but only if the structure around it supports change. We have seen the best results come from clarifying roles, adjusting workflows and defining responsibility. 

You do not need to create an AI department, but you probably need: 

1. A content lead who can manage prompt quality and content output 
2. A data lead who can manage source data and model inputs 
3. A product lead who can oversee how AI supports your roadmap 

You will find these roles within existing teams. The challenge is to give them ownership and visibility. 

How CMOs and CTOs can build AI capability using existing teams

Most digital teams do not need a restructuring. They need guidance, support and better systems. That is where Growcreate helps. 

We work with digital leaders to: 

1. Audit CMS and infrastructure to check if your platform is AI-ready 
2. Re-model content to support personalisation, search and automation 
3. Improve workflows to support faster delivery with fewer handoffs 
4. Train existing teams to use AI tools within your processes 

We aim to help you build capability into your current operation. 

How to turn your AI strategy into scalable results inside your organisation

Many organisations have started using AI tools, but are still figuring out how to integrate them across teams and platforms. The difference between experimenting with AI and delivering with it comes down to structure. 

As the Financial Times, New York Times, and The Economist have all made clear in recent months, the winners in AI are not those who move first but those who build the internal structure to support it. 

If you have an AI strategy but lack the internal capacity to deliver, we can help. 

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