It's a deceptively simple question.
Too many organizations begin with the technology and then search for a problem to apply it to. The firms making real progress are doing the opposite. They start with the outcome they want—improving client relationships, reducing administrative burden, creating more consistent thought leadership or enabling lawyers to collaborate more effectively—and then determine whether AI is the right tool.
This isn't really an AI strategy, it's a growth strategy.
The conversation also highlighted something we believe will become even more important over the next few years: judgment. AI can generate content, summarize information, and surface recommendations, but it doesn't understand your firm's culture, your brand promise, or what truly differentiates you from the firm across the street. That's still our job.
In fact, we would argue the marketer's role becomes even more valuable. As AI handles more of the production, marketers become the stewards of context, quality, and most importantly, articulated differentiation.
For firms attending ILTACON and planning their next phase of AI adoption, our advice is simple:
Start with the problem, not the technology. Invest in your data before your next AI tool. Share prompting techniques across teams. Experiment relentlessly. And never lose sight of the human judgment that turns information into action.
Or, as one of the panelists concluded the current moment perfectly:
Be AI's master—or you'll become its servant.