So far, most high-level executives appear to have little to no interaction with AI. Yet AI stands to become as entrenched in the corporate culture as accounting principles, making it essential that leaders understand what AI can and can’t do for their business, as well as what it means for employees and customers.

The upsides to AI are enormous, from increased efficiency and improved decision-making to more personalized customer experiences. But the downsides are also real. If these new tools are not integrated into existing systems or don’t mesh with the established corporate ethos, they can create more problems than they solve and at great expense.

As the CEO of a business focused on ethics, particularly regarding AI, I know many have concerns about companies getting implementation strategies wrong.

Mindful integration is key

CEOs need to make the time to learn about the different forms of AI from as many angles as possible and become not just familiar but comfortable with the available tools – from ChatGPT for chatbots and Grammarly for writing to numerous AI budgeting tools.

Take a day or two each month to sit down with the tech team. Ask what values are being programmed in, what systems are being used, and where various AI tools are being implemented across the company and why. It’s also important to understand how employees are using these tools, how they feel about them, and how they are impacting their work.

This preparation is essential to developing critical guidelines for how your organization is going to use AI and to what end. Those watching AI deployment have concerns about its effectiveness because of the error rate. Guidelines ensuring the creation of trust and transparency need to evolve alongside the technology.

Right now, AI creation and adoption resemble a technological Wild West. As yet, we don’t have formal industry standards or emerging best practices. At the federal level, no single regulatory agency oversees AI.

Congress is considering AI-related legislation, but none currently exists. That means executives must use their discernment and be mindful of personal and organizational values when deciding not just which AI systems to purchase, but which ones have both practical and ethical integrity.

Obviously, AI is not without its risks. At the same time, risk assessment studies are limited, and the literature on the implications of AI is still new. By the time the industry has the answers, it may be too late for companies that didn’t implement AI thoughtfully and strategically, with an eye toward both rewards and risks.

Coordination is key. Involve employees who will be working with AI or affected by it. While AI can talk to customers on a company’s behalf, executives must have a firm grasp on where they will need humans to interface with customers or company employees to ensure accuracy and transparency.

While AI can now write computer code and create whole legal briefs, because of the error rate, success still depends on human eyes editing behind it.

Here’s a quick checklist for executives considering adopting AI solutions or who want to put it to better use:

1. Is your AI training sufficient, or are the AI programs the company purchased sitting unused?

2. How does the company ensure that AI tools encourage customers to interact and don’t push them away instead? Not everyone is tech savvy and older people, especially might not understand they’re chatting with a bot.

3. In creative spaces, whether writing product descriptions or legal documents, when will a live person need to step in? How available will those people be?

4. If AI makes an error or accidentally insults or frustrates a customer, what systems are in place to rectify that quickly?

5. Is the company’s, customer’s and client’s data secure? What happens in the event of a breach? Safety issues must be front and center.

6. How much transparency does the company have about the data sets on which AI relies, and how does the company make sure it’s not buying biases or unintentionally inputting its own into the programs?

7. Don’t ignore other ethical implications, especially if they conflict with company messaging. These concerns range from the environmental impact of AI to how AI will affect employee morale as workforces are reduced and personal interactions lessened, among others.

To be sure, integrating AI into an organization can feel overwhelming – because at the moment it is. New tools seem to pop up daily, each one making more promises than the next. It’s a bit like the carnival game whack-a-mole at this point. Rule out one, buy another, two more pop up.

Executives don’t need to know about each and every new offering. That’s where delegation and employee trust come in. But to navigate this latest wave of tech change, those in the C-suites do need to pay attention now or pay the price down the line.

Opinions expressed by The CEO Magazine contributors are their own.