Functional AI in Business: Navigating Four Approaches

AI is moving at a rapid rate, and businesses are all trying to figure out how to use it the right way. After working with companies across different industries, we’ve noticed four clear approaches people take when it comes to applying AI into business.

General AI tools
A lot of companies jump straight into tools like ChatGPT or Copilot. They’re new, they’re exciting, and they can handle a surprising amount of work. The problem is accuracy. Oftentimes, these tools will hallucinate, feeding you false information, which can cost you greatly in the long run.

Startup-built AI
Startups are approaching AI in two main ways. Some focus on training AI models for specific industries like finance or agriculture, which makes the output far more accurate for those domains. Others create original solutions instead of building wrappers around existing tools. These solutions, however, are not always customizable. There’s also a branch working on physical AI like robotics and machinery.

Off-the-shelf enterprise tools
Large companies often buy prebuilt AI add-ons. They plug in easily, but they aren’t tailored. They give you “AI,” but not the kind that understands your business.

Functional AI
Functional AI is built into a company’s actual systems. It’s customized, calibrated, and aligned with real operations, not just bolted on the side. When AI is integrated at this level, it becomes dependable. It becomes part of how the business runs. And that’s where the real ROI starts to show.

As AI continues to mature, the gap between trendy tools and true operational impact will only grow. Companies that stay stuck in surface-level solutions will eventually hit a ceiling, while those that invest in functional, integrated AI will pull ahead. The businesses that win in the next decade won’t be the ones using the most AI tools. They will be the ones using AI the right way.