Why 55% of COOs Are Betting on AI and How to Get It Right

AI isn't coming to operations, it's already here. Artificial intelligence has moved from a buzzword to a boardroom priority. According to PwC's latest COO Pulse Survey, 55% of operations leaders now rank AI among their top three digital investments for transforming business functions. This seismic shift reflects a fundamental element: in today's volatile business landscape, traditional operations models are no longer sufficient.  

For COOs, Heads of Operations, and Operations Managers, this presents both an unprecedented opportunity and a significant challenge. Chances are, you're already stretched thin, tasked with:  

• Scaling efficiently amid rapid growth while maintaining quality  
• Aligning cross-functional teams with competing priorities and KPIs  
• Delivering measurable results while managing tightening budgets  
• Maintaining regulatory compliance without sacrificing operational agility  
• Navigating supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty  

Now, leadership expects you to do it all faster, smarter, and with fewer resources - a demand that's pushing operations teams to their limits.  

That's where AI comes in, but not as a magic bullet or shiny object. The difference between success and stagnation lies in how you implement it. The most forward-thinking operations leaders aren't just adopting AI, they're strategically embedding it into their workflows to solve specific, high-impact problems.  

The AI imperative: Why operations can't afford to wait  

1. The end of "insight lag" in modern operations  

Traditional operations models, still used by many organizations today, rely on:  

- Static spreadsheets requiring manual updates  

- Siloed dashboards that don't communicate with each other  

- After-the-fact reporting that's often outdated by the time it's reviewed and decisions made

These tools were useful…in 2015. Today, when market conditions shift overnight, supply chains fluctuate by the hour, and customer expectations evolve daily, real-time intelligence is non-negotiable. Operations leaders need immediate visibility into performance metrics, potential risks, and emerging opportunities.  

Yet research shows a troubling gap between these ambitious goals and reality:  

• 69% of ops leaders say their tech investments underdeliver expected results 
• 53% cite "improving decision speed and quality" as their top digitization goal 
• Only 21% of CIOs actively consider employee adoption challenges when rolling out AI solutions  

The message is clear from the above stats: Technology alone won't transform your operations. Thoughtful implementation will.  

 2. Where AI delivers immediate, measurable impact  

Forward-thinking operations leaders are leveraging AI to solve three critical challenges:  

Cutting through the noise  

Modern operations teams are drowning in data from marketing, sales, supply chain, customer success, and more. AI excels at aggregating this disparate information into one place and providing actionable insights, not just more dashboards to monitor. For example, instead of manually correlating sales data with support tickets to identify churn risks, AI can automatically surface these connections and flag them for review.  

Reclaiming lost time  

Research shows 62% of the average workday is lost due to repetitive, mundane tasks such as manual reporting, pulling data from tools like Salesforce, NetSuite, GA4, and other systems, then formatting it for leadership. AI-powered automation can eliminate this with auto-summarized updates that highlight key trends and anomalies. One Hurree customer, Wavey Ice, saved over 5 hours a week on manual reporting, freeing up their ops team to focus on strategic initiatives.  

Moving at market speed  

In industries where competitors pivot overnight, decision-making can't wait for quarterly reviews. AI enables dynamic adjustments by:  

• Identifying budget variances in real-time  
• Flagging supply chain risks before they cause delays  
• Recommending course corrections based on live data  

3. The quiet failure of most AI tools  

The complexity trap - despite the hype and investment, many AI initiatives fail to deliver meaningful results

Many "AI-powered" tools:

• Require data science expertise to implement, despite being sold to non-technical operators
• Create more work, forcing teams to manage another system instead of simplifying workflows
• Overwhelm users with raw data outputs rather than clear, actionable recommendations

The adoption gap - even technically sound solutions fail when they:

• Ignore how operations teams actually work (e.g., no Slack/Teams integration for frontline teams)
• Lack clear ROI pathways, making it impossible to justify continued use
• Disrupt rather than enhance existing processes

Human-first AI: How to implement without the headache

When implementing AI in operations, the most successful teams focus on solving real problems rather than chasing technology trends. Here are three key principles for effective AI adoption:

Tip 1: Start with friction, not features
Instead of saying, "We need AI, let's buy something”, say:  "Where are the biggest pain points in our daily workflows?"

Instead of beginning with technology, start by identifying:

• Time-consuming manual processes
• Recurring bottlenecks in workflows
• Areas where data visibility is limited

Implementation tip:
Conduct a "friction audit" where your team documents repetitive tasks and process inefficiencies. These pain points become your ideal candidates for AI solutions.

