Paysend CEO Ben Chisell is taking a selective approach to artificial intelligence adoption, limiting access to general-purpose AI tools to employees who can demonstrate measurable benefits from using them.
Chisell told CNBC that the London-based payments technology company can now deliver about 25% more engineering work with the same-sized team. However, he cautioned that providing employees with AI tools does not automatically translate into improved productivity.
The former Amazon, eBay and Starling Bank executive said AI could amplify poor work habits and weak judgement when used without sufficient discipline. He said the company prioritises solving customer problems over adopting technology simply to keep up with industry trends.
Employees Must Demonstrate AI's Value
At Paysend, new employees are given a month to experiment with AI tools and explain the results they achieve before broader access is approved.
Chisell cited the example of a newly hired search engine optimisation lead who requested access to Anthropic's Claude. After a month of testing, the employee concluded that the tool mainly helped produce content briefs more quickly and proposed developing a specialised content-brief agent instead.
The approach reflects Chisell's preference for targeted AI applications over unrestricted access to general-purpose tools.
Companies Take Different Approaches to AI Adoption
Paysend's strategy contrasts with broader workplace AI rollouts at other companies.
Lloyds Banking Group has distributed 40,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, with 97% of licensed employees reportedly using the tool. Professional services firm Grant Thornton UK has also encouraged staff to use Claude as part of a £500 million AI investment, while software company Sage has reported substantial time savings from AI coding tools.
However, wider adoption does not necessarily produce higher revenue. UK government research published in January found that 75% of businesses using AI reported improved workforce productivity, while 77% said their revenue had not changed.
Lokdeep Singh, chief executive of enterprise software company Unily, also argued that AI should help businesses expand their capabilities rather than focus solely on reducing headcount.
AI Productivity Depends on How It Is Used
CoreView CEO Simon Azzopardi told CNBC that his company initially introduced AI tools broadly to help software engineers investigate technical problems, produce documentation and onboard colleagues.
The company has since expanded its use of AI agents to support coding, quality assurance and documentation. Azzopardi said some work that previously took weeks can now be completed in days.
He nevertheless warned that employees can feel more productive without achieving meaningful efficiency gains when they use AI to perform tasks beyond their expertise.
CoreView has used the additional capacity to take on more work and has continued hiring, rather than cutting staff, according to Azzopardi.
CEO Advocates Human Accountability
Chisell said businesses should help employees transition into new responsibilities as AI automates existing tasks, rather than automatically replacing workers whose duties have changed.
He pointed to customer-service employees' experience handling complex issues as a skill that could be valuable in other parts of a business.
Chisell also stressed that human oversight must involve genuine responsibility for outcomes, rather than simply copying employees into AI-driven processes.
The differing approaches at Paysend, Lloyds Banking Group, Grant Thornton UK and CoreView highlight how businesses are experimenting with AI deployment while assessing its effects on productivity, staffing and commercial performance.
Source: CNBC