adlittle-AI 优先型组织 信息技术如何助力重塑人工智能运营模式 The AI first organization How IT can help reshape the operating model for AI - 副本

VIEWPOINTARTHURLLITTLE

2026

THEAIFIRST

ORGANIZATION

HowITcanhelpreshape

theoperatingmodelforAl

AUTHORS

IntegrationofAlagentsintoenterprisesisgatheringpace,butmostinitialmovesfocusonquick-win

productivityandefficiencyimprovements,which

onlydeliverafractionofAI'struepotential.

Redesigningtheentireorganizationaloperating

modelaroundAlandhumansworkingincombination—becoming"AlFirst"—istheultimategoal.InthisViewpoint,weexplorewhat'sneededtomakethis

transformation,focusingonthekeyroleof

theITfunctioninensuringsuccess.

MichaelMajster

VolkerPfirsching

FlorenceCarlot

JoeriSamyn

Charles-AntoineBattaille

VIEWPOINT

ARTHURD.LITTLE

WHATITMEANSTOBECOMEAIFIRST

AsorganizationsstarttointegrateAlagents,theytypicallybeginbyidentifyingusecases

thatcouldquicklydeliverproductivityor

efficiencyimprovements,thenrunningsome

pilotsandscalingup.Mediaheadlinesabout

largecompaniesmakingAl-relatedheadcount

reductionsaretestamenttowhat'shappening.Butwhatthistypicallydeliversisasetofisolatedefficiencygains,basedonanoperatingmodel

thatincorporatesAlagentsbutfundamentallyremainsunchanged.Insomecases,companies

thatdownsizedstartedrehiringwhentheyfound

outthatAlagentsdidn'tdoaswellaslike-for-likehumansubstitutes.

QuickwinslikethisexploitonlyafractionofthetransformationalpotentialofAI.Organizationslookingtoreapthefullbenefitsandstayahead

ofthecompetitionneedtoshiftfromlookingatAlasjustatechenablertowardredesigningtheentireoperatingmodelaroundhowAland

humanscanbestworkincombination(seeFigure1).Thisisnotsolelyanopportunityfordigitallymatureorganizations.Alcreatesarareopportunityfordigitallaggardsaswelltoleapfrogpartsofthetraditionaldigital

transformationjourneybyredesigningpriority

processesdirectlyaroundAl-enabledwaysofworking.

EarlyAlimplementationsoftenstartwiththe"human-Alsandwich"model,inwhichAlsits

inbetweenhumanswhoframethetaskatthestartandrefinetheoutputsattheend.One

stepfurtherthanthisisthe“humanintheloop”model,inwhichAlagentshavegreaterend-

to-endtaskresponsibility,butwithhumans

actingascheckersorapprovers.Inbothcases,theworkflowsthemselvesremainbasically

unchangedfromtheprevioushuman-only

versions.Whatorganizationsneedtoreapthefullbenefits—let'ssayupto50%ratherthan10%-20%gains-istoredesignworkflows

entirelyaroundanewoperatingmodelinwhichhumansandAlagentstakeonnewrolesinan

orchestratedsystem,buildingonthestrengths

ofeach.Forexample,whenanAlagentdrafts

aresponsetoacustomerinquiry,whichistheneditedandapprovedbyahumanbeforesending,theworkflowisessentiallythesameandthe

benefitsarelimited.WhentheAlagentresolvescustomerinquiriesautonomouslywithincarefullysetguardrailsandonlyescalatestohumansin

unusualorsensitivecases,theworkflowandrolesaredifferentandthebenefitsarepotentially

muchgreater.What'smore,thiswayofworkingismoredynamicandflexibletosuitchangingworkloads.

Figure1.MovingfromindividualAlaugmentationtoanagenticoperatingmodel

AGENTICOPERATINGMODEL

Upto50%directionalgains

Source:ArthurD.Little

THEAIFIRSTORGANIZATION

VIEWPOINT

ARTHURD.LITTLE

ThisiswhatbecomingAIFirstmeans:ifAI

capabilitiesexistedfromdayone,howwould

wedesignouroperatingmodel?Beyondthis,AIFirstalsomeanscreatingentirelynewprocessesandrolesthatdidn’texistbefore,suchasagentlifecyclemanagement,AIplatformownership,

security,monitoring,escalation,andhuman

oversight.Thesecapabilitiesneedtobedesignedintotheoperatingmodelfromtheoutset.

