AI adoption has been accompanied by more hype than most technology trends of the past decade, and the gap between what AI can actually deliver and what AI is positioned as delivering has produced a fair amount of investment that did not produce the outcomes promised. Businesses that have approached AI adoption maturely have generally done better than businesses that chased the hype. The patterns that distinguish mature adoption from hype-driven adoption are observable, and they are worth understanding for any business thinking about its own AI strategy. This piece walks through how mature businesses approach AI adoption, the questions they ask before committing investment, and the patterns that produce…