Did “We’re doing AI” wipe £1Bn off the stock price of Rightmove? Last week, Rightmove, the UK’s dominant property listing platform, saw a dramatic market selloff, with shares plummeting as much as 28% (£1Bn) following the company’s warning of reduced profit growth due to accelerated AI investments.
To me, this is what I call “AI Theatre” – telling the market (and your staff) that “we are doing AI” rather than undertaking a complete reimagination of the business in the age of AI.
🎭 AI Theatre vs Real Transformation
Here’s what’s actually happening in many companies today:
❌ 80% of companies deploying GenAI report ZERO material impact on earnings
❌ Only 5% have managed cost reductions; 6% saw revenue uplift
❌ Hidden costs multiply: for every AI tool purchased, organisations face 10 ancillary expenses they never budgeted for
❌ 95% of enterprise AI pilots fail to scale beyond pilots
❌ Most executives can’t articulate what AI actually does – they’re running blind
Why? Because executives confuse AI theatre with genuine transformation.
They’re automating broken processes instead of reimagining them. They’re chasing vanity metrics instead of revenue. They’re buying tools instead of building intelligent organisations.
I hear so many people saying “oh yes … we’re doing AI, we have Copilot!” before realising that they’re not even using the paid version of the tool.
I set them straight on this one immediately.
This isn’t about better algorithms or bigger budgets. It’s about completely reimagining your company’s processes, culture, and how work itself is defined.
The market is catching on. I believe that the reason Rightmove’s share price crashed 28% after announcing £60m in AI investments was a brutal reminder that investors aren’t fooled by spectacle anymore.
Real transformation requires admitting what executives don’t know, redesigning from first principles, and measuring ruthlessly against outcomes that matter.
I’ve been saying this for years. Now the data proves it.
If you want to take the first part of your AI journey and go from being confused about AI to being truly Digitally Curious, with a roadmap to succeed, then please get in touch.
I equip executives with the knowledge to get started with their AI transformation, today.
