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When it comes to AI, there’s a lot of hype—and a lot of hand-wringing. Depending on who you talk to, generative AI is either the most powerful productivity booster in decades, or the beginning of the end for countless jobs.
But here’s the truth: AI isn’t a silver bullet. It’s not a threat. It’s just another tool in your toolkit.
That’s the perspective Chayse Joubert, former Senior Director of Digital Transformation Strategy at Fossil Group, brought to our recent episode of The Frictionless Experience.
His take? Refreshingly grounded—and one we should all pay attention to.
The AI Myth We Need to Let Go
Let’s start by busting a myth that’s way too common: that generative AI is here to replace humans. Chayse pushed back on that narrative in a big way.
“That is a myth to debunk 1000%,” he said. “GenAI is not here to replace. It’s really here to enhance.”
The fear around job loss tends to come from misunderstanding what this technology is really good at. AI is phenomenal at handling repetitive tasks, summarizing information, organizing large volumes of data, and helping teams move faster.
But it can’t replace human empathy, creativity, or decision-making—at least not in any sustainable, brand-building way.
In other words, your job probably isn’t going away. But it might change. And the sooner we embrace that, the sooner we can focus on using AI to do better work, not just more of it.
From Hype to Value: The Missing Link
If you’ve spent time in executive meetings over the last year, you’ve probably heard something like: “We need an AI strategy.” But here’s where things often go sideways.
“When the technology first boomed… it was identified as like a silver bullet to every problem,” Chayse explained.
“Many large-scale organizations started developing this technology and investing incredible sums of resources… but the true reality was that there needed to be use cases and business value associated with implementing these tools.”
This is the gap we see time and again: high-level enthusiasm without a ground-level plan.
AI doesn’t magically solve problems. It accelerates well-defined solutions. That means you still need to do the strategic work—understand your customer journey, identify pain points, and design the right interventions. Then, AI can step in to make those processes smarter and faster.
“Some of these use cases have really been thought of as low-hanging fruit,” Chayse said. “The implementations have proven and have shown that you do get more time back in the day. You can be more efficient and you can drive greater business value.”
What AI Can Actually Do for You (Right Now)
If you’re in digital transformation, marketing, customer experience, or operations—AI isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you use.
Here’s how Chayse and his team at Fossil Group are approaching it:
- Enhance decision-making: AI tools can crunch data and surface trends faster than a human ever could, enabling teams to focus on strategic interpretation rather than collection.
- Boost productivity: From writing draft copy to building smarter customer service experiences with chatbots, GenAI can automate the mundane so your team can focus on what matters.
- Improve customer experience: Whether it’s localization, personalization, or streamlining search and recommendations, AI is helping teams meet customers where they are.
And the key, as Chayse reminds us, is to treat it like any other capability:
“It is a tool… and the more that we accept that as truth… the more effective we’ll be.”
So, Where Do You Start?
Simple. Start with your customers, and work backward.
Look at the friction points in their experience and ask: could AI help reduce that? Could it save time, improve accuracy, and personalize the interaction?
Then, ask the same questions about your team’s internal experience.
Because when you use AI to remove internal friction, you free up your people to deliver better external outcomes. And that’s the whole point.
“It’ll give you more time back in your day. It’ll give you more time back in your life,” Chayse said. “And it does really help to deliver greater business value.”
Final Thought: You’re Still the Driver
We live in a world where people scroll, compare, and purchase across multiple devices, channels, and platforms. AI is just another passenger helping us navigate that complexity—not the one taking the wheel.
So yes, use the tool. Learn it. Experiment with it. But remember: you are still the driver when it comes to creating frictionless digital experiences.
AI just makes the road a little smoother.
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