Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly newsletter. This week we talk about:
AI use isn’t without risk
What’s your corporate guidance
Assigning SMEs
Let’s get into it…
CSMs Will Already Be Using AI
Within your current team, I'm confident that as of today, each of them is playing around with AI tools and systems to improve their understanding and benefit from the efficiencies and insights they bring. This exploration is great; curiosity should always be encouraged in CS teams; however, some structure and oversight would benefit the department.
Curiosity Doesn't Come Without Risk
As the age-old saying goes, "a little bit of knowledge is dangerous". Whilst there are clear benefits to your teams exploring AI, there are also some very real dangers. For example, are CSMs uploading commercially sensitive data into chatbots? And what happens if an automated workflow sends incorrect information to a valued customer? These things happen, just like these 12 famous AI disasters, as highlighted in CIO.com.
But that wouldn't happen in your team, though, right?
Check Your Corporate Guidelines
There's a good chance that your business has already issued guidelines in relation to acceptable AI use. The company will already have set guidance on what LLMs you can use and what information you can submit to them. Ensure you understand these restrictions clearly and that your CSMs are also clear on what they can and cannot do. If individuals are personally paying for AI platforms, asses the business case to see if these can (and really should be) paid for by the company. Again, there might already be corporate guidance you should be following in this area.
AI use is best when used openly so that others can learn
Assign Subject Matter Experts
To ensure that everyone feels supported to learn AI, but with a level of oversight, it can be very beneficial to create Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) within the boundaries of your corporate AI guidance.
Speak with your CSMs and have a candid conversation about what AI tools they are currently using and the problems they solve.
Create a quick survey to measure their awareness of AI in terms of its advantages and risks.
Assign those who pass a specific project and make them an SME.
Ask them to document their research and build a best practices document, with an FAQ and how-tos.
Have them present this to the rest of the CS team.
Ask them to stay on top of developments in their area and keep documents, etc, up to date.
And That's Just the Start
You can also begin to build upon this in team meetings. For instance, each week you can appoint one person to go away and research a new AI tool and present the pros and cons for the team. Or have them think about a new AI use case. There are many options to explore here.
If you do set up SMEs, we'd love to hear what projects you assign and what tools they are using, so let us know how you get on.
And that’s it for this edition. See you again next week!
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