# Why your AI strategy shouldn’t start with AI: Steve King, Dragonfly AI Co-Founder and CEO

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mintel-little-conversation-970536/why-your-ai-strategy-shouldn-t-start-with-ai-steve-king-dragonfly-ai-co-founder-and-ceo
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mintel-little-conversation-970536/why-your-ai-strategy-shouldn-t-start-with-ai-steve-king-dragonfly-ai-co-founder-and-ceo.md
Podcast: [Mintel Little Conversation](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mintel-little-conversation-970536)
Published: 2026-09-04T13:40:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.mintel.com/little-conversation
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/65c4e587-6ce6-4729-a1da-111837155739.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mintel-little-conversation-970536/episodes/why-your-ai-strategy-shouldn-t-start-with-ai-steve-king-dragonfly-ai-co-founder-and-ceo
Duration seconds: 2486

## Resource

Artificial intelligence can help businesses work faster, understand more and make better decisions, but only when it is applied to the right problems. So, rather than asking, “What should our AI strategy be?”, should businesses start by asking what they are actually trying to achieve? Host Andrew McDougall is joined by Steve King, Co-founder and CEO of Dragonfly AI, to explore why successful AI adoption begins with business strategy, not technology. Drawing on Steve’s experience building Black Swan Data and Dragonfly AI, they discuss the different forms of artificial intelligence, why adoption remains harder than invention and how predictive technology can help brands understand what consumers will notice. The conversation also considers where human judgement must remain in control, how businesses can use AI without diminishing creativity and why its long-term value should be measured through better products and decisions, not simply short-term cost savings. Listen to find out: Why businesses should define the problem before choosing the AI What makes predictive AI different from generative AI How Dragonfly AI helps brands understand visual attention Why adoption (not technology) is often the greatest barrier Where human judgement and creativity remain essential What established CPG companies and startups can learn from one another What did you think of the conversation? Join us on Mintel’s LinkedIn to continue the discussion about where AI adds real value and where human judgement and creativity remain essential. Learn more about how Black Swan Data, now part of Mintel , uses AI-powered social prediction to identify emerging consumer needs, and how Mintel and Dragonfly AI are helping brands make smarter packaging decisions by understanding what consumers notice. Visit…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mintel-little-conversation-970536/episodes/why-your-ai-strategy-shouldn-t-start-with-ai-steve-king-dragonfly-ai-co-founder-and-ceo/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/mintel-little-conversation-970536/why-your-ai-strategy-shouldn-t-start-with-ai-steve-king-dragonfly-ai-co-founder-and-ceo.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.