Tip 2: Choose AI that works with your stack, not against it
Many AI initiatives fail because they don't integrate well with existing tools. Look for solutions that:

• Connect easily and seamlessly with your current systems (ERP, CRM, etc.)
• Provide insights where your team already works (like communication platforms)
• Offer actionable alerts rather than just raw data

The right AI solution should feel like a natural extension of your existing workflow, not another siloed system to manage.

Source: Gartner

Tip 3: Measure ROI through operational impact
Instead of saying "We use AI for X tasks”, ask  "How has AI improved our efficiency and decision-making?"

Focus on tracking:

• Time savings on manual processes
• Reduction in preventable errors
• Faster response times to operational issues
• Improved cross-team alignment

The most meaningful ROI comes when AI helps your team spend less time on routine tasks and more time on strategic priorities.

The future of AI in operations: beyond automation  

The next wave of operational AI isn't just about doing things faster; it's about transforming how work gets done:  

AI co-pilots for operations  

Imagine your AI assistant suggesting:  

• "Your approval flow is 30% slower than last month,try these 3 process tweaks"  
• "Based on Q3 hiring plans, you'll need to adjust workspace capacity by October"  

Self-optimizing workflows  

Systems that automatically:  

• Reroute tasks based on team capacity  
• Adjust inventory orders based on real-time demand signals  
• Rebalance budgets when projects under/over perform  

Unified operational intelligence  

Breaking down silos with AI that:  

• Connects ops, finance, and customer experience data into a single narrative  
• Identifies hidden correlations (e.g., "Marketing spend in region A isn't impacting sales,but is driving support costs")  
• Simulates scenarios ("What if we shifted 15% of budget from X to Y?")  

AI shouldn’t mean more complexity; it should remove it. Hurree is designed for operations leaders who need actionable intelligence, not just more data. Here’s how we help teams work smarter:

1. Automation without engineering

No technical skills? No problem. Hurree empowers operations teams to:

• Build custom dashboards in minutes with a drag-and-drop, no-code interface, no IT tickets or developer dependencies.
• Accelerate onboarding with pre-built templates for common ops processes (e.g., inventory forecasting, customer onboarding tracking, or budget variance alerts).
• Connect systems effortlessly, pulling data from your existing tools (ERPs, CRMs, support platforms) into a unified view.

Why it matters: Eliminate manual busywork so your team can focus on strategic decisions.

2. Predictive insights, not just dashboards

Hurree goes beyond static reports to deliver AI-driven intelligence:

• Spot anomaly and flags deviations (e.g., sudden drops in regional sales or spikes in support tickets) and suggests how to improve.
• Smart forecasting models future trends (demand, cash flow, or capacity needs) based on your historical data, not generic benchmarks.
• Identify hidden risks and inefficiencies in business operations (like supply chain delays or at-risk customers) before they escalate.

Why it matters: Move from reactive firefighting to proactive problem-solving.

3. Alignment without meeting overload

Break down silos and keep teams in sync without endless meetings:

• Live, role-specific dashboards give every team (finance, sales, marketing & more) the metrics they need, without information overload.
• Automated snapshot updates delivered at specific intervals to stakeholders (e.g., weekly performance summaries) - no manual PowerPoints needed.
• Collaborative notes and annotations let teams add context to metrics directly in Hurree (e.g., tagging a sales dip with market feedback).

Why it matters: Reduce alignment meetings while improving cross-functional visibility. 

Source: Gartner

4. AI that adapts to your workflow

Unlike tools that force you to work differently, Hurree embeds intelligence where you already operate:

• Chatbot feature: Ask Hurree’s AI assistant Riva to clarify trends (e.g., “Why did churn increase last quarter?”) in plain language.
• Customizable benchmarks: Set rules for what counts as an “anomaly” based on your business (e.g., ignore seasonal dips).

Why it matters: AI works for you, not the other way around.

The most forward-thinking operations leaders aren’t just implementing AI, they’re using it to fundamentally redefine what’s possible. From automating routine tasks to predicting disruptions before they happen, AI is transforming operations from a cost center to a strategic advantage.

But this transformation only happens when AI is designed for operations teams, not data scientists. That’s why solutions like Hurree focus on delivering actionable intelligence without complexity, helping teams:

• Work smarter with predictive insights tailored to their business
• Move faster with automation that adapts to their workflows
• Align better with shared visibility across departments

The future belongs to operations teams that harness AI as a co-pilot, not just another tool.