How to turn GenAI into real productivity gains

Start with a clear purpose and define inefficiencies.

Boston Consulting Group turned to generative AI to make its communications team more efficient. It ended up creating the equivalent of 13 full-time positions in time savings.

“We wanted to make it easier for people to focus on strategy and creativity,” BCG Chief Communications Officer, Russell Dubner said. “So we built frameworks that bring GenAI directly into how we plan, publish and measure.”

To do this, BCG analyzed 4 billion full-time-equivalent hours across corporate functions to understand where GenAI could drive the most value as well as how much time and cost different business functions could save by implementing AI tools, largely for repetitive and time-consuming tasks that didn’t require much human oversight.

The results showed:

• 26% to 36% productivity gains in areas where tasks were suited for augmentation or automation
• 15% to 25% time savings potential

Dubner explained the steps that made it possible.

1. Defining a purpose: Every AI project should start with a clear purpose, he said.

“You need to know what you’re trying to achieve,” Dubner said. “Is it covering more ground? Improving quality? Reducing costs? That’s where you start.”

At BCG, the communications team wanted to free up time for strategy while reducing repetitive work. That goal guided where AI tools were deployed, he said. These included things like content generation, trend analysis and media monitoring.

Clear alignment on the value, or more impact with fewer resources, helped leaders see where AI tools could be the most helpful.

2. Map workflows to find inefficiencies: Before adding new tools, BCG dissected how its communications work actually got done. Where were employees spending the most time? How much of this was repetitive? Where could GenAI help eliminate these tasks? These were some of the questions Dubner and his team were trying to answer.

BCG then documented each step of the process, from briefing subject-matter experts to publishing and reporting results along the way. This helped track patterns.

“We looked at every handoff and every task to see where time was wasted,” he said. “Mapping the workflow exposed all the friction points.”

This process revealed repetitive steps that could be automated and free up time for an employee to focus elsewhere, he said.

Once the inefficiencies were clear, the team could enact a plan.

3. Identifying high-impact tasks and applying AI: With the full process mapped, Dubner’s team narrowed down where GenAI could offer the most valuable impact to improve day-to-day work for its comms team.

“Some tasks sound good for AI, but you have to focus on where it has multiple applications,” Dubner said. “That’s how you get real efficiency gains.”

AI tools helped draft summaries, analyze coverage and build performance dashboards, Dubner said.

This resulted in less time spent pulling and formatting reports, allowing staff to focus on what the results meant, and how to improve next time, rather than just creation.

The changes alone created the equivalent of 10 full-time roles in saved time. After refining the workflows further, the total efficiency reached 13 full-time equivalents.

4. Bringing in the experts: Dubner said communications teams shouldn’t expect to handle everything alone.

“You need people who understand the technology, the models, the prompts and how to fit them into your workflows,” he said.

Even simple tools require setup and training. BCG used both internal technologists and external experts to help teams design prompts, connect systems and monitor outputs for accuracy. This ensured the results actually reflected how the team was performing, he said.

“If you want to go beyond pilot projects, you need the right expertise,” Dubner said. “Otherwise, you’ll stall out.”

From there, BCG was able to develop a graded system of tasks from more human-dominant to AI-dominant, giving the task “high” or “low” score for AI performance. This showed them where they could afford to automate and where they couldn’t.

The main metric measured was full-time equivalent hours gained. Other organizations can track outcomes like faster response times, reduced production costs or higher engagement, Dubner said.

“This isn’t just about saving time,” Dubner said. “It’s about working smarter, focusing on what matters and creating measurable impact.”

Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com. 

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