Why selling AI to your team is the strategy that actually matters
Let’s be honest: most employees don’t need another tech revolution.
They’ve been through digital transformation. Agile transformation. Cloud transformation. Somewhere along the way, they stopped feeling like participants and started feeling like lab rats.
And now? Here comes AI.
Shopify’s CEO, Tobi Lütke, recently dropped a bold internal memo where he compared AI to fire. As in, “world-changing, civilization-rebuilding” fire. It’s the kind of analogy that makes you roll your eyes—and then pause.
Because he’s not wrong.
AI is a force. But if you’re in a leadership role, the bigger question isn’t what AI can do. It’s how you get people to care.
It’s not about fear—It’s about fatigue
The biggest obstacle to AI adoption isn’t fear of robots taking over. It’s skepticism. Exhaustion.
People have been told this is the future so many times, they’ve learned to nod politely while quietly bracing for another half-baked rollout that adds more work than it saves.
So if you want your team to buy in, skip the manifestos. Start with real answers to these questions:
- What frustrating, repetitive task disappears?
- What gets easier—today?
- What new skill will they learn that actually benefits them?
- What’s going to be expected of them now that “AI is here”?
People don’t want slogans. They want clarity. And maybe a little reassurance that they’re not about to be replaced by a chatbot that talks like it’s trying to pass the SATs.
Culture doesn’t shift because you say so
You can’t transform a company with tech alone. Culture is the multiplier—or the bottleneck.
If your AI rollout doesn’t start with your people, it won’t matter how powerful the tools are.
Show them early wins. Co-create the rollout plan. Be honest about what’s changing—and what’s not. Treat your team like stakeholders, not end users.
Because when people feel part of the change, they invest. When they see real value, they adapt. And when AI helps them do better work—not just more work—they advocate.
Don’t light a fire—make work less soul-crushing
So yes, AI is a big deal. Possibly the biggest of our lifetimes. But let’s not pretend everyone’s looking for a revolution.
They’re looking for relief.
If you want your AI strategy to succeed, don’t sell it like fire. Sell it like what it actually is: a tool to make their work smarter, faster, and less soul-crushing.
That’s the kind of change people will show up for.