The AI Reality Check: Executive Summary

Expert Insights From 20 Senior Leaders Across Two AI Focused, Chatham House Roundtables

A law firm has spent two years running AI transcription straight into its case files. A funeral services operator now uses it to check photo quality across tens of thousands of services a year. A finance team was nearly defrauded by a deepfake video call.

These aren't hypotheticals. They're what came out of two roundtables The Curve hosted in Sheffield and Leeds, where senior leaders from law, finance, property, technology and the public sector sat down to talk honestly about what AI is actually doing inside their organisations, no vendors, no hype, no conference-stage polish.

Key Themes From the Discussion by Leaders at the Heart of AI Adoption in Organisations

What emerged was a consistent picture. The leaders furthest ahead didn't get there by moving fastest. They got there by starting small, proving value before scaling, and building governance in from day one. The leaders still stuck weren't held back by the technology. They were held back by treating it like one.

What you'll take away

This guide sets out what was actually said: where AI is already earning its place in daily operations, why scaling beyond individual use is where most organisations stall, what governance looks like once it moves from policy into practice, and the commercial reckoning now heading towards anyone who's treated efficiency as the whole strategy. If you want a sense of what's really happening inside organisations like yours, not what's being forecast about them, this is it.

If You Want to Know What AI is Like Inside Real Organisations, From Those Leading the Charge. This is the Answer

About the Curve

The Curve helps organisations determine what is genuinely right for their organisation, whether that is AI, automation or something simpler. We focus on measurable value, responsible adoption and practical delivery from day one.