TestGorillaUnderstanding why most AI pilots fail before they ever reach scale
We’re writing a thought leadership article for TestGorilla examining why the vast majority of AI pilots fail to deliver meaningful business outcomes — despite heavy investment and leadership buy-in.
Rather than treating AI pilot failure as a tooling or technology issue, this piece reframes the problem as a people and capability gap. Many organizations roll out AI without clear visibility into how work is actually done, which skills are changing, or how humans are expected to collaborate with AI systems. As a result, pilots stall, misfire, or never scale.
We’re looking for HR leaders, transformation leaders, people analytics professionals, and senior operators who have seen AI initiatives struggle — and can speak to why success depends as much on human readiness, skills, and workflows as it does on the technology itself.
Please answer one or more of the following:
• From your experience, why do most AI pilots fail to move beyond experimentation?
• What people- or skills-related gaps most commonly undermine AI adoption?
• How does lack of visibility into work, skills, or workflows affect AI outcomes?
• Where do leaders tend to overestimate AI readiness within their teams?
• What do successful AI pilots do differently when it comes to people, not tools?
• How should organizations rethink AI pilots to focus on human–AI collaboration rather than automation alone?
Requirements:
• Direct experience with AI initiatives, digital transformation, or workforce strategy
• Perspective grounded in real-world execution (not vendor theory)
• Willingness to be quoted with name, title, and LinkedIn profile
What You’ll Get:
• Featured in a TestGorilla thought leadership article read by senior HR, TA, and transformation leaders
• Attribution with name, title, and LinkedIn profile
• An opportunity to contribute to a more honest, people-centered conversation about why AI initiatives succeed or fail