You know, most AI projects don't fail because of the technology. They fail because leaders skip the strategy. And today's guest knows exactly how to fix that. Welcome to Using AI at Work. I'm your host, Chris Daigle. Each week we'll be learning how today's business owners, entrepreneurs, and ambitious professionals are getting more done with smart use of tomorrow's tech. Let's get started. In today's episode, I'm joined by Maria Elena Duron, not only an international strategy consultant, but also a certified chief AI officer from our own CAIO community. She's working with governments, enterprises, and executive teams worldwide to ensure AI adoption is done responsibly and profitably. Stay tuned because you'll discover why so many AI projects fail before they ever launch. We'll also talk about the overlook steps that every leader needs when scaling AI responsibly. We'll also discuss how certified chief AI officers like Maria Elena are shaping the future of business worldwide. This conversation is proof that when you combine strategy with execution, AI projects don't just succeed, they actually transform your entire organization. You don't want to miss this episode. Right now, every business leader is asking the same question. What are we going to do about AI? If this is you, ChiefAIOfficer.com has the answer. We give you a simple path forward where we provide executive and team training so your people know exactly how to safely use generative AI in their day-to-day. We also manage the deployment and implementation to make sure tools actually get adopted and deliver results. And we'll also guide company-wide transformation so AI becomes part of your operating system, not just another shiny object. The companies that act now will increase productivity, cut costs, and grow faster than their competitors. Those that wait will get left behind. So if you want to make AI work in your business, visit ChiefAIOfficer.com and see how we're helping companies of all sizes finally get results from AI. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the newest episode of Using AI at Work. But we're going to be doing something a little different over the next few episodes. We are going to do a series of interviews with active chief AI officers, individuals who have kind of taken that role into the marketplace and their network. And they're actually providing these services for businesses of all size, from SMBs all the way up to enterprise-sized companies. And I think it's going to be a good opportunity for you as a listener to better understand who leads AI in a company, right? And if that's somebody that you're looking for, somebody you want to be, I think that these will help you make sure that you're getting the right person in that role. And today we actually have a chief AI officer, Maria Elena Duran, is going to be our guest. And Maria, before we get started, um, if you don't mind, kind of share a little bit about your background because it's been, it's been esteemed and diverse.
SPEAKER_01It has definitely been both. And thank you so much, Chris. I appreciate the opportunity to be here. I've had the great opportunity of being involved and working with small businesses because lately I've had the opportunity to be in front of them as somebody who talks about Google. So that's been actually within the last eight years. So I say lately, but it's been eight years that I've had a chance to actually speak and train to small businesses about Google, what happens with Google, how they can make sure they're visible with Google, what do all these Google changes mean? Which has made me realize the fact that even though people may have tools at their fingertips, the application of those tools is such a big canyon and cavern that they're actually crossing because it's not always what you see when you're in a training, when you're actually in there in your business being butcher, baker, candlestick maker, and now you're having to be chief AI officer, head of marketing, janitor, and everything in between, plus still serve your customer well. So that is the big challenge. And I've had that great opportunity, of course, to be from customer service. So when I started my career, I started in um retail groceries, what I started in, moved right into media after that. And so I became heavily involved in marketing. My background's in marketing. So everything I studied in college, my degree, everything is in marketing. And that has definitely involved. I have been around from before when the internet was just first coming in, you know, Netscape and ICQ was first coming in. And then all of a sudden that came in and it became what everybody was utilizing. And then here comes social media, you know, the brand new thing that everybody's like, is this as a trend? Is this this? So for me, seeing AI come in, to me, I saw an opportunity and also saw the shift because to me it was like the internet coming in. It wasn't just this brand new tool. Um, it was something that really is shifting the way that we all do business. And I did have a chance to see that at the very beginning with the internet, especially being in the marketing profession, I saw it go all different ways. So that is my background. I've had a chance to work with small businesses. I've been consulting with small businesses on how to make sure that they are seen and visible within Google. And one of the things that I also heard from the small businesses is that, you know, with AI search, everything's changing with the platforms, with AI overviews, AI mode. So you've got AI empowered now, really. At first it was enabled, but now very much powered by AI search platforms, things changed. And so for that, people need to understand for their business and the way they're seen and then the way they operate, things are changing. So that is what I've been doing in a nutshell.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, it's interesting because as you were going through that, a pattern that I saw was early technology. Then the question would be how does this impact my business? How do I monetize this? How do I use this for whatever? So you've been able to participate in that translation of new technology into business practical application over uh a number of like internet, social media, uh, search, now um AI. And then another thing that you mentioned with these businesses. So the work that you've done with Google was that primarily helping these businesses understand like why they needed to have maybe a Google local presence or uh search, or what was the main focus on those conversations you were having with businesses?
