Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders

Chris Daigle
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On "Using AI at Work", your host Chris Daigle and his expert guests help business leaders, executives, and teams who want to turn artificial intelligence into a real competitive advantage. Each episode shares real-world AI applications and AI transformation stories from companies successfully using AI in the workplace to improve productivity, decision-making, and operations. You’ll hear from Chief AI Officers, innovators, and forward-thinking executives who are putting generative AI at work, from AI productivity tools and AI-powered workflows to non-technical AI training and workplace AI adoption strategies. We cover: AI for business leaders – how executives use AI to lead change and drive ROIGenerative AI tools – practical, easy-to-implement solutions for teamsAI automation in business – streamline operations without massive tech budgetsExecutive AI education – upskilling leaders and managers for the AI eraReal-world AI case studies – lessons learned from successful AI implementationAI in operations management – optimizing processes and reducing costsEthical AI in business – navigating responsible and effective AI use Whether you’re exploring AI adoption, leading AI-powered transformation, or looking for AI implementation guides, this podcast delivers a clear, non-technical roadmap to succeed in the AI-driven economy. New episodes weekly. Start learning how to put AI to work in your business today.

  1. 11h ago

    114: Using AI Implementation Strategies To Drive Real Business Impact with Darren Ward

    Send us Fan Mail Buying AI licenses is easy; changing how work gets done is the real leadership challenge. In this episode Chris sits down with Darren Ward, a Chief Strategic Innovation Officer leading internal AI adoption at a mid-market operating company. Darren shares how he moved from operational leadership into a dedicated AI role and why successful transformation requires executive ownership, practical use cases, and a clear connection to business priorities. They discuss why pull-based adoption outperforms mandatory training, how power users create department-level momentum, and how a tiered stack of Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and an internal RAG interface can balance capability, cost, and data access. Darren also explains how policy, prompting fundamentals, human review, and approved tools reduce hallucination risk and shadow AI. Leaders should listen for a grounded playbook for moving from experimentation to measurable adoption without treating AI as another technology side project. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:05 Darren Ward’s Path From Operator to AI Leader 08:04 Why AI Needs Executive Ownership 11:34 Replacing Push Training With Power User Adoption 19:32 Finding Measurable AI Use Cases 25:24 Turning an Engineering Skeptic Into a Champion 29:06 Connecting AI Pilots to Strategic Objectives 31:12 Measuring Usage and Preventing Shadow AI 34:18 What to Do After Buying AI Licenses 37:50 Designing a Three-Tier AI Tool Stack 41:22 Private LLMs, RAG, and Internal Data 51:59 Start Small, Start Now Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About Darren Ward Darren Ward on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdarrenward 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: ChatGPT:  https://chatgpt.com/ Google Gemini:  https://gemini.google.com/ Claude:  https://claude.ai/ Claude Code:  https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code Microsoft Copilot:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot OpenAI API:  https://platform.openai.com/docs/ Anthropic API:  https://docs.anthropic.com/ Gemini API:  https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/

  2. Jul 20

    113: Using AI Agents for Business: From Chatbots to Autonomous Workflows with Bryan McAnulty

