Brett Schklar: Why 95% of AI Pilots Fail — and How to Fix It

Brett Schklar is a technology expert known for helping organisations move beyond AI hype and focus on measurable business value. As CEO of AI-First Leadership and author of AI Without the BS, he works with senior leaders to build practical frameworks that turn experimentation into execution. His approach centres on governance, culture and return on AI rather than surface-level adoption.

As a technology speaker addressing global audiences, Brett challenges the assumption that deploying generative AI guarantees competitive advantage. Instead, he urges businesses to scrutinise pilots, empower employees from the ground up and treat AI literacy as a strategic priority. His work focuses on sustainable transformation, incremental performance gains and leadership accountability.

In this exclusive interview with the London Keynote Speakers Agency, Brett discusses the myths that continue to shape AI decision-making, the structural changes organisations must put in place to drive growth and why confidence, not fear, will determine who achieves a genuine return on AI.

Where Are Leaders Most Often Misjudging Risk and Return on AI?

Brett Schklar: “There are a lot of AI myths that I talk about in the speeches, but one of the most important points is not actually a myth, it is a fact, that 95% of all new generative AI pilots fail. That is not a myth.

“There are other myths. AI is going to take us over. AI is replacing humans. There is some truth and some fiction to that.

“But the most important myth that needs to be overcome is that deploying AI is an automatic formula for success, and that if you are not doing it, you are missing out.

“Companies that are looking at technologies, evaluating them, and looking for that return on AI before they jump in will help reduce that 95% of AI initiatives that are failing.”

What Practical Strategies Should Organisations Adopt to Drive Growth Through AI?

Brett Schklar: “There are a couple of practical AI strategies for business growth that I help companies put together and organise. One is that this transformation needs to happen top down and bottom up at the same time.

“Employees need to feel empowered and autonomous to explore new technologies and capabilities that will help them in their role. At the same time, leadership, the CEOs and business leaders, need to give employees the freedom to look at innovation and technologies that can really help.

“This is not about getting 40% gains overnight or 50% gains overnight. It is about allowing every employee to get 1% better. Those small, incremental gains will continue to add up.

“The second big thing we must have in place as a strategy for leveraging AI for business growth is to build either a centre of excellence or a steering committee within the company, made up of cross-organisational functions and people who are most passionate about what AI can do for the business.”

How Is AI Reshaping Workplace Innovation in Practice?

Brett Schklar: “AI is doing a lot to drive workplace innovation. It is the essence of workplace innovation, but it is doing it in a way that is different from what we expect.

“A lot of companies think AI is going to create huge gains in a very short amount of time, 20% gains, 30% gains, more efficiency, better targeting, more growth.

“The reality is that AI helps drive businesses forward by empowering each employee to look at what AI can do in their job to get them 1%, 2% or 3% better.

“These small gains across an entire organisation are better than a large initiative forced from the top down, which can get stalled, slowed down and face resistance.”

What Core Message Do You Want Audiences to Take Away?

Brett Schklar: “My hope is that when people are in my sessions or in my keynote, they take away a couple of things.

“First, it is possible to overcome the fear of AI that has been ingrained in our brains since the early 1920s through Hollywood and the broader fear of AI. We can overcome that.

“Second, as employees build more confidence and comfort in these generative AI tools, the AI IQ, or AIQ, elevates across the organisation.

“If you remove the fear of AI and empower employees to ramp up their AIQ, then you are headed towards a really good formula for a return on AI.”

This exclusive interview with Brett Schklar was conducted by Tabish Ali of the Motivational Speakers Agency.

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