McKinsey: What are the biggest opportunities for AI in Europe?
Lousie Herring: When I think about the biggest opportunities in Europe for AI, context really matters. It’s a time where cost is under pressure, and huge uncertainty in the outlook. That means companies deeply care about their margins and more than ever, really need to understand their customers to drive growth and have the right conversations at the right time. Effectively, that means they need to be their best selves, which really is the strength that AI can bring to an organization.
So for me, the opportunity for AI is all about scale. There’ve been many, many proofs of value in different companies and different sectors. But now there’s a clear formula for companies to apply and start scaling AI’s proven impact. And that means getting the strategy right, the data right, the talent right, the tools right, and the right models in place.
More than ever, the focus I’m seeing among my clients who are really beginning to accelerate this trajectory is around industrializing the approach, really embedding MLOps throughout the organization, and getting to a place where it’s no longer about the next use case. Instead, it’s now about figuring out “How can we unlock hundreds of models of scale to power better-decision making in the organization, and become our best selves?”