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Reframing Enterprise GenAI: Cutting through Hype, Avoiding GenAI Risks, and Building an AI-First Culture

As the enterprise world races to embrace generative AI, many organizations are discovering that the road to success with enterprise GenAI is neither straightforward nor guaranteed. While 2023 was marked by experimentation and hype, 2025 signals a turning point – one defined by strategic reassessment, clearer expectations, and a growing demand for results.

To look into the real value from enterprise GenAI, companies must move beyond buzzwords and begin addressing the practical realities: GenAI risks, GenAI hallucinations, and the cultural shifts needed to thrive in an AI-first world.

Cutting through the Noise: What Enterprise GenAI Is – and Isn’t

One of the biggest challenges in today’s AI landscape is separating genuine innovation from overmarketed analytics. Many tools labelled as “AI” are simply glorified automation or data dashboards. Worse, enterprise leaders are often unclear on the distinction between general AI and enterprise GenAI.

Enterprise GenAI is a powerful but narrow tool – a subset of artificial intelligence designed to create text, images, and code based on patterns. When adopting enterprise GenAI, it’s critical to recognize that not all AI capabilities are created equal. Setting the right expectations is step one in building a credible and sustainable enterprise AI strategy.

GenAI Risks: From GenAI Hallucinations to High Stakes

A key risk with GenAI systems is GenAI hallucinations – a term that describes outputs where the AI generates convincing but factually false information. These GenAI hallucinations aren’t just minor errors; they can have serious legal and reputational consequences.

In one startling example discussed in GLG’s recent webcast, a man with a unique name asked ChatGPT to generate information about himself. The system falsely stated that he had killed his children – a complete fabrication with no basis in fact. This kind of nondeterministic output is a stark reminder that enterprise GenAI carries real GenAI risks when used in mission-critical settings.

Beyond GenAI hallucinations, other GenAI risks include:

  • Poor data quality: Garbage in, garbage out. Without clean, well-structured data, even the best models will fail.
  • Overpromising: Many vendors sell GenAI as a silver bullet. In reality, ROI is slow and depends heavily on execution.
  • Lack of transparency: These models often function like black boxes, making governance and compliance difficult.

 

Recognizing these GenAI risks is essential to building trust in GenAI and avoiding costly missteps.

Building an AI-First Culture: A Strategic Shift for Long-Term Success

For GenAI to work in the enterprise, technology alone isn’t enough. A successful AI-first organization must embrace cultural change, rethink workflows, and invest in people as much as platforms.

That starts with a mindset shift. Think of GenAI not as artificial intelligence, but as additional intelligence – a tool that accelerates and amplifies human capabilities, not replaces them. In this way, AI becomes a partner in productivity, not a threat to it.

Effective enterprise AI strategy also focuses on:

  • Outcomes, not just outputs: Align GenAI efforts with specific business problems and KPIs.
  • Incremental progress: Avoid the “all-in” trap. Treat adoption as a series of manageable sprints – not a marathon.
  • Upskilling and human oversight: Success comes from empowering teams, not replacing them.

 

As GLG Network Member, Neil S. Mann, put it during the webcast: “The future is not something that just happens to us. The future is something that we do.” By taking ownership of AI strategy and culture, one can turn enterprise GenAI into a lasting competitive advantage.

From Hype to Maturity: The Next Phase of Enterprise GenAI

Enterprise GenAI is entering a new era – one where strategic clarity matters more than experimentation. Organizations must cut through inflated expectations, mitigate GenAI risks like GenAI hallucinations, and cultivate an AI-first mindset across people, processes, and technology.

It’s no longer about adopting AI for AI’s sake. It’s about embedding it meaningfully into the core of your enterprise AI strategy. Those who succeed will be the ones who pair optimistic pragmatism with relentless execution – not just chasing the future, but building it.

About Mr. Neil S. Mann
Neil is a digital strategist and business transformation adviser with over 20 years of leadership experience across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and North America. He has held senior global roles at leading companies including Kearney, Rio Tinto, Morgan Stanley, UBS, BHP, Marina Bay Sands, and Gartner. Now based in Singapore, Neil also serves as a Board Advisor and Company Director and is an active angel investor in over 20 start-ups.

This article is adapted from the GLG complimentary webcast “From Hype to Impact: The Enterprise GenAI Adoption Playbook,” hosted on July 25, 2025. Watch the full webcast replay to hear Neil’s insights in his own words. If you would like to speak with experts like Neil, please contact us below.

