State of AI in Ops – That Glide report
Glide is a no-code application development platform, and now (April 2025) the publishers of a report on AI usage in business operations. Here's what stands-out to me, and how I propose you use the report findings. And a word of caution about the research methodology used.
Businesses who use own-built, no-code AI agents see a higher transformational impact than those who rely on out-of-the-box tools. That’s a bold assessment and the gist of the report. And even though it was authored by a company with a vested interest in these types of findings being true, they reflect almost everything I’ve seen and heard myself.
Three things stand out.
The real life impact of AI is significantly higher than expected
The big one.
At first glance this type of ra-ra should have everyone’s bullsh*t detectors flashing. Mine were and eventually I was proven wrong. The report rubs it in.
It lists 28% expected v. 51% experienced transformational impact. Wow!
Why such a large positive difference? I believe two things are in play.
With low barrier to entry, "AI" is something to try out rather than wait for someone else to deliver on. The % simply reflect a healthy learning journey.
Expectations were based on early models. Success came from later ones. Yet very little time passed between them. This renders the expected v. experienced equation a moot point, in a good way.
It's prudent to attach contextual considerations like these when quoting the numbers. That's what makes them truly useful.
Businesses who opt out of AI usage list data security or privacy concerns as the main blockers
I don't want to seem rude... But we all know “security and privacy concerns” is the laziest of excuses. Remember when web sites first became a thing? Online commerce? Apps? Working offsite? Same same.
Data integrity is of paramount importance. That’s why smart businesses identify and mitigate such issues, any issues. It’s healthy business basics. The real risk here is the negative effect lazy excuses have on top talent. A company unable to mitigate their concerns is a no-go.
If you work at such a company, nuance your objections. It might help you find a solution that in turn attracts talent.
Small companies seek efficiency, larger companies value insight
In other words, small companies want quantity and larger companies want quality. Or in even more other words, small companies will stay small and have a hard time generating any meaningful impact while larger companies eliminate the pain points of scale and will out-impact everyone.
This is ironic. A key selling point of AI agents is to allow even small tiny teams to compete with the behemoths! While staying small, which is a good thing! It comes down to the ability to spot opportunity. I want to grab SMEs by their collars and yell “This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!”. Figuratively speaking.
. . .
What are your top findings from the report ? I’d love to hear from you and discuss this further.
Get the full report from Glade. There’s a lot of good – albeit shallow – data in there to query and work with.
A word of caution! Respondents are from "5 different English-speaking countries; United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand". That is a very narrow scope. Unless these are the only countries where your clients and their audiences operate then it's not a problem. If you have broader reach, please be careful in how you apply the report findings to your conversations.
