Your Competitive Advantage Isn’t AI, It’s Relationships

LeadershipLeadership StrategiesYour Competitive Advantage Isn’t AI, It’s RelationshipsByC200,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. We are female leaders committed to advancing women in business.Follow AuthorJun 16, 2026, 10:13am EDTJun 16, 2026, 10:15am EDTSummaryMany leaders are moving beyond experimenting with AI and using it to solve real business problems. But the goal isn't to automate everything. While AI can save time and improve efficiency, it can't replace human judgment, strong relationships, or a deep understanding of customers' needs. The leaders who benefit most from AI will be those who use it to free up time for the work that matters most: building trust, supporting their teams, and strengthening the connections that set their organizations apart.Show More The most impactful conversations aren't structured.Lalena Kennedy via CanvaBy C200 member Georgia RittenbergMany leaders have had the same experience with AI. It starts out of curiosity. You test it with a few simple questions, maybe asking it to plan a trip or suggest books to read, just to see what it can do. Then at some point, you see it could be used to solve real business problems.For me, that moment came when I was trying to find a broken formula in a spreadsheet. Before AI, I would have spent hours combing through it cell by cell. I started down that path, but then the light bulb went on and I fed the spreadsheet into AI. Within seconds, it identified the faulty cell and provided a solution. What would have taken hours was resolved in moments, and it immediately changed how I thought about the role AI could play in my work.Once AI makes itself useful to an organization, the CEO has a choice to make. On one side is the pull of possibility, the question of what else could be automated or accelerated. On the other is a more deliberate approach, using AI for what it does best while recognizing where human judgment, experience, and r...