    Send us Fan Mail Summary The biggest shift in AI may be moving from asking questions to assigning work. In this episode Chris sits down with Bryan McAnulty, founder and product director of Heights Platform and LatchLoop, to explore why leaders should approach AI as a worker assigned to tasks and projects rather than a chatbot producing one-time answers. Bryan explains how long-running agents can conduct research, analyze information, automate recurring work, and support teams without constant human supervision. Chris and Bryan also unpack the operating model leaders need around context, permissions, approval gates, prompt injection, process ownership, and human judgment. Listen to learn how to begin with specialized agents, protect critical systems, and use expanded AI capacity to create better customer outcomes rather than simply reduce headcount. Chapters 00:00 Episode Trailer 02:11 Meet Brian McAnulty: From Creator Platforms to AI Agents 06:36 New Chat vs. New Task: A Fundamental Shift in AI 12:08 Three Ways to Work with AI Agents 17:23 How AI Agents Actually Work Behind the Scenes 24:16 Security & Guardrails: Keeping AI Agents Safe 29:51 Will AI Agents Replace Jobs? A Better Question to Ask 33:30 Owning Your Processes: Why It Matters in the AI Era 38:06 What Is an Agent Harness? Explained 39:38 How Soon Is Too Soon to Deploy AI Agents? 43:24 Closing the Implementation Gap: Getting Started with Agents 🔎 Find Out More About Bryan McAnulty Bryan McAnulty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmcanulty LatchLoop: https://www.latchloop.com/ Heights Platform: https://www.heightsplatform.com/ The Creator’s Adventure Podcast: https://www.heightsplatform.com/the-creators-adventure 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ ChatGPT Work: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001275/ OpenAI Codex: https://openai.com/codex/ OpenAI GPT-5.6: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001354-gpt-56-in-chatgpt Claude: https://claude.ai/ Claude Code: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code Claude Cowork: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-cowork Claude Tag: https://www.anthropic.com/news/introducing-claude-tag Google Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/ OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai/ Hermes Agent: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/ Model Context Protocol: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/ GitHub: https://github.com/

  3. Jul 13

    112: AI-Driven Leadership: Using the CRIT Framework Make Faster, Smarter Decisions with Geoff Woods

    Send us Fan Mail AI adoption stalls when leaders delegate the thinking. In this episode Chris sits down with Geoff Woods, bestselling author of The AI-Driven Leader and founder of AI Leadership, to explore why AI strategy must begin with the CEO and executive team. Geoff explains the difference between using AI for minor tasks and using it as a strategic thought partner for the decisions that shape enterprise value. They break down the CRIT framework, practical prompts for solving major business problems, a financial review exercise that created stronger operating visibility, and a leadership exercise designed to multiply the value of high-performing employees. Geoff also shares what changed in the updated 2026 edition of his book and how leaders can access its companion training and bonuses. Listen to learn how to move AI from scattered tool usage into a leadership discipline that improves judgment, alignment, and execution. Chapters:00:00 Introduction 03:23 From Executive Operator to AI-Driven Leader 07:12 Why AI Leadership Belongs to the CEO 10:10 Solving Strategic Problems With the CRIT Framework 15:48 Two Sticky Notes for Daily AI Adoption 17:01 The AI CFO Prompt and Financial Visibility 24:37 Scaling AI From Strategy to Company-Wide Execution 27:19 How AI Champions Drive Cultural Adoption 34:27 What Changed in the Updated Edition 37:58 The Executive Multiplier Exercise 43:16 Book Bonuses, Leadership Training, and the Team Accelerator 🔎 Find Out More About Geoff Woods:Geoff Woods Official Bio: https://www.aileadership.com/geoff-woods/ Geoff Woods on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-woods-8534774 Book: The AI-Driven Leader, updated 2026 edition: https://www.aileadership.com/book/ Bonus redemption page: https://www.aileadership.com/book/redeem AI Leadership: https://www.aileadership.com/ AI Leadership Newsletter: https://www.aileadership.com/newsletter The AI-Driven Leader Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2qSY9ZFTBJisoKp9eACbeb The AI-Driven Leader Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-driven-leader/id1723615439 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: The CRIT Prompt Framework CRIT stands for Context, Role, Interview, and Task. Context: Describe the problem in vivid detail. Role: “You are a world-class chief growth officer who is also an aggressive, growth-minded board member. You think strategically about the business that could put us out of business and how we could build it first. Focus on the 20% that drives 80% of the results.” Interview: “Interview me. Ask me one question at a time, up to three questions, to gain deeper context.” Task: “Give me the top three high-impact, non-obvious strategies I can deploy to solve this problem.” CRIT framework resource: https://www.aileadership.com/newsletter/crit-happens-the-viral-framework-transforming-how-leaders-think Financial Review CRIT Prompt Context: “Here are my financials for the last month.” Attach the relevant financial statements. Role: “You are a world-class CFO who is excellent at telling a CEO what they do not know, but should know, about their business based on their financials.” Interview: “Interview me. Ask me one question at a time, up to five questions, to gain deeper context.” Task: “Tell me the top five things I am not seeing that I should be seeing, and what I should do in the next 30 days to improve the financial health of my company.” Executive Multiplier Exercise Write a CRIT prompt that asks AI to help you identify your greatest strengths, including strengths you may not currently be using inside the business. Compare those strengths with the company’s goals and cast a vision for how you could bring 10 times to 100 times more value. Then identify: The high-value work to double down onWork that should stopWork AI can augment or automateWork that still requires a humanThe responsibilities, priorities, onboarding plan, and job description for the person who could take over the remaining workThis exercise is based on the leadership example Geoff shares during the episode. The Two-Sticky-Note Exercise Sticky note one: “How can AI help me do this?” Sticky note two: “Context, Role, Interview, Task.” Place both notes where you work and use them as a daily trigger to apply AI to meaningful strategic problems rather than only administrative tasks. ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ Claude https://claude.ai/ Microsoft Copilot https://copilot.microsoft.com/ Google Gemini https://gemini.google.com/ Claude Code https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code ElevenLabs https://elevenlabs.io/ AI Leadership Collective https://www.aileadership.com/collective/

  4. Jul 6

    111: Using AI in the Workplace for Smarter Hiring and Pay Decisions with Cary Sparrow

    Send us Fan Mail The labor market is moving faster than most leaders can see. In this episode Chris sits down with Cary Sparrow, founder and CEO of WageScape, to discuss how real time labor market intelligence is reshaping hiring, compensation, workforce planning, and the competition for talent. Cary explains why traditional labor market data often moves too slowly for executive decisions, how pay transparency is changing the talent market, and why AI literacy is becoming a practical requirement across roles. The conversation gives leaders a clear view of how AI is affecting both workforce strategy and individual career resilience, making this episode worth listening to for anyone responsible for hiring, talent, or organizational performance. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (03:50) From Submarine Officer to WageScape Founder (07:56) Why Traditional Labor Market Data Falls Short (11:38) Building a Global Labor Market Data Engine (14:53) How WageScape Uses Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT (17:37) Better Pay Decisions With Local Talent Intelligence (21:02) What Pay Transparency Really Means (25:57) AI Literacy Is Showing Up in Job Descriptions (30:55) What Hiring Teams Really Mean by AI Literacy (36:17) Where AI Creates Growth and Workforce Risk (43:07) Why Executives Need Strategic AI Fluency (49:38) Career Advice for Executives and Staff Leaders Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About Cary Sparrow: Cary Sparrow LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/carysparrow WageScape https://wagescape.com WageScape LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/wagescape-1  🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: WageScape https://wagescape.com/ (WageScape) Claude https://claude.com/ (Claude) Anthropic https://www.anthropic.com/ ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ OpenAI https://openai.com Google Gemini https://gemini.google.com Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/

  5. Jun 29

    110: AI in Education: Building Trust While Preparing Students for the Future with Jason Hill

    Send us Fan Mail AI in education is no longer a future debate, it is a leadership decision happening now. In this episode Chris talks with Jason Hill, Deputy Superintendent and CBO at Redlands Unified School District, about what AI adoption looks like inside a large K-12 school district with major operational, safety, instructional, and community considerations. Jason explains how Redlands approached staff AI access, parent concerns, student safety, AI use policies, and the importance of teaching AI literacy as a core readiness skill. He also shares practical lessons business leaders can apply immediately, including acceptable-use levels, human review, workflow automation, and the mindset shift from prompting to delegation. Listen to this episode to understand how responsible AI adoption happens when leaders balance speed, governance, trust, and real-world execution. Chapters 00:00 Episode Trailer 02:20 Meet Jason Hill: Leading AI Adoption in K-12 Education 05:41 Overcoming Fear: The Strategy to Flip the AI Switch 11:42 Navigating Parental Pushback and Teacher Concerns 17:05 The Core Argument: Preparing Students for the Future of Work 22:41 What Parents Should Ask Their School Districts About AI 23:49 Implementing Levels of AI Access for Different Age Groups 26:37 Safety First: Filtering and Monitoring AI Interactions 29:41 How Parents Can Get Involved in AI Policy Decisions 35:16 Real-World AI Application: Analyzing Complex Financial Reports 42:11 The Future of AI: From 'The Thing' to an Everyday Tool 47:06 Establishing Acceptable Use Policies in Business and Education Resources 🔎 Find Out More About Jason Hill Jason Hill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsn-hill Redlands Unified School District Business Services: https://www.redlandsusd.net/departments/business-services (redlandsusd.net) Redlands Unified School District: https://www.redlandsusd.net Jason Hill email: jason_hill@redlands.k12.ca.us 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Claude https://claude.ai Gamma https://gamma.app ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com OpenAI https://openai.com Anthropic https://www.anthropic.com Google Gemini for Education https://edu.google.com/products/google-workspace-for-education/gemini/ Circle https://circle.so Codex https://openai.com/index/introducing-codex/

