A few months ago, a former client told us that he had developed his new data & AI strategy using ChatGPT instead of holding workshops with stakeholders. This saves time and money. But it could cost you your business. As Angelo Romasanta, Llewellyn D. W. Thomas and Natalia Levina report:
“In our recent research, we found that leading LLMs have clear biases when it comes to strategy. They consistently recommend strategies that align with modern managerial buzzwords and trends rather than context-specific strategic logic. […] We call the propensity for AI to opt for buzzy ideas over reasoned solutions “trendslop.””
Your teammates are the better team players, after all:
“An LLM is not the colleague who critically evaluates current ideas, looks into the contextual specifics, stress-tests assumptions, and pushes back when everyone gets comfortable. On strategy, LLMs might bemore akin to a freshly minted MBA or junior consultant, parroting what’s popular rather than what’s right for a particular situation.”
And strategy is all about doing the right thing:
“Strategy is not about choosing the latest popular idea. Strategy is about making hard trade-offs. It is about choosing to be the low-cost leader or the differentiator, because you can’t do both. If managers rely on LLMs for strategizing without understanding an LLM’s embedded biases, they risk chasing fads and fashions rather than building true competitive advantage.”
Nevertheless, AI can be a valuable team player in developing a winning strategy:
“We argue that our findings do not mean that you should ban LLMs from your strategizing. It means you must be smart about how you use these tools. Here’s how to navigate the skewed strategizing of LLMs:
🎨 Use LLMs to expand options, not make choices.
⚖️ Actively counteract known biases.
🔮 Actively counteract potential biases.
👁️🗨️ Remain alert to changing biases.
🪤 Beware the hybrid trap.
🧩 Don’t rely on context alone.”
Consequently, strategy is a team effort of human and artificial intelligences:
“Leadership is ultimately about making hard choices in conditions of uncertainty and taking responsibility for them. AI cannot and should not be a substitute.”
Here is the good read for this week:
👉 https://hbr.org/2026/03/researchers-asked-llms-for-strategic-advice-they-got-trendslop-in-return
At Datentreiber, we’ve put the recommendations from the article into practice: our Miroverse template for a Lean Data & AI Strategy is now “AI Accelerated” (instead of “AI Created”):
👉 https://miro.com/templates/lean-data-ai-strategy-workshop-dtwoynxk8vxvqfcs/
Specifically, our Data & AI Business Catalyst—an AI-powered, chat-based, Miro-integrated facilitator and advisor—helps you design your data & AI strategy:
🧑🏫 Consults on the use of the Data & AI Business Design Method and the canvases from the Design Kit.
📝 Creates proposals, analyses, summaries, and more in the form of sticky notes, charts, tables, documents, and slides.
✅ Checks your ideas, concepts, strategies, etc., for completeness, correctness, and consistency.
❓ Challenges your work to identify the open questions, critical assumptions, and next steps.
🎯 Chooses the best solution, option, action etc., based on your objectives and prioritization criteria.
Want to learn more about AI Accelerated Templates and try them out for yourself? Then sign up for our AI Labs:
👉 https://luma.com/datentreiber
