Post by Silicon Reef

95% of AI pilots don’t make it into long-term use. That’s one of the standout findings from MIT’s State of AI in Business 2025 report. At first glance, it points to a technology issue. But when you look closer, most organisations struggle to turn early interest into something that lasts. The tools are there, the challenge is how they fit into the day‑to‑day reality of the business. We see a similar pattern when Copilot comes into the conversation. Teams are engaged and exploring what it can do, but the foundations underneath haven’t always been shaped with AI in mind. Permissions, content, and structure all start to matter more once AI is introduced. So how do you make sure your pilot doesn’t fall into the 95%? From what we’re seeing with clients, a few things make the difference: • Start with a clear use case - a process, a team, a specific outcome • Make sure the data and structure behind it are consistent and trustworthy • Put simple governance in place early, so things don’t become harder to manage later When those pieces are in place, the results tend to follow, and teams can trust what Copilot is giving them. That’s where we tend to support - working with IT teams to align what Copilot can do with what their environment is set up to support. If you’re starting to think about Copilot in that way, we’ve shared an article in the comments that goes into this in more detail.