Stop Losing Profit, Start Building Growth with AI Training

Written by Steve DePuys | Oct 3, 2025 9:47:22 PM

AI adoption often feels like a drain. You’re sinking 10–20% of your team’s time into training, workflows, and trial-and-error. The profit line takes a hit, and the ROI feels distant. But here’s the truth: those hours are an investment, not a loss.

In the Two-Minute AI Tip episode, AI Is Eating Our Profit, Sarah explains why the hidden costs of AI matter and how compounding effort leads to measurable gains down the road.

Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, once said: “People who use AI will replace people who do not.” That is where the long-term payoff lives in blending the human touch with AI’s compounding efficiency.

The Reality of AI Training Costs

10–20% of time absorbed: Teams need to test, iterate, and learn before workflows stabilize.
It’s more than tools: Buying the latest platform doesn’t deliver results; structured learning and consistent guidance do.
Short-term dip, long-term lift: Just like investing in onboarding, the short-term cost pays off in future performance.

Leadership Perspective – What Executives Should Care About

CROs (Chief Revenue Officers): AI can help scale outreach and generate sharper insights. But when the sales motion feels robotic or templated, trust erodes. The advantage comes from using AI to support authentic conversations.
CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers): Automated content creation can lighten workloads, but the heart of your strategy is still storytelling, brand voice, and emotional connection. AI can give you speed. Your team ensures your message actually resonates.
CEOs (Chief Executive Officers): Your role is to set the vision. Is AI adoption helping your company scale sustainably, or is it adding overhead? Investments in AI must be measured against long-term growth outcomes. Above all, people need to remain at the center of execution.

Why the Human Touch Still Wins

AI is powerful, but without human oversight, it risks becoming a mechanical echo chamber. Clients, partners, and stakeholders crave connection, and trust is built on empathy, not automation.

The winning strategy isn’t AI vs. human; it’s AI guided by humans. When your team trains with intention, AI becomes a multiplier, not a replacement.

How to Turn AI Training Into Revenue Wins

Challenge	Tactical Step	Revenue Impact
High team hours spent on AI onboarding	Designate “AI champions” who document learnings for wider adoption	Cuts wasted time; accelerates scaling across departments
Confusion about the tool value	Set quarterly KPIs tied to revenue, not just usage stats	Shifts AI from shiny object to revenue driver
Loss of human connection in messaging	Use AI for drafts, but require human editing for tone and empathy	Protects brand trust while boosting efficiency
Plateau in AI adoption	Provide structured micro-training instead of ad-hoc learning	Increases retention of knowledge and consistent results
Hard to justify the ongoing cost	Track compounding wins (time saved, revenue gained per quarter)	Makes the long game tangible for executives

Yes, AI can feel like it’s eating your profit today. But that doesn’t have to be the story. If you invest in training wisely and use human judgment strategically, what feels like an expense now can turn into long-term, sustainable revenue wins.

At StringCan, we work with mid-market companies to design AI adoption strategies that actually drive measurable growth, not just noise. If your team feels like AI is draining profit instead of fueling it, let’s chat.

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