AI Is Rebuilding Your Competitor's Commercial Engine
Last week at SLAS 2026 in Boston, I had almost the same conversation a dozen times. Different people, different companies, same pattern.
The people using AI, those using it infrequently, those not using it at all are no longer in the same conversation. The hollow is middling out. Those who jumped in early are storming ahead with sharper positioning, faster content cycles, and account research that used to take weeks. Those who haven't are still scratching around for use cases, waiting for permission, debating security risks whilst their competitors compound learning and advantage.
When someone asked what I do as an AI commercial strategist, the story that resonated most wasn't about tools or tactics. It was personal.
Three years ago, I realised AI would fundamentally change my work. Not incrementally. Fundamentally. I had a choice: wait for the industry to adapt, or disrupt myself first.
I chose disruption. Not just how I created things, but how I thought about work entirely. Where am I adding irreplaceable human judgment, rather than just shuttling information around? Which steps need me, and which steps need speed?
The answer surprised me. Once I understood how the LLMs worked, there were far fewer irreplaceable moments than I assumed.
AI doesn't replace judgment. It amplifies it. I still generate ideas, still sanity-check outputs, still put my name on everything I create. The difference is I'm not spending cognitive energy on repeatable tasks anymore. I'm spending it on the parts that matter.
And that's created a problem for everyone who hasn't started their AI journey yet.
Because somewhere in your niche, a competitor just had the same realisation I did three years ago. They're quietly, systematically reimagining and rebuilding their commercial engine, whilst you advise clients to innovate faster.
The question every life science marketer needs to ask is this: how are you disrupting yourself?
The economics are already shifting
Life science markets are unforgiving. Funding is volatile. Procurement is slow. The margin for commercial error shrinks every quarter.
AI disruption won't start in the lab. It will start in commercial operations - in the functions your competitors are already rebuilding. ICP refinement that used to take weeks. Account research that consumed hours before a single sales call. Content cycles measured in days whilst competitors operate in hours. Sales enablement that arrives stale. Performance analysis that lags the market by a month.
If your competitor closes those gaps with the same headcount, the economics shift. Pipeline contribution per person increases. Cost per opportunity drops. Deal velocity accelerates.
That's not a creative shortcut. That's a structural advantage.
And once a competitor builds it, you don't catch up by working harder.
The counter-argument
"Life science is different." Relationship-driven. Regulated. Complex. Trust-based.
True. But regulation governs what you publish, not how you create it. Complexity does not protect you from smarter competitors who understand the same science but execute faster.
In markets where trust determines deals, speed to relevance becomes critical. If AI allows your competitor to understand a key opinion leader's publication history, funding status, and current priorities before the first call, who builds the relationship faster?
You don't lose because AI exists. You lose because you assumed it didn't apply to you.
What disrupting yourself means
This is not about experimenting with prompts. It is about fundamentally rethinking your commercial identity. You are no longer just running campaigns. You are designing commercial systems where AI augments judgement, accelerates execution, and amplifies impact.
I remember the first time I handed a core part of my work to an AI. It felt like cheating. Like outsourcing a muscle I'd spent years building. But when the output came back, something strange happened, I wasn't threatened. I was clearer. I could finally see where my energy was wasted and where it was needed.
Because here's the truth AI revealed: the parts of our work that are most human, empathy, insight, strategic leaps, don't disappear. They shine brighter. AI doesn't erase you. It clears the noise so your signal gets through.
Remember, the most powerful part of the system is still you. The empathy, insight, and creativity you bring, those aren't replaceable. They're elevated.
The real risk
The risk is not that AI replaces you. The risk is that someone with half your headcount uses it better.
Quietly. Gradually. Building compound advantages whilst you debate governance frameworks.
Until the board starts asking why their pipeline velocity is higher. Why their cost per opportunity is lower. Why their win rates climb whilst yours plateau.
Disruption rarely announces itself. It compounds in closed rooms, in decisions made when consensus feels distant. Your competitors are not waiting for perfect frameworks. They are not waiting for you.
The uncomfortable question
Somewhere in your niche, a competitor is redesigning their commercial engine with AI at the core. They are not waiting for consensus. They are not waiting for you.
The question is not whether AI will disrupt life science marketing. The question is whether it disrupts you, or you use it to disrupt your category first.
Ready to disrupt your own playbook? Strivenn's AI training programmes help life science commercial teams move from experimentation to systematic advantage.
We build the literacy, governance, and workflows that turn AI from a tool into a competitive edge.
