- November 17, 2025
- FOXITBLOG
Highlights
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Most organizations are planning for one AI future—but smarter leaders prepare for many.
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Scenario planning helps teams avoid the trap of building document systems that collapse when AI changes direction.
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The right AI-powered document tools must support flexibility, interoperability, and ongoing evolution.
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Foxit’s Document AI, eSign, and PDF workflows offer future-ready foundations that fit multiple scenarios—not just the one vendors hope will happen.
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Scenario planning is not about prediction—it’s about building resilience into every workflow, from data extraction to contract management.
For months now, organizations have been sprinting toward AI as if the future were already written. Vendors promise certainty, analysts pitch single-trajectory forecasts, and boardrooms assume today’s AI capabilities will naturally mature in clean, predictable lines.
But futurist Daniel Rasmus offers a refreshing—and necessary—correction. In our recent conversation, he emphasized:
“Organizations that do not accept uncertainty… are much higher risk.”
This is especially true for document-driven teams in legal, finance, procurement, HR, and compliance. Document workflows are the backbone of operations, and betting on one AI future exposes them to unnecessary, expensive risk.
Instead, high-performing organizations are doing something different:
They’re using scenario planning to adopt AI in a way that stays flexible—no matter what the future brings.
This is also where Foxit becomes a strategic advantage: each major Foxit solution is designed to support multiple future scenarios, not lock teams into a single one.
Let’s explore why this matters now more than ever.
The Problem: Many Organizations Are Forecasting AI in a Straight Line
Executives are planning around assumptions like:
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AI accuracy will keep improving.
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AI will automate more of our manual processes.
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Agents will take over routine document tasks.
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Our current tools will evolve smoothly.
Any one of these may be true. Or none may be.
Rasmus points out that even the biggest “sure things” can—and often do—shift dramatically:
“Things we said we could not imagine happening… happened. And as soon as they became certain, they created new uncertainties.”
Linear forecasts simply can’t survive that level of volatility.
This is why scenario planning is essential for selecting document workflow solutions, especially those powered by AI.
Scenario Planning: The Smarter Way to Adopt AI for Document Workflows
Scenario planning doesn’t ask:
“Where is AI going?”
Instead, it asks:
“What are the multiple plausible futures AI might take—and how do we prepare for all of them?”
For document workflows, here are the four most common futures teams must plan for:
Future Scenario 1: AI Acceleration
Accuracy skyrockets, document understanding becomes near-automatic, and unstructured data extraction reaches new heights.
Future Scenario 2: AI Regulation Tightens
Governments impose strict standards on provenance, auditability, and data handling.
Future Scenario 3: AI Fragmentation
Different models excel in different use cases. Organizations must combine multiple AI systems rather than rely on one.
Future Scenario 4: The “Microwave Future”
AI becomes invisible—the technology works quietly in the background, standardized and utility-like.
Rasmus described this using his “meh AI future” concept:
“It’s there, it’s used in everything… it’s automated a bunch of stuff, but we don’t care about those profound changes because they’re in the past now.”
Why Scenario Planning Helps Leaders Choose the Right Vendor Today
Document workflows sit at the center of the business—touching revenue, compliance, legal risk, customer experience, and operational efficiency. If an AI solution ages poorly, it affects everything.
Scenario planning forces leaders to evaluate solutions based on resilience, not hype.
Below are the vendor qualities that matter across all scenarios—and where Foxit provides an advantage.
1. The Vendor Must Support Multiple AI Futures
Most platforms are built for the future they want to exist.
Future-ready vendors support multiple possible paths, such as:
Foxit Document AI → scalable extraction as AI improves
A strong match for futures where AI-driven understanding of insurance and financial documents accelerates. Foxit Document AI supports automated extraction, classification, and summarization as models improve—while maintaining auditability and human review options.
Foxit eSign → adaptable compliance as laws evolve
Foxit eSign provides the compliance-ready foundation insurers and regulated industries need as standards continue shifting. Its tamper-evident sealing, signer authentication, audit logs, and retention controls align naturally with ESIGN, UETA, NAIC requirements, HIPAA, and emerging global data regulations.