Attheorganizationlevel,AIFirstrepresents

athirdwaveofoperatingmodelevolution

(seeFigure2)—notareplacementforproductorientationbutratheritsnextevolutionafter

theeconomicsofknowledgeworkandsoftwaredeliveryhavechanged.

Functionalandproject-basedorganizations

weredesignedaroundspecialistscarcityand

hierarchicalcoordination.Digitalandproduct-orientedmodelsaddressedslow,fragmented

digitaldeliverythroughpersistentcross-

functionalteams.AsAImakesmoreexecution

capacityavailablethroughautonomousagents,thecriticalconstraintsshifttowarddefining

intent,integratingcontext,exercisingjudgment,andassuringoutcomes.Theeffectiveunitof

productionincreasinglybecomesahybridhuman-agentsystemorganizedaroundanend-to-endoutcome.

AIFIRSTREPRESENTSATHIRDWAVEOF

OPERATINGMODELEVOLUTION

Theresultisneitherahierarchy-freeorganizationnortheendofproductownership.However,wheretheworkallows,itdoesmeanaflatternetwork

ofsmalleraccountablehumancoresthatsteer

agentsanddrawdynamicallyonsharedplatformsandspecialistexpertise.Crucially,AIislikelyto

unbundlerolesasweknowthemtoday:activitieshistoricallypackagedintonarrowjobprofilescanberedistributedbetweenhumansandagents,

thenrecombinedintobroaderhumanprofiles

spanningdomaininsight,productthinking,

technicalfluency,orchestration,andevaluation.WithAI,specialistknowledgebecomesless

valuablethanjudgment,requiringdifferentskillsetsfromhumanworkers.

Managementshiftsfromallocatingtasks

primarilytopeopletowardsettingoutcomes,

configuringautonomyandguardrails,monitoringperformance,andinterveninginexceptions.

Humanjudgmentremainsessential,especially

wheretrust,ambiguity,ormaterialriskisinvolved.

Figure2.ThreewavesofevolutiontowardtheAIFirstorganization

1

2

3

PrimaryconstraintOperatingmodel

TeamdesignRoles

CoordinationRoleofIT

FUNCTIONAL/PROJECTERADIGITAL/PRODUCTERAAI-FIRSTERA

Specialistcapacity&coordination

Slow,fragmenteddigitaldelivery

Humanjudgment,context&accountability

Functions&temporaryprojects

Persistentproductteams

Adaptiveoutcomenetworks

Largespecialistgroups&handovers

Cross-functional“two-pizza”teams

Smallhumancoreswithelasticagentcapacity

Narrow,function-definedjobs

Cross-functionalbutdistinctroleprofiles

Broaderprofilesthatcombinedomain,product,technical&orchestrationskills

Hierarchy,detailedplans&escalation

Productownership,agilerituals&platforms

Objectives,protocols,guardrails&exceptionhandling

Technologyprovider&operator

Platformenabler&productpartner

Enterpriseorchestrationlayer&ecosystemsteward

Source:ArthurD.Little

THEAIFIRSTORGANIZATION3

THEAIFIRSTORGANIZATION

VIEWPOINTARTHURD.LITTLE

ITHASACENTRAL

ROLEASARCHITECTANDSTEWARDOF

THEENTERPRISE

ORCHESTRATION

ENVIRONMENT

Atthesametime,anAlagentisnotthesame

asahumanworkerandhaslimitationsthat

needcarefulcontrol,suchasitsfundamental

relianceonprobabilisticratherthandeterministicproblem-solvingapproaches.

Theseimplicationsreachbeyondindividual

workflows.Theychangehowtheorganization

combinespeople,technology,andexternal

capabilities-andthereforehowitstructuresteams,roles,andcoordination.Suchhuman-

agentsystemscanonlyfunctionatenterprisescaleifagentscansecurelyaccesstrusted

knowledge,data,applications,andtoolsthroughshared,observable,andgovernablefoundations.ITthereforehasacentralrole:notastheownerofeveryAlsolution,butasarchitectandstewardoftheenterpriseorchestrationenvironment.

HowshouldITgoaboutadaptingtothisrole?

HOWITCANHELP

DRIVETHECHANGE

Fromproduct-basedhierarchiestoAl-enabledoutcomenetworks

Productorientationisnotnew:manylarge

enterpriseshavealreadymovedawayfrom

projectdeliverytowardpersistent,cross-

functionalproductteams.AlFirstcanbeseen

asthenextevolutionoftheproduct-oriented

model,shapedbyaneweconomiccontext

inwhichimplementationandanalysiscan

increasinglybeperformedbyagents.End-to-

endownershipandcustomerfocusremain,but

smallerhumanteamscancommandbroader

capabilitiesbyorchestratingagents,reusable

services,andspecialistsondemand.Thetarget

remainsnetwork-basedandproduct-oriented,

butthedesignassumptionschange(seeFigure3).

