Margot Duek: The AI Strategist Helping Businesses Invest Smarter, Not Just Faster, in Artificial Intelligence
“The real ROI of AI isn’t defined by how much you spend but by how much of that investment turns into measurable results.”
By
Jan 2, 2026
NATIONWIDE - JANUARY 2026 - (USAnews.com) As companies accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence, many are confronting a difficult reality: AI investment does not automatically translate into business value.
According to the State of AI in Business 2025 report from the MIT Project NANDA, organizations have collectively invested between $30 and $40 billion USD in enterprise AI initiatives, yet only 5% of companies report measurable, material impact. The vast majority of AI projects never reach production, and even fewer meaningfully affect revenue, costs, or operational efficiency.
The problem is not the technology. Advanced models are widely available, experimentation is widespread, and adoption is happening at unprecedented speed. The real issue lies in how AI decisions are made before any implementation begins.
This is precisely where Margot Duek has built her edge.
From AI Hype to Business Discipline
As CEO of Al Chile Media and Converging Works, and founder of MejorAEO, Duek has become one of Latin America’s leading strategists in applying AI to business operations not as a trend, but as a disciplined investment decision.
With a background in computer engineering and an MBA in Marketing, Duek has spent more than seven years delivering over 300 digital projects across Mexico and the United States. That experience has given her a clear view into how companies repeatedly misallocate resources when adopting new technologies.
“What we’re seeing with AI is not a lack of capability,” Duek explains. “It’s a lack of diagnosis. Many organizations jump straight to solutions before they truly understand the problem.”
The MIT research echoes this pattern. In several documented cases, organizations invested heavily in custom AI platforms only to see limited adoption. In one example cited in the report, a legal department deployed an expensive, highly customized AI system yet many lawyers continued using their personal ChatGPT accounts because they were faster, simpler, and more intuitive.
The lesson is uncomfortable but essential: custom AI is not always the right answer.
Why Most AI Initiatives Underperform
Across industries, Duek sees the same mistakes repeated:
AI investments made without mapping real operational bottlenecks
Solutions deployed without integration into daily workflows
Teams expected to adapt without a clear adoption strategy
Success measured by experimentation rather than business outcomes
“AI doesn’t fail,” Duek says. “What fails is decision-making. Technology can be extraordinary and still deliver zero ROI if it’s misapplied.”
In many cases, existing tools or minor process changes outperform complex builds. In others, a carefully designed AI system can unlock significant leverage. The challenge is knowing which scenario applies before capital is committed.
The Audit-First Approach to AI
Rather than selling AI solutions upfront, Duek insists on starting with a rigorous AI audit, a step she believes is often overlooked in the current AI gold rush.
She often explains the approach using a medical analogy.
“If you walk into a doctor’s office and say, ‘My shoulder hurts, I think I need surgery,’ and the doctor immediately schedules an operation without imaging, tests, or evaluation, that’s not good medicine,” Duek says. “It might turn out that surgery is necessary but you don’t start there.”
AI, she argues, should be treated the same way.
Her team begins by analyzing:
Which processes are actually causing friction or cost
Where AI could realistically generate measurable impact
Whether existing tools or simpler interventions are sufficient
When a custom AI system is justified and when it is not
“Sometimes the right answer is closer to physical therapy than surgery,” Duek explains. “And sometimes surgery is the correct solution. The responsibility lies in knowing the difference.”
This audit-first methodology allows companies to invest selectively and responsibly, rather than reacting to hype, competitive pressure, or internal fear of falling behind.
When Custom AI Actually Makes Sense
When the audit confirms a strong business case, Duek’s team designs and implements AI systems that are deeply embedded into real operations, not layered on as isolated tools.
These implementations often include:
AI-powered sales and follow-up workflows
Operational automations across departments
Intelligent agents trained on proprietary company data
Workflow orchestration across messaging platforms, CRMs, and internal systems
The goal is not novelty, but adoption and measurable outcomes.
“AI only creates leverage when it fits naturally into how people already work,” Duek says. “If your team avoids it, the system has already failed regardless of how advanced it is.”
Building Visibility in the AI Era
Duek is also the founder of MejorAEO, the first Spanish-language platform focused on Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) helping businesses structure their digital presence so AI-powered search engines and assistants can accurately surface their expertise.
As AI reshapes how information is discovered, visibility is no longer driven solely by keywords, but by clarity, structure, and semantic relevance.
“Just as SEO defined the last digital era, AEO is becoming foundational for businesses that want to remain discoverable in AI-driven environments,” Duek explains.
The Real Competitive Advantage
For executives and founders, the AI question has fundamentally changed. It is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to invest in it responsibly.
Companies that treat AI as a strategic asset audited, measured, and aligned with real business problems are pulling ahead. Those that chase tools without diagnosis risk joining the majority who spend heavily and see little return.
“AI is powerful,” Duek concludes. “But discernment is what turns it into a competitive advantage.”
Links:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margot-duek-03a46350/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/margotduekk
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@margotduek
MejorAEO: https://mejoraeo.com/
Al Chile Media: https://alchilemedia.com/
