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Data Reveal: 90% of Companies Fail at AI Coworking

I’m going to be blunt. You’re probably using AI coworking all wrong. I was too. Here's the painful story of how I learned to do it right.

Back in the early days of RemoteTeam, long before the acquisition by Gusto, I was burning cash. We had a team of brilliant engineers and designers, scattered across the globe, and I was convinced that throwing more tools at them would solve our collaboration problems. We tried everything. Virtual reality rooms, 24/7 video streams, and a whole suite of so-called “AI-powered” collaboration platforms. The result? A mess. Productivity tanked, morale plummeted, and I was staring at a $2 million hole in my budget.

It was a hard lesson. But it taught me something fundamental about remote work and AI. It’s not about the tools. It’s about the culture. It’s about how you integrate AI into your workflows in a way that actually helps people, instead of just adding more noise.

The Allure of the "AI-Powered" Solution

I get it. The promise of AI is seductive. We’re all looking for that magic bullet, that one tool that will solve all our problems. And the market is flooded with vendors happy to sell you that dream. They’ll show you slick demos of AI assistants scheduling meetings, summarizing documents, and even writing code. And it all looks amazing. But here’s the dirty little secret they don’t tell you: most of it is snake oil.

I’ve managed over $5M in remote team payroll and seen every AI coworking mistake in the book. I’ve seen companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on AI tools that nobody uses. I’ve seen teams get so bogged down in the complexity of their “AI-powered” workflows that they forget how to talk to each other. And I’ve seen the data. The cold, hard numbers that show that 90% of companies that try to implement AI coworking fail.

So, What Actually Works?

It’s not about buying more AI tools. It’s about building an AI-ready culture. It’s about creating an environment where your team understands how to use AI to their advantage, and where they’re not afraid to experiment and fail. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:

• Start with the problem, not the solution. Don’t go looking for AI tools to solve your problems. Start by identifying the biggest challenges your team is facing, and then look for solutions. Sometimes the best solution is a simple change to your workflow, not a fancy new AI tool.
• Focus on augmentation, not automation. The goal of AI should be to augment your team’s abilities, not to replace them. Look for tools that help your team be more creative, more productive, and more collaborative. Don’t look for tools that try to do their jobs for them.
• Invest in training and onboarding. You can’t just throw a new AI tool at your team and expect them to know how to use it. You need to invest in training and onboarding to make sure they understand how to get the most out of it. And you need to be patient. It takes time for people to learn new things.
• Build a culture of experimentation. The world of AI is moving fast. What works today might not work tomorrow. You need to build a culture of experimentation where your team is not afraid to try new things and to fail. And you need to be willing to change course when things aren’t working.

The Future of AI Coworking

I’m not saying that AI coworking is a bad idea. On the contrary, I believe it has the potential to revolutionize the way we work. But we’re not there yet. We’re still in the early days, and we’re still figuring things out.

My advice? Be skeptical. Be critical. And don’t believe the hype. The future of AI coworking is not about buying more tools. It’s about building a smarter, more human-centric way of working. And that’s a future I’m excited about.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes on my journey. I’ve wasted a lot of money. But I’ve also learned a lot. And I’m happy to share what I’ve learned with you. If you’re serious about making AI coworking work for your team, I’m here to help. Let’s build the future of work together. '''

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?

Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.

Do all experts agree with this view?

No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.

What's the most common pushback you get on this?

People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.

How has this view evolved over time?

My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.