Why Stay? The Question Your AI Adopters Are Now Asking

When expectations exceed support, your top talent starts scanning for the exit.

“Why stay?”

It’s not a threat. It’s not even a complaint.

It’s a quiet question being asked by some of your most valuable employees—the ones already ahead of the curve on AI.

They haven't waited around for a policy. They’ve taught themselves the tools. They’re experimenting, learning, and applying AI to real work. These are your early adopters, your internal pioneers. And many of them are seeing the reactions resulting from the Shopify CEO's memo, which sets AI usage as a baseline expectation, and asking:

Why stay in a system that expects what it doesn't empower?

In the responses I’ve seen to this CEO saying the quiet part out loud, what’s missing is a critical point: building an AI-fluent workforce isn’t a “you” problem, it’s an “us” challenge. It’s shortsighted to ignore this gap instead of addressing it head-on.

At Expera Consulting, we work with teams navigating this tension: AI is moving fast, and leaders want to get ahead. But declaring AI fluency as a requirement doesn’t make it real. If anything, it risks alienating the people already doing the work.

The Real Problem Isn’t AI. It’s the Assumption.

Saying AI is now a baseline is visionary and foretells the future of work. But it can land sideways for the individual who’s already self-trained and self-motivated.

Why?

Because ambition without infrastructure turns into pressure.

And pressure without support turns into attrition.

The assumption that AI adoption will succeed without the necessary support and infrastructure leaves your pioneers feeling unsupported and frustrated, and burdening others with unrealistic expectations. 

Bold AI expectations without enablement create invisible barriers. Are you ready to break them down?

You don't get AI fluency by mandating it. You get it by building an environment that is inclusive, enabling, and grounded in upskilling. That environment needs to support continuous learning, psychological safety, and knowledge-sharing across teams. It cannot rely on self-starters alone. It must be systematized.

You’re Not Just Messaging AI. You’re Shaping Its Culture.

This is where comms and marketing leaders play a pivotal role. You’ve got the narrative power and platform to influence AI adoption across the organization. Don’t just echo executive mandates. You can channel your influence to drive cultural change. Use your platform to spotlight early adopters already testing, building, and leading by doing.

By formalizing that momentum through an AI council, you can amplify their impact, make their work visible, and ensure that AI adoption isn’t just top-down but collaborative, sustainable, and driven by the very people who are already leading the way in your organization.

Here’s How

Use Your Platform Strategically

• Create internal campaigns that spotlight real employees. not just leadership, using AI in meaningful ways. This demystifies adoption and shows the practical value AI brings to daily work.
• Leaders must walk the talk. Saying "I used AI to plan my trip" isn’t a workflow. It’s a party trick.
• Turn your internal channels into learning hubs. Share prompt libraries, experiment logs, and lessons from both failures and wins. This keeps the conversation going and lowers the barrier to experimentation.
• Provide clear guidelines that empower secure, compliant exploration. Guardrails give teams confidence to experiment boldly, knowing they’re covered. Need help building these? We’ve got frameworks that make innovation safe and actionable.
• Spotlight early adopters in town halls, newsletters, and onboarding. Their stories can spark curiosity and show how AI can elevate work across teams.

Establish an AI Council

Forming an AI Council is one of the most effective ways to ensure AI adoption becomes a collaborative, sustained effort across the organization, not just a top-down mandate. At Expera Consulting, we’ve developed a proven methodology for identifying cross-functional early adopters already driving AI initiatives. These individuals form the nucleus of your AI working group, helping shape and test the future of AI adoption within your organization.

Don't Go It Alone

We were part of VMware’s award-winning Marketing AI Council, which earned the GOLD Winner Award in the International MarCom Awards. We bring this same approach to our clients, identifying early adopters with the potential to influence change, empowering them with the tools and support they need, and giving them a platform to drive impactful AI use cases.

Here Are Some Tips for Setting Up Your AI Council

• Select cross-functional early adopters.  Identify individuals across teams who show behaviors that drive change. But pinpointing the right adopters requires more than a checklist. That’s where we come in.
• Provide time and visibility. Give individuals the space and leadership visibility to lead AI initiatives. They need support to align with company strategy, and we have the framework to make it work.
• Create a feedback loop: The AI council should become a live feedback loop. Building it into your operations requires structure, and we can show you how to keep AI adoption dynamic and responsive.
  
  

When it’s time to decide: Will you stay and make an impact, or seek new opportunities? Sometimes, the road to growth requires taking a stand and advocating for the future you want.

If You’re the One Asking “Why Stay?” You’re Not Alone.

If you’re reading this and you’re the one who’s been ahead of the curve, this part is for you.

You’re not wrong to feel the disconnect between what’s being asked and what’s being supported. And your impact? It matters more than you think.

Our advice: Don’t wait for permission. Advocate for yourself. But also, be prepared to have the difficult conversations. Whether it’s with leadership, peers, or yourself, clarify your vision for AI and how you plan to contribute to its success. Find allies who support your mission, and together, amplify the impact you can make.

Take the initiative and suggest forming an AI council or working group. You don’t need a title to lead; your actions and vision are your leadership. But be honest with yourself: If your environment isn’t ready for change, you may need to look elsewhere for the opportunity to grow or stay and make it happen where you are.

For more ways to keep your advantage, subscribe to Catherine’s The Strategist Blog, and learn how to keep driving forward, no matter where you are. For a customized upskilling roadmap, reach out here. 

AI Is a Cultural Shift. 

Whether you’re a leader looking to build AI momentum or an individual deciding if your environment aligns with your ambition, the core principle remains the same:

AI transformation only works when responsibility is shared. It’s not a ‘you’ problem, it’s an ‘us’ challenge.

At Expera Consulting, we help organizations move from enthusiasm to enterprise readiness. 

“Why stay?” is a legitimate question, but it shouldn't stop there. It can spark a dialog that leads to change.

About the Authors

Catherine Richards and Bob Mitton are Co-founders and Managing Partners here at Expera Consulting, where they advise organizations of all sizes on AI readiness, enablement, and governance. Catherine recently spoke to over 1,000 next-gen marketers at the American Marketing Association’s International Collegiate Conference. Bob participated in a members-only AMA webinar, The AI Skills You Need to Succeed. Additionally, they were featured together on the AI Edge for Enterprise Marketing Podcast, where they shared insights on building human-first, AI-powered systems within enterprises.

This perspective was initially shared with Ragan Communications and PR Daily, where Catherine Richards contributed expert commentary on leadership, enablement, and AI culture change.

We recently shared this and other perspectives on the AI Edge for Enterprise Marketing Podcast, Riding the AI Wave, featuring Expera Consulting. Focused on global marketing, the podcast explores how AI-driven efforts connect to sales, IT, product, and the broader business.