November 19, 2025

How ABM Industries Uses AI To Support 100,000 Frontline Workers

28 minutes

In this episode we talk about frontline work, safety, AI agents, employee experience, and the tech strategy behind keeping 100,000 workers informed, supported, and confident on the job. Trilok Manchanila from ABM breaks down how AI is changing everything from PTO visibility to multilingual policies to safety alerts that actually prevent incidents. This is real-world AI. Practical. High stakes. And already moving the needle.

We discussed:

Frontline employees need instant answers, not call-center delays.

ABM supports 100,000 workers who serve clients onsite every day.

AI agents remove friction by giving PTO, policy, and benefits info instantly.

Safety alerts are personalized and triggered by real-world conditions.

Standardization is the quiet power move. Every worker gets the same info, same time.

Multilingual capabilities eliminate translation delays and increase trust.

Retention improves when workers feel supported, not confused.

AI reduces ambiguity for workers who represent ABM inside client spaces.

Orchestrated AI agents provide the biggest value so far.

Choosing the wrong SI partner creates long-term mistrust and slows innovation.

Employee confidence and client satisfaction both improve with better guidance.

Safety is the next frontier where AI will rewrite the entire playbook.

This episode was recorded live at ⁠Oracle AI World 2025⁠ as part of a leadership series defining the world of work and AI

Chapters:

00:18 Live at Oracle AI World

00:32 Getting an MBA in AI this week

01:16 Technology and business strategy aligning in real time

02:17 AI evolution outpacing traditional adoption cycles

03:03 People are here to actually learn

04:02 Everyone is talking about AI, not the conference

05:00 Why people feel personally invested in AI problems

05:27 Trilok introduces himself and ABM

06:10 Aligning tech strategy with business strategy

06:35 How fast AI expectations are shifting

07:12 Choosing between LLMs, custom builds, and agents

07:54 Finding the right partner (and what happens if you pick wrong)

09:32 The failure modes companies overlook

10:24 Why mistrust ruins future innovation

11:12 How Oracle’s leadership builds confidence

12:48 ABM’s frontline workforce and mission

13:28 AI for safety guidance and situational alerts

14:26 2 percent of workers calling about PTO equals call-center chaos

15:05 Policy clarity and standardized answers across locations

16:18 How AI changes the employee-client conversation

17:57 Real numbers: retention is improving

18:54 Translation used to take weeks. Now it’s instant.

19:52 Why equality of information builds employee confidence

20:53 Early signs of frontline empowerment

22:12 Safety improvements and future opportunities

24:06 Where AI will drive the biggest gains in the next two years

Guest Info

Trilok Manchanila, VP Enterprise Architecture and Data, ABM Industries

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trilok-manchinila-54b3244/

Connect with us

William Tincup Linked://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/

Ryan Leary LinkedIn://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

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