AI should transform the strategy process—but never make the final call, researcher argues
A practitioner article published in the SMS Explorer, "AI Will Help Formulate Strategy, But Should Never Finish It," by Michael Olenick challenges a growing assumption in the business world: that generative AI can take strategy off executives' plates. As AI tools grow more capable, the debate has shifted from whether AI can contribute to strategy to whether it should lead it. Olenick, drawing on…
Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the strategy process, but it should never be allowed to make the final decision, according to a new article by Michael Olenick. The researcher, who has spent over two decades developing AI-aided strategy systems, argues that AI should play a crucial role in formulating strategies, but not in the final commitment.
The key issue, Olenick contends, is that AI lacks accountability. While AI can generate and evaluate strategies at levels comparable to entrepreneurs and investors, it cannot bear responsibility for execution or outcomes. The article highlights five practical implications for strategic leaders: using AI for data gathering and option generation, deploying AI-simulated stakeholders for strategy testing, requiring citation-backed outputs, maintaining named human accountability, and establishing review processes that encourage overriding flawed AI recommendations.
This approach allows organizations to out-analyze competitors while preserving strategic judgment and avoiding the quiet erosion of decision-making authority.
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