  6. Jun 22

    109: Using AI Meeting Notes to Turn Conversations Into Business Outcomes with Artem Koren

    Send us Fan Mail AI adoption often succeeds or fails in the ordinary work leaders overlook. In this episode Chris sits down with Artem Koren, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Sembly AI, to discuss how organizations can turn everyday conversations into structured intelligence, clearer decisions, and measurable execution. Artem’s work focuses on agentic systems, professional workflows, and making AI useful, safe, and practical for teams.  Chris and Artem explore how AI-powered workflows can replace manual meeting admin, surface the work that matters, and help managers spend more time on strategy, judgment, and people. They also discuss responsible AI adoption, trust, and what executives need to understand before scaling AI across the organization. Leaders should listen for a grounded view of how to make AI adoption useful inside real operating teams. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (04:38) Starting Sembly AI Before the Market Was Ready (07:42) The Hard Technical Problems Behind AI Meeting Notes (10:48) Selling AI Meeting Assistants Before AI Was Mainstream (16:04) From Meeting Notes to Meeting Intelligence (23:04) Defining Meeting Intelligence for Business Outcomes (25:31) Turning Meeting Context Into Proactive Workflows (34:30) How to Evaluate AI Meeting Assistant Tools (37:30) The Shift Toward Agentic AI in Business Workflows (45:31) Creating Client Ready Business Materials With AI (49:53) Where to Learn More About Artem and Sembly AI  🔎 Find Out More About Artem Koren: Artem Koren Website https://www.artemkoren.com/ Artem Koren LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/akoren Sembly AI Website https://www.sembly.ai/ 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Sembly AI https://www.sembly.ai/ ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ Otter.ai https://otter.ai/ Gong https://www.gong.io/ Fireflies.ai https://fireflies.ai/ Granola https://www.granola.ai/ Recall.ai https://www.recall.ai/ Rev https://www.rev.com/ Speechmatics  https://www.speechmatics.com

  7. Jun 15

    108: Using AI Detection Tools to Fight AI Slop and Preserve Authenticity Online with Max Spero

    Send us Fan Mail The internet is filling up with content that looks real but may not be. In this episode Chris sits down with Max Spero, co-founder and CEO of Pangram Labs, an AI text detection company helping organizations distinguish human authored content from AI generated content. They explore how AI generated content is reshaping social media, recruiting, education, search, and business communication, and why trust is becoming a strategic business issue. Chris and Max discuss the rise of AI slop, the risks of outsourcing critical thinking, the role of detection and transparency in AI adoption, and how leaders can create policies that encourage responsible AI use without sacrificing productivity. If you want practical guidance on balancing AI efficiency with human authenticity, this episode will help you prepare for what comes next. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (04:18) AI Slop, Agents, and Executive Blind Spots (08:03) What Happens When Most of the Internet Is AI Generated? (09:26) The Business Cost of Inauthentic Content (12:11) LinkedIn, Social Media, and Detecting AI Replies (15:03) Pangram's Detection Platform and Chrome Extension (16:25) SEO, Content Automation, and Google's Response (18:20) AI, Education, and Critical Thinking Skills (23:23) Recruiting, Hiring, and AI Generated Applications (29:17) Watermarking, Detection, and Verification Strategies (31:06) Internal AI Policies and Workplace Transparency (34:56) How Content Platforms Use AI Detection (38:22) Preparing Students for an AI Driven Workforce (42:13) Three Trust Building Actions for Leaders (45:29) The Future of AI Detection and Digital Authenticity Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About Max Spero Max Spero LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxspero Pangram Labs https://www.pangram.com Pangram LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/pangramlabs/ (LinkedIn) Technical Report on the Pangram AI-Generated Text Classifier https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.14873 (arXiv) 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Pangram https://www.pangram.com Pangram Chrome Extension https://www.pangram.com ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com Claude https://claude.ai OpenAI https://openai.com Google Gemini https://gemini.google.com Ashby https://www.ashbyhq.com Quora https://www.quora.com Reality Defender https://www.realitydefender.com AirOps https://www.airops.com Apollo https://www.apollo.io OpenClaw https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw

  8. Jun 8

    107: Using Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to Win the AI Search Race with Cole Casperson

    Send us Fan Mail The way customers discover brands is changing faster than most companies realize. In this episode Chris sits down with Cole Casperson, Chief Data Officer and Partner at CrankTank, to explore how AI is transforming search, e-commerce, and customer discovery. Cole explains why traditional keyword-based SEO is giving way to AI retrieval systems that understand meaning, how large language models decide which brands get recommended, and why visibility in AI-generated answers is becoming a critical business advantage. They discuss the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), the shift from keywords to concepts, how Amazon's AI systems foreshadow what's happening across the web, and why CEOs, product teams, and marketers all need to understand AI-driven discovery. Whether you sell products, services, or enterprise solutions, this episode offers practical insight into how buyers are finding companies today and why leaders who adapt early will be better positioned to compete in the AI era. Chapters (00:00) Introduction (01:22) Meet Cole Casperson and CrankTank (04:16) The New Front Doors of the Internet (05:13) GEO, AEO, and the Evolution Beyond SEO (07:49) From Keywords to Meaning Based Search (12:03) How Google Search Is Adapting to AI (14:08) Will Advertising Influence AI Answers? (20:15) Why Early AI Optimization Matters (24:03) Understanding AI Retrieval and RAG Systems (39:21) Why CEOs Need to Understand AI Discovery (46:42) Does GEO Matter Beyond E-Commerce? (50:28) How Reach Measures AI Visibility 🔎 Find Out More About Cole Casperson: Cole Casperson LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cole-casperson-b62209a3  CrankTank https://www.cranktank.net REACH by CrankTank https://reach.cranktank.net  CrankTank LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cranktank 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com Claude https://claude.ai Google Gemini https://gemini.google.com Amazon Rufus https://www.amazon.com/rufus Amazon Alexa https://www.amazon.com/alexa Microsoft Bing https://www.bing.com Brave Search https://search.brave.com Google Merchant Center https://merchants.google.com Google Performance Max https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10724817 Meta Advantage+ https://www.facebook.com/business/advantage Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/retrieval-augmented-generation/

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About

On "Using AI at Work", your host Chris Daigle and his expert guests help business leaders, executives, and teams who want to turn artificial intelligence into a real competitive advantage. Each episode shares real-world AI applications and AI transformation stories from companies successfully using AI in the workplace to improve productivity, decision-making, and operations. You’ll hear from Chief AI Officers, innovators, and forward-thinking executives who are putting generative AI at work, from AI productivity tools and AI-powered workflows to non-technical AI training and workplace AI adoption strategies. We cover: AI for business leaders – how executives use AI to lead change and drive ROIGenerative AI tools – practical, easy-to-implement solutions for teamsAI automation in business – streamline operations without massive tech budgetsExecutive AI education – upskilling leaders and managers for the AI eraReal-world AI case studies – lessons learned from successful AI implementationAI in operations management – optimizing processes and reducing costsEthical AI in business – navigating responsible and effective AI use Whether you’re exploring AI adoption, leading AI-powered transformation, or looking for AI implementation guides, this podcast delivers a clear, non-technical roadmap to succeed in the AI-driven economy. New episodes weekly. Start learning how to put AI to work in your business today.

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