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Speaker Biographies

Hilary Malone PhD, has over 25 years of experience in global drug development, regulatory &government affairs, manufacturing and commercialization within the biopharma industry. Hilary hassignificant board level and executive committee experience including large scale organizationalrestructuring/transformation/integration, major M&A, biotech start-up, capital raising, investorrelations and pre-IPO.​

Hilary is currently CEO of Stylus Medicine, a private genetic medicine biotech company. Previously sheserved as CEO of a Series-A neuroscience company. Prior to these roles, Hilary served as COO & EVP atValo Health Inc., Chief Regulatory Officer & SVP at Sanofi Inc., and Chief Regulatory Officer & SVP atPfizer and Wyeth. Previous experience also includes senior regulatory and drug development roles atReata Pharmaceuticals Inc., AstraZeneca plc and GlaxoSmithKline plc.​

Hilary also serves on the Board of Directors of Hansa Biopharma and Adthera Bio. Hilary holds a PhD inMolecular Neuropharmacology and a BSc in Physiology.

Dr. Thomas Lönngren is Director at his own company PharmaExec Consulting AB. He is the Chairman of the Board of directors at Egetis Therapeutics AB, Sweden. Dr Lönngren also serves as board member at Compass Pathways PLC, London UK and NDA Group, Sweden. He acts as advisor to the following companies and organizations: NDA group, Sweden, Sweden, Artis Venture, San Francisco, US, Fujimoto Japan, Skin2Neuron Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia, US, Special advisor to the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS), London UK. From 2001 until2011, Mr.Lönngren served as the Executive Director of the European Medical Agency. He was previously Deputy General Director of the Swedish Medical Product Agency until 2000. He has a degree in pharmacy and MSc in Social and Regulatory Pharmacy from Uppsala University. He is also an Honorary Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Great Britain, Honorary Doctorate from the University of Uppsala, Honorary Doctorate from University of Bath, UK.

Speaker Biographies

Marie-Anne Aymerich

Marie-Anne has built a portfolio of senior advisory and non-executive roles, following a successful international career in the FMCG and Luxury sectors. She is a non-executive director of Haleon, a FTSE100 company listed in 2022 after the demerger from GSK. She is also chairwoman of Haleon Environment and Societal Sustainability committee. She is the executive director of the Pierre Fabre Group where she also sits on the Strategic Committee, and she is a Board Member of The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, one of the world’s most prestigious chamber orchestras. She is also an angel investor and focuses her time and investments on start-ups with the strongest purpose and impact.

Marie-Anne is also a regular lecturer at HEC Paris on purposeful leadership, and she has created a serious game called “Planet Purpose” to upskill people on sustainability and purpose. Throughout her 35year executive career she delivered a strong track-record of business performance and growth in brands and portfolio in both developed and emerging economies.

As a senior leader with Unilever, she led a number of different personal care categories across France, Spain and the USA – including managing the Dove brand worldwide and culminating in leading Unilever’s global Oral Care division. She also worked for LVMH as Brand General Manager of Dior Perfumes and Cosmetics worldwide. Marie-Anne was also Vice-President of Imagine for Margo – Children with Cancer for ten years, a charity she helped found in 2011 with the goal of eradicating children’s cancer. The charity is the #1 charity focused on child cancer in France and has fundraised more than €14m since its creation. Marie-Anne is a graduate from HEC Paris. She is married and has two children aged 29 and 26.

Patrick Jephson

Patrick Jephson is a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author, based in Washington D.C. He is a published authority on corporate and personal branding and crisis communications, addressing conferences worldwide as well as events at the U.S. State Department, the American University and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

With more than twenty-five years’ experience in the government, luxury and family office sectors, Patrick’s portfolio has included globally admired brands as well as national agencies and NGOs. He has also worked on reputation and legacy briefs with European, Middle Eastern and Asian families, including royalty. He now writes, presents, and advises on factual and drama TV programs, appearing on every major American and many international networks. He was recently an expert consultant to the award-winning Netflix series The Crown and provided live commentary on the Coronation of King Charles.

Patrick owes much of his practical communications and protocol experience to Princess Diana, who chose him to be her equerry and only private secretary/chief of staff. He served the Princess for eight years, responsible for all aspects of her public life, global humanitarian initiatives, and private organization. Having worked for an internationally high-profile woman (and as the father of two professionally successful daughters) he feels a special affinity for cross-cultural, gender and perception issues.

Patrick was born and raised in Ireland and holds a master’s degree in political science from Cambridge University. As an officer in the British Royal Navy, he served all over the world before being selected for royal duty. He is a citizen of the U.K., U.S.A., Ireland, and Canada.