February 4, 2026
As we begin 2026, the AI conversation is shifting from adoption and exploration to innovation and impact. Most organizations spent 2025 experimenting, testing AI tools, playing with prompts and trying to understand its potential and how it might apply to their organization.
This year marks the transition of “how?” to “now,” as organizations and communications leaders begin scaling AI usage to simplify tasks, gain efficiencies and drive measurable business impact. We dug into this evolution at our recent Brainfood event with AI thought leaders from The J.M. Smucker Co., SmarterX and Sherwin-Williams:
- Christy Lynn Haidet, Senior Manager of Internal Communications at The J.M. Smucker Co.
- Cathy McPhillips, Chief Marketing Officer at SmarterX (an AI research and education firm)
- Kristina Pascaru, Director of Digital Corporate Communications at Sherwin-Williams
The panel explored AI lessons learned in 2025 and how they’re applying those learnings to scale their company’s AI strategy in 2026.
If you missed the event, below are a few key takeaways.
Pick a platform and lean into it.
When using AI tools, consistency trumps chaos. Both The J.M Smucker Co. and Sherwin-Williams have embraced Microsoft Copilot as their AI platform as it met their security requirements and was easy to deploy, since they were already using the Microsoft platform. Copilot is also the only approved AI tool for employees at these organizations. A key takeaway was that given the number of AI tools in the marketplace, it’s better to pick a tool or set of tools and start to figure out how they can help your business become more efficient and productive, instead of trying to master all of the LLMs.
Leadership buy-in is critical.
All three panelists agreed that executive support is crucial if AI adoption is going to take root and have measurable impact. It’s one thing for individuals to experiment on their own. It’s another thing entirely to roll AI into real workflows, especially in large organizations where processes are complex and approvals are layered. With the AI landscape evolving and advancing so quickly, teams need to have the support of leadership and be given the latitude to test, fail and test again. The panelists shared that strong support from their leaders is enabling them to advance their AI agenda through access, education programs and the freedom to test within the guidelines of their AI policies.
AI proficiency as a job requirement is on the horizon.
In 2025, AI skills and literacy had not yet become mandatory or part of the performance review process, but panelists felt that this could start to happen in 2026. Panelists also suggested that AI might start to influence the hiring process, as companies look for new skills related to AI. This could include how to use AI responsibly, improving process efficiency without sacrificing performance and applying critical thinking to AI-generated outputs. Although most job descriptions currently do not include AI experience as a prerequisite, AI literacy and experience will become a differentiator in the job market.
2026 is the year to embrace change.
Overall, our panelists felt optimistic about AI’s potential to make their organizations more efficient, productive and creative. They also expressed an understanding that, while they accomplished a lot in 2025, they are still at the beginning of their AI journey—including SmarterX whose mission is built on AI. This means that no matter where you or your company are with AI, you have not missed the boat. It is not too late to be an early adopter. Most companies are at the very beginning of that journey, figuring out what’s safe, what’s scalable and what’s actually worth the investment.
That said, don’t wait. This year will bring incredible change, and you need to get on board. AI will continue to advance and redefine what is possible.
If you want to chat about how your organization can start or accelerate its AI journey, feel free to reach out to me at kpoor@dix-eaton.com.
