Technician copilot on service trucks

Context

A utility deploys an AI copilot to 1,200 field technicians on trucks. The assist is solid, but half the service territory has patchy connectivity and the loop back to HQ is slow — techs stop trusting a tool that spins on a dead zone.

The decision

Hold until workflow-fit (offline-first) and the comms loop are fixed. In the field, connectivity and a fast feedback path are the adoption factors — not training.

What most miss

Office pilots assume connectivity. In the field the make-or-break factors are offline resilience and whether a tech's reported bug gets fixed before they give up on it.

Stakes

A field workforce that abandons a tool in month one is nearly impossible to re-engage — the second rollout starts from negative trust.