AS THE SAYING GOES, history repeats itself. When the internet first arrived in the workplace, many companies were unsure how it would fit into business. Some dismissed it as a distraction, while others adopted it without thinking through policies or costs. Over time, frameworks and best practices emerged, and what once felt uncertain became the foundation of global commerce. Email, cloud computing and mobility followed similar arcs: disruptive at first, then indispensable. Each wave paired opportunity with risk. The same is true today with artificial intelligence. AI is not a cure-all; it is a powerful toolkit. To use it well, promotional products industry organizations need clear, durable principles. Here are recommendations, grounded in past lessons, to guide adoption now. Protect Data First AI thrives on data, which makes security the first priority. A simple way to frame decisions is the “CIA” triad: confidentiality, integrity and availability. Confidentiality protects sensitive information. Integrity ensures data is accurate and unaltered. Availability ensures the right people can access what they need when they need it. When evaluating AI platforms, especially codeless ones, ask where data is hosted, who has access and how customer data is segregated. Certain providers offer dedicated infrastructure, similar to private clouds, with stronger isolation than purely shared environments. Leaders should decide, explicitly, what is “secure enough” for their risk profile. Costs Count Every major shift introduces a new cost model. With the cloud, businesses learned pay-as-you-go billing. With AI, the core unit is the token – a small chunk of text the system reads or generates. Pricing scales with volume of text processed, not hours or storage. That can deliver value quickly, yet escalate costs just as quickly. A long document, a customer chat or an automated workflow can process thousands of tokens in seconds. Before broad rollout, set budgets, track usage and decide which problems merit AI. Guardrails prevent surprises and keep experimentation sustainable. Start Small & Grow With The Technology When mobile apps emerged, few firms rebuilt entire businesses on Day 1. Pilots with clear objectives let teams learn without overwhelming operations or budgets. The same approach works now. Start with a defined use case, a success metric and a review date. Scale after real outcomes, not hype. This step-by-step path keeps momentum while tools mature and employees gain confidence. It also positions you to adapt as quantum computing expands AI’s capabilities in the coming years. Anonymize To Protect Security is not only about where data lives. It is also about Evaluating your AI strategy? Consider previous tech revolutions. by Jeison Ortega Lessons From The Past 28 • DECEMBER 2025 • PPAI Voices | Innovation Reshetnikov_art / Shutterstock.com
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