Happy Friday, everyone! I'm back with another round of updates. This week I've got four stories that capture the messy, fascinating reality of AI right now. From fast food drive-thrus to research to consulting giants, the headlines tell one story, while what's underneath is where leaders need to focus.

Here's a quick rundown. Taco Bell’s AI experiment went viral for all the wrong reasons, but there’s more behind it than memes. Then, I look at new adoption data from the US Census Bureau that some are using to argue AI is already slowing down. I’ll also break down KPMG’s much-mocked 100-page prompt, sharing why I think it’s actually a model of how to do this well. Finally, I close with a case study on AI coaching almost going sideways and how shifting the approach created a win instead of a talent drain.

With that, let’s get into it.

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Taco Bell’s AI Drive-Thru Dilemma

Headlines are eating up the viral “18,000 cups of water” order. However, nobody seems to catch that Taco Bell has already processed over 2 million successful AI-assisted orders. This makes the story more complicated. The conclusion shouldn’t be scrapping AI. It’s about designing smarter safeguards, balancing human oversight, and avoiding the trap of binary “AI or no AI” thinking.

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Is AI Adoption Really Declining?

New data from Apollo suggests AI adoption is trending downward in larger companies, sparking predictions of a coming slowdown. Unfortunately, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Smaller companies are still on the rise. Add to that, even the “decline” in big companies may not be what it seems. Many are using AI so much it’s becoming invisible. I explain why this is more about maturity than decline and explain what opportunities smaller players now have.

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KPMG’s 100-Page Prompt: A Joke or a Blueprint?

Some mocked KPMG for creating a “hundred-page prompt,” but what they actually did was map complex workflows into AI-readable processes. This isn’t busywork; it’s the future of enterprise AI. By going slow to go fast, KPMG is showing what serious implementation looks like, freeing humans to focus on the “chewy problems” that matter most.

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Case Study: Rethinking AI Coaching

A client nearly rolled out AI coaching without realizing it could accelerate attrition by empowering talent to leave. Thankfully, by analyzing engagement data with AI first, we identified cultural risks and reshaped the rollout to support, not undermine, the workforce. The result: stronger coaching outcomes and a healthier organization.

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Show Notes:

In this Weekly Update, Christopher Lind breaks down Taco Bell’s viral AI drive-thru story, explains the truth behind recent AI adoption data, highlights why KPMG’s 100-page prompt may be a model for the future, and shares a real-world case study on AI coaching that shows why context is everything.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction and Welcome

01:18 - Episode Rundown

02:45 – Taco Bell’s AI Drive-Thru Dilemma

19:51 – Is AI Adoption Really Declining?

31:57 – KPMG’s 100-Page Prompt Blueprint

42:22 – Case Study: AI Coaching and Attrition Risk

49:55 – Final Takeaways

#AItransformation #FutureOfWork #DigitalLeadership #AIadoption #HumanCenteredAI