SPEAKER_01Right, related to Google. Some of that was that, but mostly it was what to how to apply this. They knew that there's Google business profile out there. They knew that there's something called SEO. And they still, even to this day, Chris, I see people who know that exists, but they don't know what to do with it. And they're trying to piecemeal that together. And what they don't know whether it's going to get them to success or not. So now when you add another layer to them of technology, now it's another learning curve that they have on top of the learning curve with, I mean, and Google's been around since 2004. Yeah. So I think about that. I think, oh my gosh, some people are still just learning that, which is fine. If you're just new in business, this is the first time your awareness is here about being able to be visible and what that means when you're online and digital. But it is something that I've been involved with, as I said, as you were saying, so well from the different transitions. Even when I came into social media for the first time, it was when it was 2008, I think when Facebook went to pass the.edu email address and became available to everybody. And it was new. And I actually cut my teeth on working with a lot of politicians then who were starting their social media accounts. So I learned under fire.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01So it's like, okay, you know, you get a tax three o'clock in the morning from different people, from the, you know, from from your opponent. All of a sudden now the social media person realizes 24-7. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So let me ask, it's surprising to me that these businesses um haven't well, maybe maybe not. Maybe they don't understand the impact that that being that having a uh an optimized Google local presence would have. And I know we're gonna move into the AI side, but I'm looking for some parallels between um why businesses didn't adopt an easy and free strategy like that and how that's gonna translate into adopting even basic usage of Chat GPT or generative AI tools in their business. So now that you're working with companies talking about still about Google, but also about introducing AI into their business, are you are you seeing that they're more interested to adopt this? Are they, is there more more or less confusion about why this is important as compared to a strong Google presence? What are you seeing?
SPEAKER_01I am seeing they're very interested because of course it's it's the buzz right now. Everybody's talking about AI. So somehow it has to fit into your business. They're seeing shifts in the marketplace. They know search has changed. So they do know that it they need to pay attention to AI. Just like though, they do know they need to pay attention to Google and search. So I see two ends of the spectrum in both in both situations. One is we're just gonna just hope that things turn out and AI and search are gonna work for us. So we're just gonna keep posting, providing good content, providing great service, and people will come and they'll know it. So it's that if they build it, they will come. I still see a lot of that happening at the and I love that. I mean, I love the fact that the American dream is out there and people want that, but being able to structure it fast enough so that you don't run out of cash flow is the big challenge. Then I've got the other end of the spectrum, which is okay, I will buy every agent under the sun and hope they all talk to each other. And so now you've got a lot of expense there with different tools that nobody knows how to use, or they're all using their personal tools, so they all came with it and they're all gonna leave, especially since I work with a lot of SMBs. I see that much more prevalent than anything else. Again, it's both two ends. So you've got either, you know, they're brand new and they're just now trying to get through that learning curve, and then you've got the other side. Either way, though, in both ends of the spectrum, anybody who's involved with IT is very, very cautious about anything. So all of a sudden, you know, it's it's security, it's this. So then what happens is you get to the analysis to the state of paralysis. They are looking and deciding what works best, and nobody does anything. So people then don't tell the truth and they start bringing in AI agents and AI tools, their own personal ones under another Gmail or another personal email account. They don't use the company account and they're still using it, they're just being quiet about it.
SPEAKER_00So I hope everybody just paid attention to that. Because even if you're like, hey guys, let's let's hold off on AI till we get this figured out. There's people in every department that are using it on their phone, using it from remote from home, uh, while they're working on your stuff and with your data. So that's important to know. So let's talk about kind of what a business who says that maybe they've seen you speak and they're like, we've been investigating, we've been exploring um AI. We know enough to know that we need it and we want it. We'd like for you to help us. What does that journey look like for a business? Like, where do you start? What kind of questions are you getting, timelines, stuff like that? Anything you can share that would help the listeners better understand what to expect.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. So, what I have started with is we have a conversation first with leadership. I really need to understand with leadership what their goals are because it there are so many things that you can do. Uh, it's it just like with the internet, it was wild, wild west. So I want to know exactly what your end goal is and what your priorities are. So I do spend time understanding that first. And that usually takes, you know, a meeting, one hour, one and a half hours, but with leadership team members. So it could be the CEO and could be a consultant or a coach that they're working with. It could be with an entire leadership team, marketing department, finance, operations. So I've done both or several of those actually, but different conjugations, that's both of what the structure looks like. So then after that, what it takes is then we schedule bringing in the whole team because I'm gonna talk to them about what it looks like. The first thing the teams always have is fear of some, I'm gonna be let go. I'm gonna lose my job. This is really horrible. So there is that fear at any size company. So I want them to make sure they understand that this is their CEO or this is their leadership team that's actually investing in them. They're actively investing. And it's a big difference between, you know, do you they they've made, I want them to understand the track that their leadership team has made from, you know what, do I want somebody who is working with me who is not trained, or is it better to have a trained person? So they've made that active decision, and because that investment they've made, they've made that investment in the team, and that's why I'm here in front of the team. It's a great person. So I want them to it really is. They have to because you're about to take people through change management. That's really what they're going through when they bring IAI in. And so you have to feel like they're hurt, they have to feel heard, they have to feel seen, they have to know what the next steps are because nothing is more fearful than the unknown. Our imagination is wilder than anything else. So I like to make sure that I put that structure. So the