Ben Chisell, CEO of London-based payments company Paysend, is taking an unconventional approach to artificial intelligence by limiting access to the company's highest-performing employees. He told CNBC that he is a "very cynical man" about AI hype, though he still sees its value.
Chisell, who previously worked at Amazon, eBay and Starling Bank, estimates that Paysend now delivers about 25% more engineering work with the same team size. But he argues that giving everyone the latest tools does not automatically yield results.
I know it sounds very unglamorous and unsexy as an approach given the world of tokenmaxxing and AI, but I think it's really, really important.
He said AI can magnify bad habits such as laziness and poor judgment in the wrong hands. His broader rule is to resist "fear of missing out" and focus on customer problems.
Other business leaders share his caution. Lokdeep Singh, CEO of enterprise software company Unily, also sees AI as a "superpower" best reserved for high performers. He warned that some companies treat AI as a cost-cutting tool rather than a way to expand ambition.
They are swimming against a strong current. Lloyds Banking Group has rolled out 40,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, reporting 97% active usage. Sage says its AI coding tools have saved hundreds of thousands of work hours, and Grant Thornton UK has invested £500 million ($660 million) in AI, encouraging all staff to use Anthropic's Claude.
Yet the business case is not settled. UK government research published in January found that three-quarters of businesses using AI reported improved workforce productivity, but 77% said revenue had not changed. That suggests the technology may not yet deliver bottom-line gains for many adopters.