Persistentownership,customerfocus,and

business-ITintegrationremainessential.Wheresuitable,asmallerandbroaderhumancorecanaddressalargerscopebydrawingdynamicallyonAlagents,sharedplatforms,andhuman

specialistsratherthanembeddingonepersonforeverynarrowlydefinedrole.Theaccountableteamremainsstable,butthecapabilitiesand

executioncapacityarounditbecomemorefluid.

Figure3.TheAl-enabledproductnetworkorganization

VALUECREATION

Valuecreationtomeetstrategiccompanygoals

·Fullyintegratedproduct-orientedteamscoveringallproduct-relevantexpertise(business&IT)

·Fullend-to-endproduct&budgetresponsibility

.OverarchingIT/AIstrategy

&alignmentbetweennodes

Tech

capabilities

IT/AIGOVERNANCE

Creationofcross-productITprerequisites&standards

·IT/Algovernance

·Enterprisearchitecture

·Strategicresource/vendor/partnermanagement

IT/AIENABLEMENT

Provisionofbasicinfrastructure&ITcapabilities

·Platforms

·Knowledgemanagement

·Skillsdevelopment/trainings

authorityProduct

EXTERNALNETWORKNODES

CENTRALNODES

&SUPPLERS

Source:ArthurD.Little

VIEWPOINT

ARTHURD.LITTLE

THEAIFIRSTORGANIZATION5

ITLEADERSMUSTBESEENTOLIVEOUTAIFIRSTINTHEIROWNBEHAVIORS

TheITfunctionbecomespartofanetworkofinterconnectednodescomprisinginternal

andexternalparties,centeredonvaluecreationthroughproductsandservices.Workflowsarenotcentrallystandardizedbutratherproduct-adapted.Modulararchitecture,reusableagentcapabilities,andsharedplatformsallowteamstoaccessbroaderskillsandelasticexecution

capacity.Thenetwork-basedmodelallowsfor

amoreefficientdistributionofworkforce,be

ithumanoragenticAI,sothatenterprisescan

bemoreadaptable.Hierarchyisusedlessfor

routinecoordinationandmoreforaccountability,resourcechoices,andexceptionhandling.

TheprimaryroleofIThereisecosystem

stewardshipratherthandigitalcapability

custodianship.Insteadofprovidingtechnical

solutionstohumanemployees,ITactsas

anenablerofhuman/AIcollaborationinan

orchestratedsystem.Ithelpsthebusiness

innovatesafelywithAIthroughcommon

platforms,governance,reusablecapabilities,

andcross-functionalproductteams.Itactsasagrowthdriverandinnovationacceleratorfornewproducts,businessmodels,processes,anddigitalrevenuestreams.Anditnurtureskeydigitalskills,capabilities,andculture.

ThesefeaturesarevitalforanAIFirstorganizationforseveralreasons:

-AIsolutionsneedtobedevelopedand

refinedbytheteamsdeployingthem.

IT’sroleistoenablerapidandsafesolutions

viasecureAIplatforms,models,dataaccess,monitoring,andgovernance.

-AI-enabledprocesses,incorporating

newrolesforhumansandAIagents,

areinherentlycross-functional.

Forexample,anAI-basedmarketingprocesscouldinvolvenotjustmarketingbutalso

productdevelopment,sales,dataengineering,security,IT,andlegal.

-AIsolutionsrarelyhaveadefinedendpoint,sotheydon’tlendthemselvestotraditionalcentralizedprojectmanagementapproaches.AIagentsarecontinuouslylearning,and

human/AIcollaborativesystemsrequirecontinuousrefinementandupdating.

ThechangingroleoftheCIO

IftheroleofITshiftsfurtherawayfromonlydeliverytowardenablement,ITleadershiphastoevolvewithit.ThesuccessorotherwiseofaCIOwillnotsolelybemeasuredbyITsystemreliability,security,cost,andproject-deliveryperformance.Increasingly,

successwillalsobemeasuredbyhowwellITcansupportgrowthandchangeoforganizational

capability,alloweasyandsafeaccesstoAI-basedandothertechnologytools,andenablespeed

andagility—allwhilekeepingcostsundercontrolandexercising“smartstandardization”tolimit

unnecessaryduplicationandincompatibility.

