Paysend CEO limits AI tool access to top-performing employees, citing productivity concerns

Paysend's Selective AI Adoption

Paysend, a payments technology company, is implementing a strategy where access to artificial intelligence tools is restricted to its highest-performing employees. CEO Ben Chisell, formerly of Amazon and eBay, states that this approach is based on his skepticism regarding the general hype around AI, despite acknowledging its value.

Chisell argues that simply providing everyone with AI tools does not guarantee results and can instead amplify negative work habits such as laziness or poor judgment. Employees must demonstrate their capability with these tools before gaining access.

Productivity Gains and Contrasting Approaches

Paysend estimates that this selective AI deployment has enabled its engineering team to deliver approximately 25% more work with the same number of staff. This contrasts with the strategies of other companies that are widely distributing AI access.

For example, Lloyds Banking Group has deployed 40,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, with high active usage. Similarly, software company Sage reported significant work hour savings from its AI coding tools, and Grant Thornton UK encourages all staff to use Anthropic's Claude as part of a large AI investment.

Industry Perspective on AI Value

While many companies are rapidly adopting AI, the direct impact on bottom-line gains is not always clear. A UK government study found that while three-quarters of businesses using AI reported improved workforce productivity, 77% saw no change in revenue.

Lokdeep Singh, CEO of Unily, shares a similar view to Chisell, seeing AI as a "superpower" best reserved for high-performing individuals. He cautions against using AI primarily as a cost-cutting measure to reduce staff, suggesting its role should be to expand ambition rather than shrink teams.