alphalist.CTO Podcast - For CTOs and Technical Leaders

#126 - AI Transformation at Scale: Practical Adoption Across 150+ Engineers with Peter Gostev // Head of AI @ Moonpig

Jul 24, 2025

Peter Gostev, Head of AI at Moonpig, is a trailblazer in AI transformation within large engineering organizations. He discusses the challenges of bridging the gap between AI hype and real-world implementation, especially in a 600-person company. The conversation covers managing AI adoption among 150 engineers while emphasizing the need for effective communication and training. Peter delves into the realities of AI tool usage, the importance of collaboration, and crafting a three-pillar AI strategy that combines tools, automation, and experimentation.

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INSIGHT

Dual Nature of AI Hype

AI hype mixes overestimation of current capabilities with underestimation of future potential.
Massive growth in computing power will drive significant AI advancements soon.

ADVICE

Master AI Workflow Nuances

Develop intuition for AI tools by exploring subtle workflow changes and best practices.
Small details, like file naming, profoundly impact AI effectiveness and productivity.

INSIGHT

AI is Small Part of Projects

Most AI projects require primarily non-AI software engineering work, like integration and UI.
The AI contribution usually only constitutes 10-20% of total project effort.

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Navigating AI hype versus implementation reality in large engineering organizations

The AI transformation challenge isn't just technical—it's organizational. Peter Gostev, Head of AI at Moonpig, discusses building practical AI capabilities in a 600-person company while navigating the gap between AI hype and implementation reality.

From managing adoption across 150 software engineers to partnering with non-technical teams, Peter shares insights on driving meaningful AI transformation that goes beyond superficial tool usage. This conversation explores the contrast between industry claims of widespread AI adoption and the nuanced reality of implementing AI at scale.

TIMESTAMPS: [00:00:51] Introduction: Peter Gostev, Head of AI at Moonpig [00:03:49] First Computer Memory: Pentium 2 and the Golden Age of Learning [00:05:28] Career Evolution: From Gaming to Data Science and Machine Learning [00:07:01] AI Hype Cycle: Underestimating Future Potential While Overhyping Present [00:09:41] Agent Reality Check: Why Full Agentic Systems Are Harder Than Expected [00:13:51] The Decade of Agents: Learning from Autonomous Driving Timelines [00:15:09] Developer Tool Adoption: The Skill Gap in AI-Assisted Programming [00:18:40] Organizational Change: Teaching 150 Engineers New Workflows [00:20:51] Claude Code Success: Finding Product-Market Fit in CLI Tools [00:24:33] Context Management: Why Proper AI Usage Requires Intuition [00:26:07] Three-Pillar AI Strategy: Tools, Automation, and Experimentation [00:28:01] Team Structure: AI Engineers vs Data Scientists [00:30:10] Partnership Models: Building vs Enabling Other Teams [00:32:51] Adoption Management: Direct Collaboration vs Ambassador Networks [00:35:45] Prototype Power: One Evening of LLM Work vs Weeks of Traditional Development [00:38:02] Subject Matter Expertise: Custom GPTs for Non-Technical Users [00:42:45] Writing with AI: Research vs Synthesis and the Importance of Human Thinking [00:47:08] Tool Strategy: ChatGPT Rollout Without Internal Marketing [00:49:58] Adoption Reality: 400 Users But Still Only 5-10% of Potential Usage [01:02:06] Training Challenges: From Individual to National Level Education [01:05:10] Future of Development: What Changes and What Remains Human [01:08:24] Developer Productivity: Higher Ambition, Not Less Work [01:16:50] University Concerns: Are Students Prepared for AI-First Development? [01:18:47] Career Advice: Do Hard Technical Things Early While You Can

QUOTES:

• ""I think there's never really been more exciting time in my career versus now and every time we can we can just do more and more and more, which is just such a cool position to be in."" - Peter Gostev [00:06:39]

• ""I think people really underestimating where we are and or how much more there is to go… we are really just at the beginning of these investments starting to come through."" - Peter Gostev [00:07:01]

• ""On any given project, most of the work is actually non-AI work… most of it is integrations, scaffolding, deployment, UI, all of the things like that. And then the AI part of it is normally maybe 10, 20% of the actual work."" - Peter Gostev [00:28:01]