ITleadersmustbeseentoliveoutAIFirstintheirownbehaviors.Thismeans,forexample,usingAIroutinely,activelydrivingadoptionacrosstheirteamsandbuildingpracticalunderstandingofAIintheiroperationsanditsimplicationsforcost,risk,security,anddigitalsovereignty.Leadershipbyexampleisalwaysessentialtochange

behaviorsacrossawiderorganization.

Movingfromapurelydirectivetoa“servant”

leadershipstylecanbevaluableinunderpinningtherolechange.Focusingoncreatingtheconditionsforotherstosucceedalignswellwiththeneedtobuildplatforms,removebarriers,andfacilitateinnovationandcollaboration.Ofcourse,tobeeffective,this

leadershipstyleneedstobesupportedbystronggovernance,clearaccountabilities,andadequateauthoritytomaintaincontrol.Therolesofstrategicarchitectanddigitalecosystemstewardrequire

strongleadershipqualities,notjustresponsivenesstotheneedsofothers.

THEAIFIRSTORGANIZATION

VIEWPOINTARTHURD.LITTLE

HOWTOMAKETHETRANSFORMATION

TransformingtheITfunctiontoenablethe

shifttowardanAlFirstorganizationrequires

attentiontomultiplebuildingblocksstretchingacrossenterprisearchitecture,operatingmodel,andhumandimensions(seeFigure4).

Figure4summarizesthetargetedend-stateconditionsinITtransformation.There'susuallynoshortcut—focusingon,say,theoperatingmodelandneglectingthearchitectureor

humandimensionswillfailtodeliverthedesiredoutcomes,andviceversa.

Makingthetransitiontowardthisendstaterequiresacareful,balancedapproach:

-Buildastrongcaseforchangetosecure

theCEOmandate.TheCIOcannotdeliver

anAlFirsttransformationthroughITalone.

Thestartingpointmustbeabusiness-led

ambition,sponsoredbytheCEOandexecutiveteam,whichclearlyarticulateswhychangeisrequired,wherevaluewillcomefrom,andwhat

theorganizationispreparedtoredesign.

-Don'tfocusonlyonradicaltransformation.

WhiletheshifttowardAlFirstrequiresradical

changes,focusingonthesealoneislikelytofail.ThechangeportfolioneedstoincludeLower-risk,fasterincrementalproductivitygainsandprocess-drivenimprovementsaswellasradicalrethinks.Abalanced“and-

and-and"approachhelpsensurequickwins,maintainchangemomentum,andmitigatedownsiderisks.

-Maintainambidexterityandactively

capturetheeconomics.Businessesneedtomaintainastrongfocusonexploitingtoday'sbusinesswhilebuildingtomorrow'sAlenabledorganization.Thisisessentialtobeableto

"redesigntheplaneinflight"withoutincurringexcessiveoperationalandbusinesscontinuityrisksandcosts.Alcanallowcapacityto

scalethroughsoftwareandagentsrather

thanproportionalheadcount,butmodel

consumption,compute,data,integration,

monitoring,andhumanassurancecreatea

newcostbase.Thesecostsneedtobejustifiedbybenefits,andfreedhumancapacitymust

bedeliberatelyredeployedifproductivity

gainsaretotranslateintofinancialvalue.

Figure4.TargetstateforanITorganizationtosupportAlFirst

Deratingmo

Customerimpact

"obsession"

Highdegreeofself-org&Leanhierarchy

Collaboration

accountability

&E2E

focus

Activeskill,capability&talentmanagement

Leadershipenthusiasm

embracingchange,"servant"principle

Extreme,butsmart

Fullytransparent&

activelymanaged

(strategic)ITportfolioActiveserviceLifecyclemanagement

Strictbusiness

accountabilityfordemand/productsCloud-empowered

Agileimplementedinbusiness/IT

Strictproductorientation

inprocesses/roles

Decisionmechanismsdata/

Al-driven&fullysupporting

agileproductorganization

Business-IT-fusionprinciple

Ecosystemorchestrator.

Strongvendor&technologymanagementskills

Businesslayers

(models,processes,data,UX)

Buildingblocksof"ideal"IT

organizationtosupportAlFirst

Organization&governance

Application&technology

Ecosystem&sourcing

Skills&

talent

Leadership

Processes

Culture

Services

Source:ArthurD.Little

VIEWPOINT

ARTHURD.LITTLE

THEAIFIRSTORGANIZATION7

-Workbottom-upaswellastop-down.

