What Is an AI Strategist? Requirements and Responsibilities

An AI strategist is a technical professional who plans, oversees, and guides the implementation of artificial intelligence systems into business operations. They understand how to choose and use AI tools that best align with a company's plans and goals.

With 57% of the world’s most innovative companies already focusing on AI adoption, the role of an AI strategist is increasingly important.

The role of an AI strategist

AI strategists are versatile professionals who draw from a variety of disciplines in their work.

The best AI strategists have a foundation in data science and machine learning. They're also skilled project managers, confident in their decision-making abilities, and even understand elements of business consulting.

They use their strengths in each of these areas to bridge the gap between what business leaders need and what technical teams can implement. This requires problem-solving skills and a deep understanding of both the technical and business aspects of AI.

AI strategists also ensure that the integration of AI models aligns with data-driven business objectives. They're able to understand both immediate challenges and big-picture outcomes, working to optimize processes and outcomes.

Why do companies need AI strategists?

Ironically, AI strategy can’t be handled by AI. While AI algorithms are great at finding patterns in datasets, performing automation, and optimizing processes for efficiency, these programs can’t think, reason, or plan ahead like a human.

That’s why the use of AI — including creating roadmaps for how best to integrate it into systems — still requires human intelligence. Enter the AI strategist.

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Where do AI strategists work?

You can find AI strategists in a variety of industries. Think about all the ways that AI can support business processes, including managing supply chains, optimizing health care initiatives, enhancing customer experience efforts, and more.

Wherever you find a use for AI solutions, you can potentially find an AI strategist (or the opportunity to work as one). While the field is still developing, you’ll soon see all kinds of companies — from large conglomerates like Microsoft to bootstrapped startups — hiring AI strategists.

Key responsibilities of AI strategists

Every AI strategist's job will vary, as their role is to address the unique needs of a specific organization with the help of machine learning.

That said, AI strategists everywhere are likely to work most closely with leadership and technical teams.

Partnering with business leaders

An AI strategist will work with business leaders and key stakeholders to:

• Understand the company's primary objectives and business goals
• Evaluate the competitive landscape to highlight key areas of focus in operational plans
• Identify areas of lower productivity
• Note areas of high revenue growth and find other areas with high potential for AI workflow optimization
• Conduct discovery and town-hall style sessions to hear feedback and ideas from cross-functional team members
• Explore potential AI implementation opportunities and use cases
• Explain how the use of AI-powered tools, AI outputs, and deep learning can benefit the company's bottom line
• Build a roadmap for AI deployment within a company

Working with technical teams

AI strategists will then work with technical teams to turn potential solutions into reality. These teams can include data scientists, machine learning engineers, software engineers, product managers, and others.

With this team, an AI strategist might:

• Explore generative AI technologies that may address specific needs or issues
• Evaluate ethical considerations around AI integration with certain business systems, such as those that deal with sensitive information
• Create frameworks for the deployment and use of AI-driven systems throughout the company
• Monitor progress, manage changes, and evaluate the profitability of various AI applications

After the development of high-quality AI solutions is complete, AI strategists work with business leaders to oversee and ensure implementation across departments within the company, aligning the projects with business objectives.

During this process, the strategist might fill the role of a consultant, educating and supporting teams as they integrate AI systems into their business processes.

The AI strategist career path

With so many areas of focus, you may not be surprised to hear that AI strategist roles require extensive hands-on, real-world experience.

Many AI strategists start out in another role, such as a data scientist, and move through a variety of leadership and management positions before focusing on strategy.

During their career, AI strategists might:

• Start working as a data scientist or computer science consultant
• Move into a data engineer position
• Take part in managing data projects
• Develop new products using machine learning and AI
• Advance to a leadership role within engineering
• Hire new team members or freelance resources and have direct reports
• Upskill to learn more about generative AI, large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP)
• Begin advising other leaders on the benefits of AI in the workplace, including how it can give business and marketing teams a competitive advantage
• Lead the implementation of new AI tools
• Take on the responsibility of developing AI strategy and building an AI team within the company

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Necessary skills and experience for AI strategists

There isn’t one set career path that every AI strategist takes. If you're an aspiring AI strategist, though, these are some specific skill sets that you'll want to work on cultivating — regardless of the title you currently hold.

