The biggest obstacles preventing GenAI adoption — and how to overcome them

Engineering Enablement by Abi Noda

In this episode, Abi Noda speaks with DX CTO Laura Tacho about the real obstacles holding back AI adoption in engineering teams. They discuss why technical challenges are rarely the blocker, and how fear, unclear expectations, and inflated hype can stall progress. Laura shares practical strategies for driving adoption, including how to model usage from the top down, build momentum through champions and training programs, and measure impact effectively—starting with establishing a baseline before introducing AI tools.

Where to find Laura Tacho:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauratacho/

• Website: https://lauratacho.com/

Where to find Abi Noda:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abinoda

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Intro: The full spectrum of AI adoption

(03:02) The hype of AI

(04:46) Some statistics around the current state of AI coding tool adoption

(07:27) The real barriers to AI adoption

(09:31) How to drive AI adoption

(15:47) Measuring AI’s impact

(19:49) More strategies for driving AI adoption

(23:54) The Methods companies are actually using to drive impact

(29:15) Questions from the chat

(39:48) Wrapping up

Referenced:

• DX Core 4 Productivity Framework
• The AI adoption playbook: Lessons from Microsoft's internal strategy
• Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company's code was written by AI | TechCrunch
• Viral Shopify CEO Manifesto Says AI Now Mandatory For All Employees
• DORA | Impact of Generative AI in Software Development
• Guide to AI assisted engineering
• Justin Reock - DX | LinkedIn