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The key path
- An AI expert is someone who connects business problems to AI solutions. They identify where automation adds value, securely wiring it to your data and helping your team use it every day.
- Companies that delay hiring an AI expert will fall behind in productivity and face the risks that come with unmanaged AI.
- When looking for an AI expert, look for someone who is experienced, curious, practical and results-oriented.
Every company will need an AI expert by 2026. Not at all. Not in five years. By 2026.
If that sounds bold, look at what’s happening in your own business right now. Your teams are already using AI tools every single day. The real issue is whether you manage it strategically or let it run on its own without any governance. Companies that don’t have someone are deliberately managing this shift.
Related: Why Your AI Strategy Will Fail Without the Right Talent
What exactly is an AI expert?
When I say “AI expert”, I’m not talking about a coder or someone who is good at writing hints. I mean someone who connects business problems to AI solutions – mapping out where automation adds value, wiring it securely to your data and helping your team use it every day. This role is part strategist, part technologist and part teacher.
At Doxa Talent®, we learned this the hard way. We started experimenting with AI tools for fun, testing things and tinkering on the edge, but when those experiments touched real business processes like revenue tracking, client analytics and internal reporting, we hit a wall.
Using the tools turned out to be the easy part. Safely scaling their impact was where things got complicated, so we built a dedicated function to discover, test and operate AI in the business, rather than just playing with it at the edges of our company. That’s when we realized we couldn’t treat it like a side project.
Why is 2026 the inflection point?
You may wonder why 2026 in particular, and the reasoning is valid. Microsoft, Google, AWS — all the major platforms we use are building AI directly into their ecosystems right now. By 2026, it’s baked.
Add to that new regulations and standards, and you’ve got a perfect storm of access and accountability. Companies that still aren’t “around it” will be left behind, but they will be gambling with the future of their organization as a whole.
What actually happens if you wait?
Waiting costs you in two places, and both are important. On the productivity side, competitors who have already embedded AI into their workflows will easily become faster, cheaper and smarter. They’ll automate the painful work, make better decisions with better data and innovate while you’re still in meetings wondering if AI is capable of learning. Compounds of this gap over time.
Danger is where it gets really dangerous. Unmanaged AI becomes a liability because when no one owns it, you either close everything and get nothing, or you open it up and risk exposing sensitive data. An AI expert helps you navigate that middle ground, making sure you find the upside without a meltdown. Companies that ignore this role will begin to lose ground first quietly, then suddenly all at once.
RELATED: 4 Steps Businesses Can Take to Ensure Ethical Use Within Their Companies
Basic Responsibilities
An AI expert acts as a bridge between strategy and execution, identifying the right use cases, connecting systems and ensuring AI tools produce results rather than noise. They need to understand business logic, data structures and change management because, beyond technology deployment, this person will fundamentally help people change how they work.
They are responsible for experimenting, measuring and teaching others to take advantage of it every day.
Who do you hire?
Find someone who has actually deployed real automations or AI assistants within a business and show you the before and after. They should explain AI concepts in plain English and be able to whiteboard how it fits into your system.
The biggest red flag to watch for is that AI acts like magic, because if they can’t talk about data governance, model limitations, and adoption strategies, they’re going to make a mess at speed.
The right person is curious, practical and consistently results-oriented. They have failed, learned and succeeded. They understand that this work is focused on business impact, not just technology.
Addressing myths
I hear the same misconceptions over and over again. The first is that AI experts are only immediately people, who aren’t even close. They are complex systems of wiring together builders, translators and risk mitigators.
Another is that waiting will make things clearer or safer. It won’t do. This technology is already embedded in the tools your teams use every day, so the question becomes whether it’s government or rogue.
A third fear is that AI replaces people, but companies that do this use AI to augment their people, not eliminate them.
Borderless Advantage
The AI Specialist role aligns perfectly with my broader vision of the future of work as it was built for a distributed world. AI works best when people across countries and time zones collaborate seamlessly, connecting knowledge, systems and context in ways that don’t require being in the same room.
We’ve demonstrated this by building a global lab model where teams in Colombia, the Philippines and the US contribute to joint AI initiatives. This is the future: global talent solving global problems with shared tools and playbooks.
RELATED: Before You Hire International Employees, Run This 5-Point Audit (It Could Save Your Company)
How to start now
If you’re not ready to hire a full-time AI expert yet, start preparing now. Pick one or two real business problems — maybe reduce support tickets or improve cash flow forecasting — and assign an owner to responsibly experiment.
Get your data house in order before adding AI on top, and use AI already in your current platform before chasing new tools. Measure everything with intent: track time savings, quality improvements and user adoption rates. Celebrate wins, learn from failures, and keep iterating. You need speed.
By 2026, AI experts won’t be a luxury. They’ll be just as important as your CFO or chief operating officer, and companies that move fast will create an unbridgeable gap between themselves and those who have nowhere to start. The time to act is now.
The key path
- An AI expert is someone who connects business problems to AI solutions. They identify where automation adds value, securely wiring it to your data and helping your team use it every day.
- Companies that delay hiring an AI expert will fall behind in productivity and face the risks that come with unmanaged AI.
- When looking for an AI expert, look for someone who is experienced, curious, practical and results-oriented.
Every company will need an AI expert by 2026. Not at all. Not in five years. By 2026.
If that sounds bold, look at what’s happening in your own business right now. Your teams are already using AI tools every single day. The real issue is whether you manage it strategically or let it run on its own without any governance. Companies that don’t have someone are deliberately managing this shift.
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