From Pilot to Production: Unlocking AI Value Fast

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👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/739 

AI is reshaping enterprise tech, but success depends on more than tools, it requires clear use cases, strategic adoption, and continuous learning. Tina Van Heerden and Tomas Gold share hard-won insights from Microsoft’s internal AI programs and customer engagements, revealing what drives real transformation and what stalls it.

🎙️ What you’ll learn 

• How to move AI projects from pilot to production 
• Why clear use cases drive adoption and ROI 
• How to experiment with AI tools to boost productivity 
• What roles AI won’t replace and how to lean into them 
• How to build personal workflows with agents and automation 

✅ Highlights: 

• “A magic wand is just a stick if you don’t have a good spell.” 
• “Your biggest competitor is someone better at using AI.” 
• “Keeping up with change is now a core part of everyone’s job.” 
• “We realised it’s not an AI problem, it’s a Power Automate solution.” 
• “AI is very good at specific tasks, but not at trust or ethics.” 
• “The number one lesson: identify the value of your use case.” 
• “Experimenting with AI teaches you what not to automate.” 
• “We interviewed architects after 1000 customer conversations.” 
• “AI doesn’t care if it hurts you, it gives honest feedback.” 
• “The most adaptable to change will be the winners.” 
• “Speaking to Copilot instead of typing changed my workflow.” 
• “Customers get stuck in pilot land due to lack of planning.” 

🧰 Mentioned: 

• Adoption and dragons: The Alchemy of AI Adoption - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/adoption-dragons-alchemy-ai-tina-van-heerden-h4xue?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via
• Microsoft Copilot - https://copilot.microsoft.com/  
• Power Automate - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate/ 

✅ Keywords: 
copilot, ai adoption, power platform, automation, business process, microsoft, agents, experimentation, productivity, governance, enterprise tech, change management 

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

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Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith