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OK, so you want to know how these top CTOs are using AI

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to get a leg up on the competition?

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Well, buckle up, because we're diving into this women tech

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panel discussion with Fiona Tan from Wayfair,

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Michelle Grover at Slalom, and Sheila Jordan over at Honeywell.

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And get this, they all agree that it

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starts with the customer.

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Yeah, what's so interesting is how they each

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approach customer experience.

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Like take Fiona Tan, for example.

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At Wayfair, she's tackling this unique challenge

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of selling furniture online.

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Which, let's be real, it's not as easy as ordering a book

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from Amazon.

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It's true.

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It's tough trying to put what you want in a sofa into words.

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It's like describing a dream.

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Totally.

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You just know it when you see it.

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Exactly.

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And Fiona nailed it when she said,

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it's hard to describe what you want.

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But here's the cool part.

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Wayfair is using AI to solve that.

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Imagine typing in blue sofa, right?

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But instead of getting this generic list,

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you get options that actually match your style.

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What?

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Really?

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Yeah.

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And maybe even your budget, like based on past purchases.

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It's like having a personal AI design consultant.

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OK, that's next level.

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But how does it even work?

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Is it reading our minds or something?

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Not quite mind reading.

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But AI is getting crazy good at understanding

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what customers want, even if they don't

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know the right words for it.

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Fiona was saying how search optimization has gone way

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beyond just basic keywords now.

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Oh, interesting.

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It's about intent.

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So you're searching blue sofa.

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AI might figure out you're actually looking

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for something modern, minimalist.

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For a small apartment.

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And then it shows you exactly that,

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even if you didn't type those words in.

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It's like having a conversation with the search bar.

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Totally.

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And then there's AI powered recommendations on top of that.

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Say you are looking at that blue sofa.

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AI can look at your past purchases,

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what you've clicked on, even how long you've

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looked at certain things, and then recommend other furniture

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that fits your style.

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And it's not just about how businesses are using AI

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to connect with us customers.

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They're using it behind the scenes too.

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Oh, absolutely.

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To totally change the way they operate.

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It's like giving every department a superpower.

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Yeah.

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Michelle Grover from Slalom had this great example.

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She was talking about how they're

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using AI for these internal processes, right?

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And get this.

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They actually try it out on their own teams first.

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Oh, interesting.

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Before even giving it to clients.

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So it's like they're perfecting the recipe in-house

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before they serve it up to their clients.

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Exactly.

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And she said one of the biggest areas

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is just automating all those repetitive tasks.

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That everybody hates.

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Think about being a lawyer having

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to go through pages and pages of contracts.

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Summarizing everything.

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Or a developer stuck analyzing lines of code.

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Hours.

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Yeah.

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AI can just knock those tasks out super fast.

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Huge time saver.

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Right.

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And what's interesting is how Michelle

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was talking about the effect on employees.

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When AI takes over those tasks, it frees them up

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to do more strategic work.

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More creative work.

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So it's a win-win.

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For everyone, it makes you wonder,

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what could you do if AI took over some

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of your more mundane tasks?

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Right.

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And this is just the beginning.

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Another area where AI is making a difference

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is in knowledge management.

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Michelle and Sheila Jordan from Honeywell both

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talked about this.

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Just think about all the times that you're at work searching

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for, like information.

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Oh, constantly.

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Right.

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Company policies, project details, technical specs.

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It never ends.

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Yeah.

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And it's always urgent when you need it.

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Of course.

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And AI can make it so easy to find what you need right

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when you need it.

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It's like having your own personal research assistant

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available 24-7.

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No more digging through endless files

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or sending those emails, like, does anyone know where to find?

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Right.

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I love that.

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It's a game changer.

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And then there's this whole world

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of predictive analytics.

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That's where things get really cool.

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No, tell me more.

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So companies are using it to forecast their sales,

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find new opportunities, even kind of predict

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risks before they happen.

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So it's not just about working faster.

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It's about working smarter.

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Exactly.

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Sheila had this amazing example.

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Honeywell is using AI to predict shipping delays.

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Wow.

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With like crazy accuracy.

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They're looking at weather patterns, historical data,

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even port congestion in real time.

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So they can see into the future almost.

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Yeah.

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And before we move on to the whole ethics side of things,

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maybe we can switch gears and talk about how companies are

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actually putting these AI solutions into practice.

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OK, so we've talked about all these amazing things

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AI can do for customer experience

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for internal operations.

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But where do you even start with implementing it?

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It seems like a huge undertaking.

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Totally.

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It can definitely feel overwhelming.

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But one thing all three CTOs agreed on

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was the importance of starting small.

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Sheila Jordan from Honeywell had this great analogy.

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She talked about finding those big bets in AI.

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Oh, I like that.

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Don't sweat the small stuff, those incremental improvements.

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Find those areas where AI can make a real difference

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for your business.

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And then really go for it.

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So it's about picking your battles,

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finding those high impact areas where AI can really shine.

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Exactly.

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And speaking of battles, they were all

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in agreement about one crucial thing for success.

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Data quality.

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Of course.

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Yeah.

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Fion Tan said it best.

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Feeding AI bad data is like teaching a chef

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with spoiled ingredients.

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You can't expect a Michelin star meal.

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It's true.

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Garbage in, garbage out, right?

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Exactly.

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And you need that good data to train effective AI models,

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obviously.

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And Fion has actually talked about how AI itself

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can help improve data quality.

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Wow, interesting.

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Yeah, it's like AI being a data detective,

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uncovering those inconsistencies, errors

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that you might not even know are there.

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So it's like AI is auditing itself in a way.

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Yeah.

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Making sure it has the best information to work with.

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To make those Michelin star meals.

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Exactly.

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Exactly.

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Now, of course, there's the question of,

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what about the humans in all of this?

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That's sad for sure.

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And all three CTOs were very clear.

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AI is about augmenting human capabilities, not replacing us.

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OK, good.

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It's about working together, collaborating.

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Michelle Grover, she really emphasized this.

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Upskilling and reskilling your workforce

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for this new AI-powered future.

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And it's not just tech skills either, by the way.

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Yeah, it makes sense.

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It's about critical thinking, problem solving.

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It's very typical.

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All those human skills that are going

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to be even more important as AI becomes more powerful.

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Because we're the ones who have to guide it and stuff.

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Right.

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We have to know how to use it effectively, ethically.

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So there's a lot of exciting opportunities on the horizon.

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And we've only just scratched the surface of what AI can do.

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But what really struck me was what

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Michelle said at the very end.

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She said, AI is going to amplify our capabilities,

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both good and bad.

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Oh, wow.

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It's a tool, right?

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And like any tool, it can be used to create or to destroy.

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So the question for all of us is,

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how are we going to use this powerful technology?

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What will we choose to build with it?

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It's a big question and a lot to think about.

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So for anyone listening, if this all

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sounds a little intimidating, don't worry.

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You don't have to become an AI expert overnight.

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But maybe start by asking yourself,

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what are some of those big bets in your own work or industry

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where AI could really make a difference?

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Because one thing's for sure, AI is here to stay.

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And it's only going to become more important in the years

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to come.