---
id: "claim-value-requires-usage"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["¶ 5"]
tags: ["roi", "adoption-metrics"]
related: ["quote-value-requires-use", "action-require-adoption-threshold", "entity-iavor-bojinov"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
speakers: ["Iavor Bojinov"]
sources: ["adoption"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-adoption"
originDay: 9
articleStem: "hbr-edu-41-french-spirits-employee-buy-in"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/12/how-a-french-spirits-company-created-employee-buy-in-for-ai"
sourceTitle: "How a French Spirits Company Created Employee Buy-In for AI"
---
# AI Value Is Strictly Gated by Employee Usage

According to [[entity-iavor-bojinov]], the theoretical capability of an AI tool is irrelevant if adoption is low. The business value of digital transformation only materializes when employees actively and consistently use the tools in their daily workflows — captured verbatim in [[quote-value-requires-use]].

**Confidence:** high. **Testable:** yes.

**Enrichment assessment.** Directly supported by primary quotes and consistent with adoption/ROI research. In the case narrative, Pernod Ricard explicitly refused to expand tools to new markets until existing markets hit ~85% adoption ([[action-require-adoption-threshold]]), treating high usage as a prerequisite for realizing value. CIO's coverage notes value shows up in conversion rates, coverage, and stronger retailer relationships *because* sales teams actively use [[entity-d-star]]'s real-time recommendations. Digital-transformation literature broadly confirms that actual usage — not mere deployment — mediates value realization. The 'strictly gated' phrasing is somewhat rhetorical, but the underlying point is valid.