Social Influence: The Hidden Catalyst Behind AI Adoption
In Social Influence: The Hidden Catalyst of AI Adoption, Paolo De Marchi explores one of the most overlooked drivers of successful AI transformation: the behaviour people witness in each other.
While organisations often focus on strategy, training and technology, the article shows that adoption most often accelerates through something far more human. When change feels uncertain, people look sideways, not upwards. They watch what trusted colleagues try, how they handle setbacks, and whether new tools feel useful in the real world of their work. A single quiet demonstration from a respected peer can shift behaviour faster than any formal cascade.
Drawing on Muuto's experience supporting AI-enabled transformation, Paolo highlights a recurring truth. Formal structures still matter, but they rarely change behaviour on their own. Real momentum emerges when peer influence is recognised, supported and deliberately embedded into daily work. When people see someone like them experimenting and making progress, psychological permission grows, and adoption begins to take hold.
Paolo also explores how organisations can activate this networked influence. From using everyday collaboration platforms to surface authentic examples, to using data insights to target where peer stories are most needed, leaders can create the conditions for adoption to spread organically rather than be pushed.
Ultimately, Paolo's reflection is simple. AI adoption succeeds when it becomes lived, visible and shared across the organisation. Not because people are told to use the tools, but because they can see the change working for others they trust.
Read the full article to learn how peer influence can become your strongest accelerator of AI adoption, and how to harness it in the flow of everyday work.
About the Author
Paolo De Marchi is a Client Partner at Muuto and a senior transformation leader with over 30 years' experience delivering global, complex change programmes for multinational organisations. He has held senior roles at PW, PWC and IBM Consulting and is known for his ability to navigate ambiguity, align stakeholders and work alongside the C-suite in immersive, design-led environments, shaping and guiding multi-stakeholder transformations in areas such as strategy alignment, operating model redesign and change delivery, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors. His approach is collaborative, commercially grounded and relentlessly focused on outcomes.