confidence that they have that I have a structure of I'm gonna talk to them, I'm gonna interview them. And understand, I want everybody to know that I'm not looking for the sexiest thing that we can do. I'm gonna look for the thing that is routine, that's the pain for you that you can now measure because you've got a baseline. So I want them to know that because a lot come with ideas of, I want to try this and I saw this and this. And I understand that that's the shiny object syndrome. Yeah and I, even though, you know, I applaud it and say, let's just put that. Get there. Yeah, we'll get there, we'll get there. But I want you to get there profitably, is what I explained to them. So let's do that without, and when I say profitably, it is your monetary resources as well as your human resources, because if we move too fast for the team, then that can scare them, especially if they feel overwhelmed. And they appreciate that. They really do. I hear people who, you know, really do care about their team members. And so they do want them to know, but they want them to be able to think and strategize at their higher self. So they themselves, CEOs, VPs, they've been listening to, you know, podcasts. They've been reading, they are staying up to date. They know that it takes investment, but how can they make that change or that jump? Again, that's change management. So I come in there and actually meet with the team and I let them know what the timeline looks like because that's always the overwhelm of what happens next. And I give them the structure of, okay, for the next two weeks, I'm interviewing the team. I need to spend a deep dive, not just with the team, but also potentially with your vendors because I work with a lot of e-commerce. Um, Chris, that's what I do is I will talk to the vendors as well, because they may have a vendor who's yeah, handling SEO or a vendor who's handling HR. So I will talk to all of them, find out what they're using, look at governance, look at what they would love to do personally and professionally, to be able to see what happens next with AI and what they'd like to apply. And then after that, I compile what's known as my roadmap report. So they have an idea of this is where you're at, these are the gaps, this is where I can help fill and what that structure looks like 30 days, 90 days, um, 180 days. So that's really, and that's what I'm used to doing because that's what I've done uh with Google anytime I work with businesses afterwards. And because I know Google always takes time, you know, people think that you're gonna make a change and all of a sudden they're gonna see, I'm gonna be a ranking on page one, right? In the next 30 days, that doesn't happen. It's a 90-day to 180-day process. I'm used to laying out that process, but I explained to them that we are putting foundations in. And I'll, you know, I'll listen to CEOs during that time. I usually, you know, somehow have communication set up, communication. It could be Slack, it could be email, it could be circle account, whatever they want to do to stay connected. But I have them, you know, if you've got ideas, share them with me just like you would somebody who was your financial coach or financial advisor because you're about to make some investments if you make a shift. And if I can help from a different perspective about what are some of the roadblocks or costs that you may not have anticipated, I'm happy to do that.
SPEAKER_00I like this. So a couple of takeaways from me. The um change management is is got to be considered, but I I love this positioning of your company, I'm here because your company's investing in you. Yes. That is a fantastic, like that really changes it from you know, the musical chairs kind of vibe, like who's gonna be left after this training, as compared to, oh, wait a minute. Like this isn't something to be scared of. As a matter of fact, this is like a recognition or acknowledgement by my company that I'm valuable. Love that position. Also, this this conversation of um you kind of being an individual who is representing the client when it comes to vendors, both on services and like tool providers or stack providers, that you're you're not just in a uh a discrete environment over here, you're actually helping them make sure that their vendors understand, hey, this company is going through some AI uh enablement, AI transformation now. What is this gonna look like for you? That's fantastic. And then you introducing this role of like you mentioned this and also heard Adam, our chief AI officer, say something similar the other day. If you're a business and you um you need help with marketing, you're gonna find a marketing expert, right? This is no different. You're a business, you need help with X. X happens to be AI, right? In your business, find that AI expert. Just it doesn't need to be like this um anything that's that's like brand new or or scary. It's just like getting a uh expert on any other area of your business. So uh great points. Okay, so you start the process. Um, how are you kind of assembling the players internally to support you and support themselves in the process?
SPEAKER_01When I do the two-week interview, it really gives me a chance to see where everybody's at. Are they fearful? Are they already been exploring? So on the one-on-one interviews, they tell me where they're at, you know, exact as far as what they have already had experience, because that's part of the questions. Where's your experience? What's your vision in utilizing AI for yourself personally and professionally? Because we're we're interested in the success of both. And that's really what I have that conversation, just listening to them on what are they using it for, how are they seeing it, what are they hoping to use it for. So we go through that entire interview where I am listening to them and how they feel that they can bring their own personal brand and personal strength to the company brand promise, because that's really what I'm looking for. The company brand promise is this, and they want to do this with AI. How are you going to connect those dots? So I want to hear if they've thought that out or if it's full with fear. Because if it's full with fear, then I need to know that too. Even when I did do interviews with, let's say, the IT, the head of IT. So I will hear all the fears then of this will change and this will change. And as I explained to the team and the leadership, you know, I am I'm not an expert on your company at all. You are the expert in your business, in your vision, and your goals. I am the subject matter expert of AI. So I am the one who can have the conversation with your team. And if you trust me, I'll actually talk to your vendors as well, instead of you having to be the go-between, because being the go-between is so time consuming. And it's well, you know, anybody in sales knows that you you don't want somebody else selling for you because it's it's they're getting on the highlighter, there's so many good notes here. Thank you, Chris. Yeah, but yeah, there's so I just have to make sure that you know they they feel that they have a resource. So that's I said I'm I am a walking, talking application library, if you will, um, because I am there for you and I'm your resource for you. So please utilize me. And the team feels comfortable with that because they know that I'm not taking their job. In fact, a lot of them will ask that question right at the very beginning. I've had this. Is there a plan that you're gonna you're gonna take over and there's a position here for you? And I said, no, there's actually not a plan.
SPEAKER_00Is that with the IT team typically or yes, the IT team.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Is there a position for you? And I said, no, no, there isn't. I am here to bring AI in in a way that is successful for all of you. I don't want to be anything other than a resource. So I am I wouldn't be in my consulting gig if that's what I wanted. Now that might be different for somebody who is looking for um an actual chief AI officer role, but they know at the get-go that they have somebody who will be fractional for a short time or who will be here as a consultant. That is the most that I'll be able to do. And I explained that up front. And I think because I say that with confidence, I'm not, you know, saying, well, it could go this way or it could go this way, then they feel the power in that. And I think that's part of where anybody new in consulting can get um, can be challenged because you're not sure yourself. So if that uncertainty comes across to a client, they they absolutely feel that. They're looking to you to help guide me through this. If you don't have structure and a plan, that's gonna be really hard.
SPEAKER_00So this is interesting because the recurring theme here, and I'm agreeing with everything you're saying, the the recurring theme isn't so much, hey, I'm an expert at at using generative AI and knowing how to plug it in, as it is there's an underlying tone of change management, like this conversation with the IT department. Yes. So just so I'm clear, are you here to replace me, right? Exactly. That's uh the same question that somebody, you know, on the front line as a customer service agent saying is a an AI voice agent going to take my job. So interesting. So you mentioned the the IT department, and this is um a conversation that's been ongoing as well for us, and that is who owns AI within the company? And it seems like what okay, AI is a technology. We have a chief technology officer, we have a technology department, they should own it. What's your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_01Actually, I explained to the leadership team, it's the leadership team and whoever is the head of your your AI group or council. So I do, even if it's just two or three people in there, I do ask them you want that structure because you need some sort of governance and security. You need to know what people are using. The first um roadmap interview that I ever did, I asked people what they were using, and uh they all told me because they heard from The CEO that they should be using Chat GPT teams. So everybody said that we're using teams, we're using teams. But then when we came for the second round where I do the verification, so after the interviews, I come back through for a week and I say, okay, I'm just going to verify some things and I want to make sure that I know the number one thing that you want to learn from here and the tools that you're using. I need to know your tech stack. So what I do is I ask them that question. They'll say, no, it's my personal. I don't have teams. I think we should be using teams. So then I go to leadership and I explain to them, you know what? We need everybody so that you first you own your proprietary information and you know your PII, your personal identifying information is secure, as well as your proprietary intellectual property. So that's important. And they understand that. So they do slow down and say, all right, let's put it to, you know, how many have to be in this council? I said, two or three, but I need at least people who will sit there who actively will talk about how this affects them and understand that it's affecting the whole organization, not just one department. So that's why uh again, IT understands the fact that it's not just with them, it's whoever the head is of the IT council, which in some smaller organizations, it could be the, you know, whoever they put as the head of marketing. Or, you know, if they've got director of operations, it could be that person that's the head of it. It really is who I look for is the person who's the champion, um, you know, who's really so excited about it and trying to understand it, but trying to make sure that everybody in the under in the whole organization assimilates and they're able to work with the tool.
SPEAKER_00Nice. So for the listeners, that I think that's important. Find the person that you're not dragging along, that they're they're running with the flag saying, you know, hey guys, this is a good thing for us. Yes. Um, secondly, the fact that you've got not the the chief technologist in the business, but you've got somebody who understands the operations of the business leading it or involved in that council, I think is also very important for generative AI for chat GBT type stuff. So let's talk about the how do you let them know the risks and what risks do you kind of warn them about when it comes to, hey, before we turn everybody on to using AI in the business, here's the way we need to do it.
SPEAKER_01Actually, working with the council, we come up with what sort of some of our rules of engagement are. So I take them through, you know, you need to make we need to make sure that everybody's utilizing, you know, if we're gonna get teams account, let's work the team's account, which is what I do encourage them to do so that everything is still owned by the business. Yeah. And then, you know, I said you're gonna have exposure, like you might be utilizing a tool like Triple Whale, um, which a lot of e-commerces use. So they have their own Mobi AI. So this is some of the guidelines of how we're gonna use that and what information we're gonna put, how loose are we gonna be with customer um information? Because PII is very important. And that's why the first thing we do is put an AI use policy and AI tool policy. First, that's first and foremost. Even if it's just a set, a short one page, yeah. This is how we're gonna do it. Now everybody at least has a vision of the structure and to ask some questions around things if they're not clear. And then from there, then we actually take that out to the team and start structuring that out of how this will look and how that'll apply. That is due where I become now even more actively involved because we're about to put the structure in. So I myself might help put the structure in because I know how to structure because of my e-commerce background. I am able to structure some of that. There's some that a builder is gonna have to come into. So when I work, I'm working with a company, I explain to them this is here for me to do this. This is what we're doing. But I may need to bring builders in because I'm not an expert in all the tools and all that you're using and exactly every goal that you want to get to. But I know who are some of the best ones and I can vet those for you to make sure that we get the build out at the best price, you know, again, at the best timeline that they actually deliver. So that is what I tell them. And now we actually go through that process bit by bit of what we're gonna bring in. The goal usually is no more than three to four things that we're gonna look to do in the next 90 days. I don't want to overwhelm them because this is our test to see how they're communicating together. And I as I tell everybody, you know, the the you know, the old saying of the fence is only as strong as the weakest link or the chain is always as yeah, I tell them that. I said, we've got to make sure that everybody's with us, or else what that delay or lag in one person or one department is what's going to be, you know, the thorn in our side through everything else. So we might as well deal with it right now. And that way we're all working in step as a team.
SPEAKER_00So how do you determine what those three to four things are gonna be?
SPEAKER_01That comes from the CEO and the leadership team. So when, so after the the two-week interview, I actually, so we do the two weeks of interview. It's actually really one week or almost 10 days of interview, and then I go back and verify. After I do that and verify the information in the tech stack, I meet with a leadership team and say, this is what's going on, this is what they need, this is what I'm seeing. So let's talk about this and really hash out what are your top three or four priorities. And I heard this at first, but I want to make sure that still aligns with what you want to do in moving forward. So we have to be on that same page. If we're not on that same page, that I can't move forward. If they say, well, you know, we want just want them to figure out this and that. And what I'll find, what I'm finding is that most CEOs know what they want, what they ultimately want. They may not know the tools and the steps to get there, but they're very clear of, you know, I want to see a 66% increase in this, I want a 17%, they they know what they're looking for, and they just may not know, again, how AI fits into those steps either. So that's what I'm there for.
SPEAKER_00So, and in that case, what information would you need? Because I think it's very important if they have a nebulous target in mind, it's gonna be hard for you to satisfy that. So, how do you make sure that you and the leadership are aligned and that 90 days later the team doesn't turn around and go, look what we did, boss? And the boss is like, what the hell is that?
SPEAKER_01Yes, right? Exactly, exactly. So, what what we're doing is I actually talked to the head of you know finance, whoever's doing all the tracking. So I'm looking at data and that's how I'm doing the verification. So I actually look and say, okay, let's look at that. So you're saying a 66% increase is going to look like this when I look at income. Um so and it I tell them I'm gonna need a lot of access. And so I'm happy to sign an NDA, you know, as a as a consultant. You, you know, I always encourage consultants, you have to, even when I was just even speaking just for Google, you have to have all of your business for your business side, your business insurance is in place for errors and emissions, for all of those things. So I make sure you're well insured uh for that because you're about to work and help a company make some major decisions. And you don't want them to, you know, you want them to feel confident in who is actually having access to some of this data, this intimate data that can, you know, if not treated well, could become very dangerous to the live their own livelihood. So I definitely make sure that they feel comfortable. All right, I'm gonna need just this. I need this window. So if that's what you see the increase, then let's say for an e-commerce store, if you're using Shopify or WooCommerce, I need to be able to see what the revenue is, what your average cart, your lifetime value, all of that. And that is because I've got e-commerce background. Yeah. Now, if they're not saying that and they're saying, okay, I want to see this much more efficiency, then I start asking questions of, well, how are you measuring efficiency right now? Do you have like a gorgeous or Zen desk or something giving a percentage of how quickly people respond to phone calls or to messages and tickets coming in, or how are you measuring that? So I have to take those stepbacks to know that because there are some times where people are just, well, I'd love to, you know, the unrealistic expectation of I'd love to see a 70% increase in this. Well, how are you measuring it? We're not. I just feel then that's where we get into that dangerous zone of I feel things are not working well. And it happens in all-sized companies, but you need to find that person that has the answer as far as the number and then also weigh out and be able to have the conversation saying, Well, I don't think that's the first realistic uh goal that we should have for AI. Let's step that out. So if you feel that they're not being effective here, what are the seven steps that make up that for them to be effective? And maybe we can impact one of those steps. So I will break that down as well. So there's that conversation. Again, it depends on um, you know, really whether or not you've got you've got the CEOs who are very dynamic who may not know all the details. Then you've got others who are very detail-focused. If they're detail-focused, I might get that information right away. The other, it's gonna take a few other conversations to have because somebody else in the team holds that information.
SPEAKER_00So for some of the listeners, they may already be in process with a consultant or or a vendor that's helping them with this stuff. So some of these questions may be a little too late for them, but for those that haven't uh gotten too deep in and for those who are new to this process from the um, you know, the the client side, are there some areas where you would recommend like departments or activities in the business where you would say, look, these are pretty safe for you to use as pilots. I wouldn't start here as a pilot.
SPEAKER_01Sure. I would start with some of your basic, you know, administration. What I do hear it from everybody that's a head of company, no matter the sizes, they always wish there's another them. You know, I wish I could if I had another me, I could do this. So when I hear that, I say, okay, let's start with some of the things that you deal with on a daily basis that are keeping your strategic mind and your leadership mind occupied on route or or you know, manual activities that could be divvied out to actually to AI. And in that moment, then I actually help them personally in managing their business by looking for those pieces. And we may actually start with three pieces that have everything to do with the CEO. In fact, one of the first roadmaps I did, that's what it was. You know, she's a doctor, and that was everything. You know, it was like, okay, I'm gonna make your day easier so that you can free up eight to 10 hours per week of you being able to think strategically on where you want to lead the company and what those next steps look like for everything. Yep. And it was really something that is very helpful because they need she needed that time, they needed that time for her to be able to give them the leadership. And I think that's what you do if you want something that's the low-hanging, I said the the lowest um as far as danger, but the biggest impact.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's great. So this was almost like maybe um not just identifying stuff specific to support the CEO, but was there any effort to create almost like a rogue role co-pilot by way of a custom tool or something that had their knowledge that others in their like sphere of influence would be able to access?
SPEAKER_01Yes, absolutely. We actually did do that. So they have something that's a a custom, uh, custom program. They're actually using Delphi AI and as well as a custom GPT. So people could ask questions. That's what actually one of the first things that I did, Chris. So, you know, you work as a solopreneur, but I actually have about three VAs that I work with virtual assistants. And one of the first things that I did, because I have a community of my business in our Facebook group is I, you know, I can't be in my Facebook group 24-7. You know, we have 1,500, 1,700 people in the Facebook group, but I need the the virtual assistants to be able to be the communication for me. So they actually have a custom GPT that's me that they can ask questions. And I said, and put the human layer. You do understand that I don't want you to just copy and paste, but I um it listened to, I think I've done like 400 YouTube videos. So it listened to my YouTube videos, all of this to get my style. And that's how they're able to use it now with Notebook LM, because that's a Google-based tool, they can also go into Notebook LM and be able to ask a question and say, okay, that I pulled that from Rhea's episode here. So now I can give them the link to that episode as well as give them what ChatGPT, the custom GPT, gave them. So because I've actually gone through that, I thought, okay, now I can help other people do that because I see the pieces that, yes, you know, you think you can do this and get here, but there's a lot of little steps that happen. And I want to make sure that people understand that so they have realistic timelines.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So um we're gonna take a small detour and we're gonna talk about tools real quick because I love this concept of the the role co-pilot, whether it is the CEO, whether it's the you know, the assistant manager for marketing, whatever it is. Sure. I I love that idea of that. I wish there was another one, another me. Yes. I think we could we could all agree with that, right? And this is a great. So you mentioned Notebook LM. And for the listeners who aren't familiar with it, it's a a tool that's included with your uh Google subscription. Um, but you, because of your your Google background and everything, I would imagine you're probably uh preferential to Google Tools, but that's a tool that I don't use nearly enough. And when I have used it, I've been like, this is amazing. So can you kind of explain what it is and how you're using it or how you recommend an executive to use that?
SPEAKER_01Sure. How I use it is it's really it's my brain dump of everything that I've done. So I use it as far as one way, that may be one way. It could be, let's say I go to a conference, Chris, and I get all the material and I get the transcript and everything. I'm also going to put that into my notebook LM because what means that what that happens then is that each notebook LM has a project, several projects in there. I can go into that project and now ask it questions. I can listen to an audio overview. So if I want to be reminded of what I had in the notes in the transcript, I don't have to have a copy of the video. I can just listen to that or watch a video overview. So it does an audio overview, a mind map, a video overview. And then also it can turn things into FAQs and into um study guides. It can do that. Any content that you put in there. So I love that because now the team has access to that, or myself, or let's say that I'm working with a client and I have access to their Google Drive file folder. So they'll give me all of that. Now I have all of that to ask questions to remind me, okay, what was it that they said here in this transcript, or what did she bring up? Was the other priority here? And it can let me know right away, which makes it very much more helpful to me because it's like a brain dump of everything instead of me having to figure out where did I file that away? It's all in there. So each one has a topic, and I like to use it because I put anything that I come across, I'll put into a project so I can easily find it and know. All right, now I can ask the questions. It's helpful.
SPEAKER_00I need to do that a lot. So so let me ask, can I can I use notebook LM? Can I use my entire Google Drive as the context for notebook LM interactions? Yes, you can. So I can do search and retrieval, I can like have a conversation. When folks, when I'm listeners, when when I say conversation, I mean actually, hey, Google, I need to find this. And it says, sure, Chris, like here's is it able to do search and retrieval for you like that?
SPEAKER_01It is. If you connect it with your Google Drive. So you have to enable it to do that. Some people want to, some people don't. But if you're enable to do that, then you have access to all that. That's your database. You can bring that in. Then you can bring your videos if you have videos, any audio, anything that you've been reading that, okay, you know, this is what I want to apply. So I want to learn more about that. You want to bring that in and ask it questions and be able to listen to it. Now you have that search function, you know, with with really a company that knows search really, really well. So at least you can search through all of your things, you know, your appointments, your events. So some people will connect it to um, you know, their their Google Drive, some will connect it to um either, you know, so it's got Gemini actually in it. The only thing that you won't be able to access directly is let's say your your email. Um, email works separately because Gmail and Google Calendar actually work separately. So they there's a little bit more private information there. It doesn't access that, but you have access to your entire drive. So to me, that's valuable.
SPEAKER_00And I'll bet that the Gmail and GCal integration, it's on the horizon for sure.
SPEAKER_01I have no doubt, especially since you can do dot, Google Docs, sheets and slides already. You know, I have no doubt that's coming. I mean, you can already get helpful AI within both those tools to assist you with things, but it seems that it's strange that it's separate from um being able to connect with Notebook LM. I I'm not on the dev team, so I don't know what the map looks like.
SPEAKER_00So this has been like when I first started started getting interested in the impact of generative AI in business, I saw a presentation that wasn't really about AI, but it was more about how the average knowledge worker spends, I don't know, I think it was like maybe 22% of their day searching for the knowledge to work with. So it's this it's this kind of baked-in friction that none of us really think about. It's like, oh, where's that document? Oh, I need to get access to that. Oh, where was it stored? Oh, let me reach out to find out what the link was, right? But if I now have, with a tool like Notebook LM, if I can have the rest of my what's my operations team be able to use that to like, hey, notebook, I need the the last report or whatever, and it's able to start shaving off time like that. This is a challenge though, right? You you've seen that report that came out recently, and I think it might have been some MIT research that said 95% of pilots are failing. Yes, right? Um I did see that. Yeah, which which is a little shocking to somebody like you and you and me who's like we know how we know the impact. It's that it's working. Yes. But I think that that for for those listening, I think that that that report was specifically focused on like measurable ROI. No it was X, now it's X plus because of AI. But you and I both know that it's very easy to show somebody how to save 10 hours a week, right? Or at least 10% of their work week just knowing how to use Chad GPT. So is there ROI there? Yes. Is it measurable? I mean, maybe not cut you know, accurate attribution penny to penny, but if I've got more hours in the day, and so does everybody else in my team, I'm getting some more done. And you're not, as the owner, you're not paying more for the business or whatever. So is the goals that people are coming up with initially when you're working with clients, is it reduce my headcount? Is it um make me more money? Is it make more profitable revenue? What is the where where are they what are they looking for?
SPEAKER_01Everybody that I've talked to has said that they're looking for that they're looking for everything to improve. They're actually looking for their team. So I want her to be a better marketer. I want her to be better at customer service. So that's always that, you know, that that fog of, well, what does better look like? Explain to me what does, you know, what give me the the the steps or what the outward signs would be if I could see, you know, that so-and-so was better at customer service, better at this. And so they have some ideas of, you know, they may have run into an issue, something that's a big pain point, or something that they see that's a vision for them. And I explained to them, let's see it, you know, first with some of the, as we talk about the low-hanging fruit, that we can start seeing some changes. And the big thing that we're looking for, and I explained this to the entire team too during our launch meeting, is uh there is a difference between effectiveness and productivity. So effectiveness means that, you know, if if I used to be able to take four hours, now I can do it, you know, maybe, or I sorry, efficiency, not effectiveness, efficiency, but maybe I can do it now in um 20 minutes and 30 minutes. So it took four hours compared to productivity, which is, you know, whatever I used to be able to take and do two things in a whole hour, and now I can do five things in an hour. And that's truly the difference that you're looking for is the productivity. There is efficiency, which is great, but when you can get efficiency to productivity, now that's actually impacting profitability. So that is where we're going to start. But at first, everybody has to see the efficiency wins. And overall, that is getting to that effectiveness, which is, you know, when you get efficiency and productivity working together, now it's effective. When it's effective, you're seeing the ROI that you're looking for.
SPEAKER_00I like that.
SPEAKER_01I have to step it out for them because I think that's, you know, they everybody gets so excited when they're ready to go with AI, but they're not sure which way to go. So they're looking for you for that direction as the consultant.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Now let's let's talk about um what are some unrealistic expectations that that you tend to see a pattern of them showing up with companies when they're interested in using AI.
SPEAKER_01Um, increase profit and increase in search instantly. They're looking for in 30 days, am I gonna be able to see, you know, average order value increase, lifetime value, am I gonna see this? I said, no, you're not gonna be, and I'm very upfront about that. You're not gonna be able to see that because humans don't see things that fast. So even if you implement that in um, you know, as I said, e-commerce is where I I spend a lot of time. So if you're gonna even implement that on your store, it's gonna take 30 to 60 days for a human to get that, 90 days for any search engine or AI search platform to get that. So no, you're not gonna see that in 30 days, but you are gonna see signs that it's headed that direction. And those are some of the things that I can help look and say, you know, these are the signs you're gonna want to look for, and that'll help you measure. But yeah, there's that's always the unrealistic in 30 days. It's always this 30 day Maria, and I I need to see this in 30 days.
SPEAKER_00Yes. You know, I um I I tend to tell businesses when they ask that stuff that it's not an event that occurs like, oh, on Monday we're getting AI, right? Yes. It's like it's a process, just like anything with a business. So that's very much in line with what I'm hearing as well. So this is awesome. So, Maria, um I I know that there's so much more that we could go in this, but I think that this is a good start for my my intention with this was to have listeners who are who are wanting to engage with uh or get somebody internally to run this for them, whatever it is. What to expect? What is the what does the process look like? What does the framework look like? What does the timeline look like? What are my expectations? What are the low hanging fruits? Um, this is going to be very helpful for the business. Who still haven't made that decision and are ready to move forward. Um, where are you putting out? I know that you're you're a member of the chief AI officer community and you host some calls in there and that sort of thing, which anybody that's listening, please come and join Maria on any of the calls that she's hosting within our community.
SPEAKER_01I'd love for you to be there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So, but where else are you kind of sharing your perspective on AI and business?
SPEAKER_01Sure. So I work with a lot of the small business development centers, actually. I've um so I work with them and bringing in and talking about AI. So I've been working across the the US, um, talking to different SBDCs, um, some of the SBA groups as well, some of the different counselors and administration organizations, chambers of commerce. I do a lot of that. Everybody who follows and knows me, I do a webinar Wednesday. So on webinar Wednesday, we take that deep dive of, all right, let's look at this. What did we see here? I love to make something that's maybe difficult or seems kind of out there and bring it very practical and show them what it looks like when you're on your screen. And we learn together. We, in fact, it's fun to get to do that because they also get to see the fact that, you know, I make mistakes. I'm a real person. So they'll see me back up and go, okay, wait, let's look at this. And that also helps them feel at ease in asking questions, which is what I'm looking for. I want people to know that I'm not the techie person that is going to speak Google Tech speak or AI tech speak to them. I am the person that's used to operating things with and amongst people. So I'm going to be speaking in very layman's terms about, you know, what are some of the things that you're looking at here? What makes the difference here? And that is what I love to do. I do that every week, at least one time a week, but several times because a lot of people do bring me in, like SBDCs and chambers of commerce, um, community colleges and universities will also bring me in so we can start talking about, you know, what's happening. In fact, I will be speaking, I think it's next week. Um, I'll be speaking to a group with um in Houston that actually works with a lot of small businesses and they're um wanting to talk about, you know, security, cybersecurity and AI. How do you deal with that? Because that's what their group is most focused on. So yeah, there's a lot of topics out there. And one of the things that I found, Chris, is people who have ever dealt with, because my background's in marketing, um, whoever dealt with social media management and marketing really get this a lot faster than anybody else. And the reason they do is because they're used to taking something that's this cloudy, whoa, feel of, you know, we want to have that, you know, that good um feeling out there or that um that kind of image out there to the public. How do we measure that? How do we measure brand awareness? How do we measure image? And they've had to answer those questions, excuse me, lots before in their career. So now they're dealing with something that has just that kind of fog, but to be able to say here in clarity, these are some of the things we need to look at. So whenever I talk to social media managers, I said, you've actually been well experienced in explaining the thing that's unexplainable a lot of times. So it's not measurable in some people's minds. So that will actually help you bridge this gap.
SPEAKER_00I like that. So for those listening, if you're thinking about uh building that internal AI council to start the discovery phase, maybe that social media or that marketing person who's used to kind of like how do I exp explain the intangible? That's a great concept. Um, so where can people find out more about these uh with a webinar Wednesdays? And we'll we'll add whatever links you you tell right now. We're gonna add those in the show notes and the emails. Um, but I would like for people to be able to plug in a little bit more to uh what you're doing if they like what they heard today.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Thank you, Chris. You can find me on Instagram, I'm Marketing Coach Maria, and then also you can find me at smartbrandsystem.com. That's my website. They can go there, they can see all the upcoming free events. Anytime I'm working with an SBDC, a Chamber of Commerce, it's all listed there, what's happening so that they can sign up, they can get recordings of it and see what's happening. They can join the free community. I would love for them to join the free community because every Wednesday or Thursday, I also talk about what are the latest Google and AI and search updates that matter most to small business and content creators that you can plan, protect, or promote yourself in.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Well, Maria, I appreciate it a lot. This is I'm excited to dig into this series even more um after this conversation. So um everybody, thank you for listening. And um, we're gonna be putting these links in the show notes so that you can um add Maria to your list of thought leaders that you're following when it comes to AI. See you on the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to using AI at work. Don't forget to subscribe for more conversations about how to use AI at work. And a special thank you to our sponsor, Chief AI Officer, for empowering businesses with AI education and training. Visit their website for a free AI readiness assessment and AI strategy guide to help you get started using AI at work. That's www.chiefaiofficer.com. Thanks to our producer, Evan Desalnier, for making this episode possible. Follow us on Twitter at the handle using AI at work and visit www.usingai at work.com for free resources to help you harness AI in your role.