Fantasia, founders, and the fast-approaching AI reckoning

My five-month-old son is obsessed with Fantasia. It’s the only screen time he gets, and we’ve watched the Sorcerer’s Apprentice sequence so many times I could storyboard it from memory.

What strikes me every time is how quickly things spiral. Mickey automates his workload with a little magic, and it feels like progress, until it doesn’t. The system scales too fast, he loses control, and suddenly he’s drowning in unintended consequences.

It’s a surprisingly accurate metaphor for AI in RevOps.

Now fast forward 80 years and swap the wizard hat for a pitch deck, the mop for an AI tool, and the flood for a broken tech stack, and you’ll understand how today’s AI boom is set to play out.

Right now, everyone’s playing the apprentice

AI is being adopted at breakneck speed. Product cycles are short, funding is massive, and adoption seems nearly frictionless.

From the outside, it looks like progress. But so did that first bucket of water.

We’re seeing startups scale before they stabilize. We’re seeing companies rush into implementation without process guardrails or data hygiene. And we’re seeing AI capabilities plugged into workflows without anyone asking, “What happens when this gets out of hand?”

The modern flood isn’t water, it’s operational chaos

When the Sorcerer’s Apprentice spirals, it’s because Mickey automates one piece of a larger system without understanding the consequences. Sound familiar?

Many AI tools today:

• Automate a task without context
• Scale faster than their support infrastructure
• Create noise instead of outcomes
• Operate in silos, disconnected from people, data, and process

And much like the mop army, these tools can turn a small efficiency gain into a much bigger operational problem.

Spoiler alert: the Sorcerer isn’t coming

In Fantasia, the sorcerer eventually shows up, restores order, and teaches Mickey a lesson.

But in real life? There is no all-knowing sorcerer.

There’s just your team, your tools, your data, and your customer expectations.

That means it’s on you to design AI adoption intentionally, to build the infrastructure before casting the spell, to make sure your tools are orchestrated, not just magical.

Here’s how to keep control of the magic

Not all AI in RevOps is built to scale. The ones that last will:

Integrate, not isolate

The smartest tools don’t just automate, they orchestrate. They fit into how your business already operates and help it improve.

Support people, not replace them

Just like Mickey needed help, not a replacement, the best AI enhances your team’s ability to execute, decide, and scale.

Run on clean inputs

AI without clean, structured, well-managed data is just a fancier kind of guesswork.

Come with a real business model

If your vendor’s pricing only works while they burn VC money, you’re going to end up holding the mop when the money runs out.

Prove value outside the demo

It’s easy to look impressive in isolation. Real value shows up inside your actual go-to-market motion, with real customers, in real time.

When you skipped the data prep step and launched anyway.

AI alone doesn’t fix anything, infrastructure does

Automation without orchestration is just noise, and most companies don’t need more noise. They need clarity, consistency, and systems that scale.

That’s where platforms like Openprise quietly shine. They’re not trying to replace your teams with AI. They’re using it to make sure your data is clean, your processes are efficient, and your go-to-market engine actually runs.

It’s not flashy. It’s foundational. And that’s what makes it future-proof.

With the buyer’s guide to RevOps data automation platforms, you don’t have to guess. You know what to look for. This guide breaks down the six core capabilities every RDA platform needs to unify your data and power go-to-market success, with or without AI in the mix.

Final word: don’t be Mickey

The tools you adopt today will define your operations tomorrow. When it comes to AI in RevOps, the stakes are high, and the messes are real if you scale without intention.

So, before you cast the next spell:

• Build the infrastructure
• Clean the data
• Design the process
• And choose tools that enhance your business, not just impress your board

Because in this story, you’re the one wearing the hat.