Why AI Won’t Replace Teams — But Will Transform Them
- Evan J. Cholfin
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
AI, Revenue Operations & the Future of Business Growth with Brandon Schulte
By Evan J. Cholfin
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future initiative — it’s already reshaping how companies market, sell, operate, and grow.
In this episode of AI Speed, Evan J. Cholfin sits down with Brandon Schulte, VP of Sales and Marketing Tech at Xeris, to explore how organizations can move beyond AI experimentation and begin building real operational and revenue impact.
From marketing and sales to RevOps and executive leadership, Brandon shares what companies are getting right, what they’re getting wrong, and why the businesses that successfully align AI strategy with execution will have a massive competitive advantage over the next few years.
AI Is Changing More Than Just Productivity
One of the biggest misconceptions around AI is that it exists simply to automate tasks or replace employees.
Brandon explains that the real opportunity is much bigger.
Rather than eliminating teams, AI has the potential to augment human performance and accelerate innovation across entire organizations. Companies that embrace AI effectively may not need to scale headcount as aggressively, but that doesn’t necessarily mean widespread replacement. Instead, AI allows teams to spend less time on repetitive work and more time on strategic, high-value initiatives.
The conversation highlights an important shift in mindset: Organizations should be thinking about how AI helps create the next frontier of innovation — not just reduce costs.
The Disconnect Slowing AI Adoption
Despite the massive excitement surrounding AI, many companies are struggling with implementation.
According to Brandon, one of the biggest challenges organizations face today is the disconnect between executive leadership and frontline teams actually using the technology.
Leadership teams understand AI is important and are rapidly increasing budgets to support it. In many cases, AI investments are growing by 50%, 70%, or even 100% year-over-year. However, many employees still lack a clear roadmap for how AI should fit into their daily workflows and long-term business processes.
This creates a dangerous gap:Executives want transformation, but operational teams often don’t know where to begin.
Brandon compares this challenge to the early adoption of CRM and marketing automation systems years ago. Just as businesses once struggled to align sales and marketing around shared systems and data, organizations are now facing a similar learning curve with AI.
The companies that solve this alignment problem fastest will likely emerge as leaders in the next phase of AI-driven growth.
Why the Billable Hour Model May Be Disrupted
One of the most fascinating parts of the discussion centers around how AI could fundamentally change traditional business models.
For decades, industries like consulting, legal services, accounting, and professional services have relied heavily on billable hours. But AI introduces a major challenge to that structure.
If AI allows employees to complete work faster while still delivering the same — or greater — value, businesses can no longer rely solely on time-based pricing.
As Brandon explains, organizations may need to shift toward value-based pricing models that reflect outcomes rather than hours worked.
This transition could redefine how professional services firms operate, price their expertise, and compete in an AI-first economy.
The Hidden Risk of AI: Confidently Wrong Answers
While AI creates enormous opportunities, the conversation also highlights one of its most important risks.
AI systems are incredibly confident.
Even when the underlying data is flawed, incomplete, or inaccurate, AI can generate responses and recommendations that sound entirely correct. Unlike humans, who may instinctively question unusual results or identify inconsistencies, AI often lacks the contextual awareness to recognize when something “doesn’t look right.”
This makes human oversight more important than ever.
Brandon emphasizes that organizations cannot blindly trust AI outputs without validating the quality of their inputs, systems, and processes. Successful AI adoption requires not only technology investment, but also strong governance, strategic thinking, and operational discipline.
Building a Smarter AI Strategy
A major theme throughout the episode is that AI success is not about adopting every new tool.
It’s about building a thoughtful strategy.
Many organizations currently approach AI tactically:• Making emails sound better• Automating small tasks• Generating quick insights
But the real competitive advantage comes from understanding how AI can reshape workflows, operations, customer engagement, and long-term growth strategy.
Companies that take a fragmented approach risk creating inefficiencies, confusion, and disconnected systems. Businesses that create clear AI roadmaps and align leadership, technology, and operational teams will be far better positioned to scale successfully.
Final Thoughts
AI is evolving rapidly, but the organizations that succeed won’t necessarily be the ones with the biggest budgets or the most tools.
They’ll be the companies that:• Align strategy and execution• Empower teams to adopt AI effectively• Focus on business outcomes over hype• Combine AI capabilities with human judgment
This episode of AI Speed delivers a practical and insightful look into how AI is reshaping marketing, sales, revenue operations, and the future of business itself.
If you’re a business leader, marketer, operator, consultant, or entrepreneur trying to understand what meaningful AI adoption actually looks like, this conversation with Brandon Schulte is packed with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
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