• Data science. A sound foundation in data science is essential for becoming an AI strategist. Data scientists are typically exposed to statistics, data analysis, and advanced analytics — all of which are important when working with AI programs.
• Machine learning. To advise businesses and leaders on how to best implement AI into their operations, you'll want to understand the ins and outs of machine learning algorithms. Machine learning applications work in many ways, and knowing the differences can help you deliver the best strategies and solutions.
• Python. While you can understand how to train LLMs and work on AI projects without writing any code, it's helpful to know Python. This is the coding language that is most frequently used to build machine learning algorithms — understanding it can give you additional insights and abilities when working with AI.
• Project management. A big part of working as an AI strategist is not only knowing what to recommend in terms of implementation but also being able to make those insights a reality. AI strategy leaders may have full-time project managers working on their team, but if you're starting out or working independently, experience in this area will be helpful.
• Business administration. AI strategy isn't just about machine learning — a large part of it is understanding how AI supports business operations. As a result, AI strategists need to have good business acumen including understanding how companies operate, common challenges, and more.
• Leadership. AI strategists should also have (and sometimes need) experience leading — and building — a team. AI is an ever-changing, rapidly growing field, and there's a good chance that you'll need to expand both the headcount and skill sets on your team when working as an AI strategist.
• Communication. AI strategists work cross-functionally with a variety of teams and leaders in an organization. In this role, you may be the person explaining why certain advances are possible or not, or presenting fresh developments to top leaders and board members. Strong communication skills are key!

Educational requirements to become an AI strategist

If you've been working in the AI field for a long time, it may be possible to move into an AI strategist role based on experience alone.

Early-career or aspiring AI strategists will probably benefit from getting some level of formal education in fields closely related to the role.

When browsing AI strategist job descriptions, you might see requirements like:

• A bachelor's degree in information technology or data science
• A master's degree in business administration or machine learning
• A track record of success leveraging AI in business
• Familiarity with specific machine learning models
• 10+ years of data science experience
• 5+ years of leadership experience

Growth opportunities for AI strategists

The potential growth opportunities for an AI strategist are broad. Because AI is such a rapidly developing field, today's AI strategists may one day find themselves working in roles that don't exist right now.

Given the number of different skills that an AI strategist possesses, someone in this role may eventually:

• Start an AI software company
• Work as a consultant to a major firm like Microsoft or LinkedIn
• Lead a business unit within their organization
• Work as the head of AI for fast-growing companies
• Become a chief technology officer (CTO)
• Take on research roles related to AI and machine learning
• Move into academia and teach others to become AI strategists

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Work as an AI strategist

If you're already working as a data scientist or machine learning engineer, you can begin exploring how your work already incorporates elements of AI strategy.

From there, you’ll more easily be able to determine what else you may need to do to become a full-fledged AI strategist. This could include getting some additional AI certifications or education, such as by taking MIT's online course in AI implications for business strategy. You may also want to consider enrolling in an MBA program focused on data science applications.

If you're just starting your career, finding a data science job can be a great first step. This includes freelance data science opportunities, too — 68% of small and medium sized businesses are planning to hire more freelancers, making independent work a great choice for entry-level and experienced pros alike.

Data science jobs that have an emphasis on machine learning, algorithms, and Python will help you get on the right track for an AI strategy career.

Find AI strategist jobs on Upwork

AI strategy is a relatively new field, and it's not a position you'll find at every company.

Exploring AI strategy as an independent professional can expand the number of AI jobs available to you. 

The AI jobs available on Upwork range from entry-level work in data science to advanced AI strategy consulting — perfect for jobseekers at all stages of their careers.

All it takes is a free Upwork account. As soon as you sign up, you can begin building your profile, browsing AI jobs, and offering AI strategy services. Start by exploring our AI hub and see where independent work can take your career.

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