For some executives, AI is still a futuristic tool. For others, it’s changing how they operate their business today. The difference is stark: Businesses that have moved fast are improving efficiency, gaining market share, and redefining entire industries.
Ryan Markman, co-founder of Melior, sees it firsthand. His company helps organizations implement the AI-driven changes that actually affect the bottom line.
In this episode of The Disruption Is Now, host Greg Matusky and Ryan discuss why 2025 is the tipping point for AI adoption and why waiting is no longer an option.
Watch now:
Key takeaways
AI isn’t just an experiment anymore. It’s a competitive necessity.
A year ago, many companies were still dabbling with AI, testing it in small projects without a real commitment. That’s over. Ryan says businesses are now seeing their competitors pull ahead with faster growth, better margins, and gains in market share. The pressure to move is real, and leaders are responding with urgency.
He points to 2025 as a major shift. Executives are realizing that AI isn’t just about cutting costs or automating grunt work, but about staying relevant. The companies that embrace AI transformation now can leap ahead of their industry, or at least keep pace. Those that hesitate may struggle to catch up.
Reasoning models are making AI a true strategic partner
Most businesses still think of AI as a content generator or a brainstorming tool. But the real leap is happening with reasoning models — advanced AI that can think through the steps of a problem, analyze data, and make high-level strategic recommendations.
Greg shares how he used AI to map out the future of integrated communications. It connected complex ideas and surfaced a compelling argument for how AI enables truly seamless messaging. Ryan had an AI model challenge his thinking in a business planning session, offering an argument so compelling that he changed his strategy. This isn’t about replacing human decision-making, but sharpening it.
AI will push professionals into higher-value roles
If AI is handling research, analysis, and even content creation, what happens to the people who used to do those tasks? Greg believes AI will force professionals to move upstream, shifting from execution to strategy. Communicators, for example, won’t just write press releases. They’ll act as brand analysts, using AI-driven insights to shape long-term messaging and business decisions.
This shift applies across industries. The best professionals will use AI to eliminate routine work and spend more time thinking, inventing, and leading. The ones who resist will find themselves in roles that AI can handle better and faster.
The best AI strategies come from a mix of structure and improvisation
Different people have different approaches to working with AI. Some build structured prompts, guiding the AI through a clear workflow. Others treat AI interactions more like a conversation, testing ideas and refining outputs through iteration.
There’s no single “right” way to work with AI. The best results come from knowing when to use structured prompting and when to let AI surprise you. As companies integrate AI deeper into their operations, employees who understand both approaches will have a major advantage.
Key Moments in the Conversation
- Companies are waking up to AI’s urgency (4:00)
- How reasoning models are changing AI’s role in business (5:40)
- The shift from tactical work to strategic influence (7:28)
- How intelligent — or sentient — is generative AI? (11:01)
- Structured vs. unstructured prompting (15:30)
- The problem with traditional crisis communications playbooks (21:39)
- What AI means for the future of work (25:57)
- How AI can meet pent-up demand most of us can’t even see yet (28:28)