TransformationtoAIFirstmustbe

strategicallydriven,withacleardefinitionofambitions,targets,valuecreation,synergies,andmilestones.However,justasvitalisthatitshouldbedynamicallyinformedwithbottom-upusecases.Thisisespeciallyimportant

giventhefast-movingnatureofAItechnology.Relyingtoomuchontop-downstrategy

risksunrealisticgoalsanddelayedbenefits.Relyingtoomuchonbottom-upusecases

riskslimitedscalabilityandstrategicimpact.Aligningbothhelpsensuresuccess.

-Spendtimetounderstandbefore

redesigning.Oneofthebiggestbarriers

tochangeispoordataandintelligenceonworkflows,processes,anddecision-making,especiallythelessvisibleaspectsof“howthingsareactuallydone”asopposedto

theprescribedprocedure.ThisisespeciallyimportantwhenintegratingAIagents.Ifthecurrentwayofworkingisnotfullyvisible,itwillbedifficulttoredesignit.Thecurrent

operativesarethebestpeopletoensurethisisdoneproperly.

-Focusfirstonthebusinessareasand

domainsthatwilldeliverthemostvalue.

ThepotentialfieldofapplicationforAIishuge,

sofocusandprioritizationareimportant.

Toolssuchasheatmapscanbevaluable

foridentifyingthesweetspotswherethereisamatchbetweenAIsolutionmaturity

andpotentialvaluecreation.

-Don’tneglectthehumanside.AIintegration

clearlyisasourceofanxietyformany

employees.It’simportanttobeclearat

theoutsetthatthetransformationisnot

onlyaboutdownsizing,butalsoabout

usingexistinghumanresourcestodomore,throughchangingeveryone’srole.Leadersneedtoensurethattheyareclearaboutthesupporttheywillprovidetohelpemployeesthroughthechange,aswellasstressingthepositiveimplicationsformanyemployeesintermsofenrichingtheirjobtasks,removingdrudgery,andexpandingtheirscopeand

responsibilities.

Atthisstageofevolution,it’sfairtosaythat

few,ifany,traditionalcompaniescanbesingledoutashavingsuccessfullycompletedanAIFirsttransformation.However,Unileverisonenotableexampleofalargetraditionalcorporationthat

hasdeclareditselftobeonthetransformation

journeytowardAIFirst.IthighlightshowtheuseofAI-powereddigitaltwins,anAI-poweredglobalinnovationcenter,andanewAI-basedmarketinglifecyclearedrivingvaluecreation.Intermsof

AIFirstoperatingmodels,therearesomeusefulprinciplesemergingfromfirstmoversanddigitalnativesembarkingonsuchtransformation

(seesidebar).

VIEWPOINT

ARTHURD.LITTLE

THEAIFIRSTORGANIZATION8

Fouremergingdesignprinciplesfromfirstmovers

1.Humanaccountabilitywithagent-operatedexecution.Klarna’scustomerserviceagent

demonstratedhowagentscanexecutea

largeshareofroutineinteractions,while

itssubsequentreintroductionofgreater

humaninvolvementhighlightsthecontinuedimportanceofjudgment,servicequality,andescalation.Peopleremainaccountablefor

outcomesevenwhenagentsperformmuchoftheexecution.

2.Elasticteamsratherthansimplysmallerteams.ShopifyandDuolingoaretestingamodelinwhichteamsareexpectedtouseAIcapacitybeforeaddingconventional

resources.Astablehumancorecandrawonagents,sharedplatforms,andspecialists

ondemand,althoughtheachievabledegree

ofteamcompressiondependsonworkmodularity,verifiability,andrisk.

3.Roleunbundlingandrecombination.At

Shopify,productthinkingandAI-enabled

buildingareexpectedwellbeyondtraditionaltechnologyroles.

AtDuolingo,AI-supportedcontentand

softwareproductionpointtowardemployeesincreasinglydirecting,integrating,and

evaluatingworkthatpreviouslyrequiredseparatespecialistprofiles.

4.Flatterdecision-making,butamore

engineeredorganization.Cloudflarehas

enabledbroadAIusethroughacommon

internalengineeringstack,accesscontrols,

andsharedagentinfrastructure.This

illustrateshowdecentralizedexperimentationandexecutionrequirestrongerenterprise

foundationsforidentity,permissions,

interoperability,observability,andsecurity.

Theseexamplesshouldnotbetreatedasproventemplates.However,theyprovideearlysignalsofhowAIadvancestheproductmodel:persistentownershipremains,butteameconomics,role

boundaries,andcoordinati