How to win leadership support for AI projects

David Crawford leads the AI & Data practice at Michigan Software Labs, where he helps technical teams translate opportunity into executive-ready AI initiatives.

You’ve spotted an opportunity for an AI-powered tool that could cut review time by 30%, save hundreds of thousands per year, and create space for teams to focus on higher-value work or explore new revenue opportunities.

You excitedly bring the idea to leadership, and then you hit a wall:

• “Too expensive.”
• “Too risky.”
• “We’re focused on other priorities.” 

Alongside these concerns is often uncertainty about where AI is headed and how fast it's changing the future of digital solutions.

If these concerns sound familiar, you’re not alone. Technical implementers often see where AI could make a measurable difference, but struggle to earn executive buy-in. The issue usually is more about how the idea is framed.

At Michigan Software Labs, we’ve seen both sides of this conversation. We build software that relies on AI and data, but we also help organizations make the internal case for why those solutions matter. Here’s what we’ve learned about making sure great technical ideas make it across the finish line. 

When good ideas die in translation

Technical teams tend to describe how things work, speaking of features and feasibility. Executives want to understand why they matter, and listen for the outcomes and potential risks. That gap between feasibility and business value is where promising AI ideas lose momentum.

When a proposal leads with fine-tuned language models or retrieval systems, what leadership often hears is cost, complexity, and disruption. To move forward, you need to shift the conversation from technology to impact, framing your idea in the language of risk, investment, and strategic focus that leaders use every day.

5 ways to earn leadership support for your AI initiative

1. Lead with outcomes, not algorithms

The fastest way to lose attention in a leadership meeting is to start with the technical details, while the fastest way to gain it is to start with the outcome.

• Bad pitch: “We can use a fine-tuned LLM with retrieval.”
• Better pitch: “This saves 15 hours per week for our legal team.”

Before you build your deck or draft your email, finish this sentence: “If this works, it will save or reduce ____.”

That line belongs at the top of every proposal or presentation.

2. Translate technology into money and risk

Most executive discussions orbit around three areas (revenue growth, risk, and efficiency) because those define an organization’s ability to move forward. When you describe your idea through that lens, it sounds less like an experiment and more like a sound business decision.

For example: “AI-driven document search will reduce 30% of review time, save around $200K, lower the risk of missed filings, and give teams the bandwidth to take on projects that drive new revenue.”

Frame your proposal in those terms and you’ll sound like you’re helping move shared goals forward, not adding new challenges.

3. Start small to build confidence

Leaders are accountable for making smart bets and managing uncertainty. That’s why large, sweeping AI initiatives can feel daunting, while a small, well-defined pilot feels strategic.

Frame your AI idea as a 90-day pilot with measurable success criteria, such as: “Let’s pilot invoice OCR in one region. If accuracy exceeds 95% and saves 50 staff hours, we can expand it.”

This type of phrasing demonstrates responsibility and gives leadership a chance to say yes to learning. 

4. Connect to what leadership already measures

Every organization already tracks outcomes, through OKRs and KPIs. Anchor your proposal to those existing priorities rather than creating new ones. For example:

• If leadership cares about customer satisfaction, you could say: “AI triage reduces support wait times by 20%.”
• If they care about efficiency, you could say: “AI coding assistant reduces rework by 15%.”
• If they care about growth, you could say: “AI-assisted analytics could reveal new market opportunities or product insights that expand revenue.”

Your goal is to make AI feel like a natural extension of the organization’s strategy, not a separate initiative. You’re not changing the strategy, you’re just showing how AI helps achieve it faster. That distinction builds alignment instead of resistance.

5. Keep it clear, credible, and responsible

Overpromising is the fastest way to lose credibility. 

Avoid:

• Using too much technical jargon or acronyms
• Promising that AI will “change everything”
• Overlooking compliance, security, or explainability

Instead, the most persuasive message is one that a leader could repeat to their board in a single sentence. 

And responsible use of AI should always be part of the conversation. Framing your idea with clear governance and accountability measures will build confidence from day one.

What if leadership still hasn’t prioritized AI?

If executives still don’t buy in, stop selling AI and start selling the outcomes that leadership already values:

• If leadership cares about cost, show savings
• If they care about speed, show acceleration
• If they care about risk, show reduction.

AI is simply a tool that gets you to the business results everyone wants faster. And the truth is, that’s just good digital product practice whether you’re working with AI or any other technology.

At Michigan Software Labs, we bridge the gap between strategic vision and technical execution, combining deep engineering expertise with business insight to turn AI ideas into validated, scalable solutions. We also help teams frame those ideas in language that resonates with leadership and design pilots that demonstrate measurable ROI. 

If you’re exploring where AI could deliver measurable impact in your organization, start here: Reframe one technical idea in business terms, define a small pilot, and connect it to an existing strategic goal. 

Or, reach out to our team and we’ll discuss how our Validation Lab helps teams test, refine, and position AI concepts for executive approval and measurable ROI. Let’s make sure your best ideas don’t lose momentum.