AI gives you a lot but it won’t give you everything!
By Daniel Castello – Head of Innovation and Projects
Artificial Intelligence is a bulldozer: powerful, fast, efficient. But the ones who choose the terrain, set the path, and correct the route are still us.
Most companies rush to automate before they even understand what really needs to be solved. And that’s where the danger lies: delegating to AI a decision the business itself hasn’t yet understood.
In retail where the game is fast and margins are thin, relying too much on AI without critical thinking is like letting go of the steering wheel.
AI can suggest prices, forecast demand, and automate service. Great. But it doesn’t understand the context of a stockout, the urgency of hitting quarterly goals, or the impact of a poor in-store experience. AI doesn’t feel the market. You do.
It accelerates, organizes, and predicts. But it doesn’t feel the store’s pulse. It doesn’t read the team’s mood. It doesn’t grasp that the same product sells out in São Paulo but gathers dust in Belém. And most importantly: it doesn’t take risks. The one who decides, prioritizes, and takes responsibility is still you.
A leader who outsources decision-making becomes an algorithm’s executor. And a professional who never questions becomes just another prompt operator. AI is a lever, not a crutch. The difference between leadership and passivity lies in who leads the conversation: you or the system?
In retail, where every decision affects real people (customers, teams, suppliers), there’s no room to give up awareness. Leaders with clarity use AI as an accelerator, not as autopilot.
As Head of Innovation and Projects at Verzel, I see this every day. AI is an incredible tool when used by leaders who know where they want to go. The problem isn’t the technology. It’s the lack of vision.