“For years, humans have given technology work to do. That's about to change. Artificial intelligence will bring the work to us. Unlike recent decades of innovation, success in the age of AI will be defined by managerial innovation, not new technology features.
More than a century ago, Ford's moving assembly line reorchestrated work. Instead of a master mechanic walking to each car to perform complex tasks, the car moved to workers, who each executed a single repeatable action. As a result, work became easier, costs fell and return on investment skyrocketed.
In a similar way, AI will soon sit at the center of a business, smoothly guiding work through every department, with bots sorting and refining tasks before they reach a human.
Here is how this might unfold across some common business processes:
-- Onboarding. In a large enterprise, bringing a new hire up to speed requires 10 to 20 hours of effort. Forms, policy explanations and training sessions add up quickly. Inevitably, employees get stuck and lose time waiting for someone to respond.
In an AI-first model, an onboarding orchestrator bot coordinates with AI agents that handle compliance (background checks, payroll setup, training) and equipment (granting access to systems and tools). A virtual assistant answers questions from the new hire. This could bring human-resources involvement to less than an hour per hire, freeing time for more-complex employee matters. Nonproductive time could go down by three-quarters, as new employees get up to speed efficiently.
-- Accounts payable. In traditional accounts payable processes, invoices are routed through analysts who scan, match and validate them. The cycle can take five to 15 days with error rates of 10% to 20%. In global companies dealing with thousands of invoices a month, delays and errors can translate into real financial loss.
Under AI, a master bot continuously monitors invoices arriving from many channels. It then activates other bots for image-to-data conversion, purchase-order matching, budget and contract validation, cash-flow forecasting, fraud detection, and compliance documentation. After AI agents complete these steps, an employee decides payment scheduling, vendor negotiation or compliance sign-off. Processing time can fall below a day and error rates approach zero. The business's finance chiefs have real-time information for managing working capital.
-- Software delivery. Today, new information-technology features -- such as launching a new loyalty program -- are specified by product managers, designed by user-experience teams, coded by developers and tested before use. This cycle can take 80 to 85 business days, with error rates around 10% to 15%.
In an AI-first setting, a digital IT orchestrator bot coordinates AI agents that do everything from product specifications and design to coding and testing, delivering the first version.
People then review the newly created features and test their AI-generated code and design. Instead of arriving in three months, features are ready in weeks. Time to delivery falls by 60% to 70%, while code quality improves through continuous AI-driven testing.
Across these business practices, the common threads of AI-native work are clear: Orchestration moves from humans to AI. Specialized AI bots handle repeatable tasks. Human experts intervene when judgment, negotiation or oversight is required. Results come faster, with lower unit costs and better customer experience.
Henry Ford pioneered a new way of doing business in the 1900s. We have a similar opportunity in 2025. While Ford's assembly line turned employees into specialists, putting AI at the center of business turns us all into generalists, allowing us to be creative, enlist problem-solving skills and handle ambiguous work.
To realize real AI return on investment, boards and C-suites should reorient the way work happens. It is the management challenge of the decade.
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Mr. Bajaj is president of TCS North America, an IT services company.” [1]
1. The AI-Driven Assembly Line. Bajaj, Amit. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 Sep 2025: A13.
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