Foxit PDF Editor Suite Pro + AI → flexible workflow tools as documentation needs mature
Instead of relying on rigid, monolithic platforms, insurers can use
as their adaptable document layer—preparing, annotating, redacting, comparing, and securing documents while AI assists behind the scenes. This flexibility becomes increasingly valuable as workflows evolve.
Foxit PDF API → integration flexibility as organizations adopt multi-model AI ecosystems
Foxit PDF API allows insurers and enterprises to embed PDF generation, form-handling, document manipulation, and eSignature workflows directly into policy administration systems, CRMs, claims platforms, customer portals, and AI agents.
This ensures document workflows remain portable and adaptable—even as AI models, internal systems, or market demands change.
2. The System Must Not Depend on Any Single AI Model
Rasmus calls out the danger of constantly switching tools that interpret your data differently:
“I might get a different answer from one AI than another… I’m not sure what to trust.”
Using AI interchangeably—without breaking workflows—is the future.
Foxit supports this through:
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Foxit SDK + APIs → integrate any model you want
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Foxit PDF Editor + AI → vendor-neutral AI features
3. The Platform Must Be Audit-Ready for Every Scenario
Whether regulations tighten or not, document workflows need clarity, traceability, and compliance.
Examples include:
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Foxit eSign → legal-grade audit trails
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Foxit Document AI → verifiable output, human review modes
4. Interoperability Must Be Non-Negotiable
Rasmus spent years advising how companies should map their capabilities. Today, interoperability is the #1 requirement that protects those capabilities from disruption.
Consider these features:
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Foxit’s support for open PDF standards
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Foxit PDF SDKs for custom integration
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Foxit’s ecosystem of cloud connectors (SharePoint, Salesforce, Teams, etc.)
5. Workflows Must Be Portable, Not Hardwired
In scenario planning, the question isn’t “Will this tool work?”
It’s:
“Will this tool still work when conditions change?”
Tools should adapt, migrate, and evolve without forcing a complete rebuild, such as:
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Foxit eSign → flexible routing + reusable templates
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Foxit API integrations → support workflow refactoring
Future-Ready Leaders Aren’t Betting on AI. They’re Designing for Uncertainty.
Rasmus captured this idea perfectly:
“Looking at multiple futures is the starting point… understanding which uncertainties are unfolding.”
Document workflows are the operational heartbeat of the business.
Locking them to a single expectation of AI’s future puts organizations at risk.
But aligning with tools designed for flexibility—tools built not only for where we’re going, but where we might go—creates a powerful advantage.
This is exactly where Foxit excels:
Foxit solutions are architected to work across multiple AI futures—not just one.
Key Takeaways
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AI’s trajectory is unpredictable—future-ready leaders plan for multiple outcomes, not one prediction.
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Scenario planning makes document workflows more resilient, secure, and adaptable.
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Foxit’s suite (PDF Editor + AI, Document AI, eSign, SDKs) provides flexible solutions for evolving document needs.
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Vendor selection should focus on interoperability, auditability, and model flexibility.
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Future-ready organizations don’t wait for certainty—they build for uncertainty.
FAQ
How does scenario planning help with AI adoption?
It prevents over-investment in a single predicted future. Instead, it ensures workflows, tools, and governance can adapt to evolving AI capabilities, regulations, and operational realities.
What should I look for in an AI-powered document solution?
Flexibility, security, interoperability, clear roadmaps, model neutrality, and human-in-the-loop controls. Foxit’s solutions are built around these exact principles.
How does Foxit help reduce AI lock-in?
Foxit supports open standards, flexible APIs, portable workflows, and multi-model integration—so organizations aren’t tied to one technology stack or AI trajectory.
Why does AI regulation matter for document workflows?
Document workflows often include sensitive data—contracts, HR files, financial documents—making them subject to compliance. Audit-ready tools like Foxit eSign help ensure future compliance.
Where does Document AI provide the biggest value today?
Contract analysis, invoice extraction, form processing, classification, and automation of routine document tasks. Foxit Document AI unlocks these capabilities with accuracy and transparency.
Interested in learning more about the future of AI? Catch the Foxit podcase episode: