AI buildout remains intact, but it's time to take some gains off the table: Citi's Drew Pettit

Wall Street just confirmed what smart business owners already sense: AI is real, but the hype cycle is peaking. Citi's equity team is telling investors to "take some gains off the table." Translation

Wall Street just confirmed what smart business owners already sense: AI is real, but the hype cycle is peaking.

Citi's equity team is telling investors to "take some gains off the table." Translation for you — the big AI wave already rewarded early movers. What comes next rewards people who implement carefully, not frantically.

If you bought an AI tool your team never opened, you're not alone. Most small business AI failures aren't about bad technology. They're about buying solutions before defining the actual problem. That's not on you — that's how this stuff gets sold.

Here's the shift happening right now. The companies winning with AI aren't deploying everything at once. They're picking one repetitive, time-consuming task — customer follow-up, proposal drafting, scheduling — and proving it works there first. Small proof point. Real ROI. Then they expand.

One thing you can do this week: write down the three tasks that eat the most hours on your team. That list is your AI roadmap. No consultant needed yet.

Start there. Seriously.

What's the one task in your business you'd love to hand off — but haven't found the right tool for yet?

#AIStrategy #SmallBusiness #BusinessGrowth #AIImplementation

Original Source

Drew Pettit, U.S. equity strategist at Citi, joins "The Exchange" to discuss how large-cap stocks are moving in comparison to small-cap ...