The Intelligence Age

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Simon Hudson explores how organisations can build real AI capability by grounding Copilot and AI tools in strong information architecture, governance, and canonical knowledge. He discusses using SharePoint as the brain of the business, the limits of today’s agent hype, and why AI should be treated like essential infrastructure rather than a bolt-on. The conversation highlights practical patterns for reducing hallucinations, improving productivity, and using AI to support executive and ethical decision-making. 

🎙 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/806 

👉 What you’ll learn     

• How to use SharePoint and metadata to create a canonical source of truth for AI 
• Why good governance and information architecture are prerequisites for effective AI 
• Practical ways to reduce AI hallucinations through grounding and authoritative records 
• How role-based AI assistants differ from narrow task-based agents 
• Why AI adoption should be treated as core business infrastructure, not optional add-ons 

✅ Highlights     

• “If you haven’t got good governance and good information architecture, you cannot have good AI.” 
• “I came up with this concept using SharePoint to create the brain of the business.” 
• “It’s the authoritative record, and in it, it is fully human legible.” 
• “We’re really doing is creating virtual employees or virtual staff.” 
• “I don’t like the word agent. I think it’s too tech.” 
• “AI is more like electricity.” 
• “People think they’re using Copilot, but they’re not talking about the same thing.” 
• “Most organisations don’t really know what their ethical position is.” 
• “The AI is completely impartial. It goes, yeah, but you said.” 
• “That knowledge bank enables people to be much more productive.” 

🧰 Mentioned     

• Copilot Chat: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/overview 
• Copilot Studio: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio/ 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 
• Microsoft Ignite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s315Ms2nWr4&list=PLlrxD0HtieHi5KXOFyeMkZbq226jkxRzh  

✅ Keywords      
ai governance, microsoft copilot, sharepoint, information architecture, metadata, business productivity, ai agents, canonical data, digital workplace, executive decision making, ethics in ai, knowledge management 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
Sam Fankuchen shares how organisations can move beyond AI hype to build real capability. The discussion focuses on creating an AI-ready culture, using AI agents with human oversight, and adopting AI responsibly in regulated environments. Sam explains why transparency, ethics, and experimentation matter, and why delaying adoption carries its own risks. The conversation is grounded in practical experience, showing how AI can scale human impact while keeping people, trust, and quality of life at the centre. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/805

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• How to build an AI-ready culture without waiting for perfect certainty 
• Where AI agents deliver value beyond chatbots in day-to-day work 
• How human-in-the-loop design reduces risk while increasing speed 
• Ways regulated industries can innovate responsibly with AI 
• Why slow AI adoption can be more dangerous than thoughtful experimentation 

✅ Highlights 

• “We have more AI agents than we do employees.” 
• “Ethics means understanding where we are in the curve of possibilities.” 
• “We are not going to turn back the clock.” 
• “Companies that do not figure this out will not be around.” 
• “There is no such thing as total comfort with AI.” 
• “You need a safe place where people can share what they are learning.” 
• “AI is an extension of culture, but also something new.” 
• “Every minute that we wait diminishes value.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Microsoft Teams: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams 
• AI agents: https://cloud.google.com/discover/what-are-ai-agents 
• Sam’s powerful 9/11 story and what catalyzed his civic journey [06:18]: https://tobijohnson.com/167-keeping-civic-engagement-alive-despite-funding-cuts-with-sam-fankuchen/ 
• Nonprofit Leadership Podcast: https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/can-ai-enhance-rather-than-replace-empathy/

✅Keywords 
artificial intelligence, ai agents, ai culture, responsible ai, human in the loop, regulated industries, ai adoption, business transformation, ethics, productivity, collaboration, ai strategy 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 

Danny Burlage joins The MVP Show to explore why AI adoption in organisations is stalling and what actually moves it forward. The conversation moves beyond personal productivity to focus on AI as infrastructure, process transformation, and organisational capability. Danny shares what he sees in European enterprises, why Copilot adoption has lagged, and how companies can move from isolated pilots to real business impact by redesigning end to end processes and building AI literacy at scale.

🎙 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/804

👉 What you’ll learn     

• Why personal productivity gains rarely convince executives to invest in AI 
• How to reframe Copilot and AI as organisational infrastructure, not a tool 
• What separates AI proof of concepts that fail from those that reach production 
• How gamified training can accelerate AI and Copilot adoption 
• Where real AI value emerges through cross functional, end to end processes 

✅ Highlights     

• “We see adoption of end user or bring your own AI going through the roof” 
• “The whole Copilot experience when they hit the market was not that great” 
• “At this moment, if I compare ChatGPT towards a Copilot, Copilot is better” 
• “Nobody’s interested in saving half an hour per employee per day” 
• “They’re all interested in how can we improve organisational wide processes” 
• “AI has been seen as a nice bit of new tech rather than infrastructure” 
• “Most software developers are becoming prompt engineers on steroids” 
• “That’s where the actual proof of the pudding is” 
• “We’re slowly getting there but we’re not there yet” 

🧰 Mentioned     

• Microsoft Copilot: https://www.copilot.com/ 
• Microsoft Teams: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams  
• SharePoint: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/sharepoint/collaboration 
• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ 
• Azure AI Foundry: https://azure.microsoft.com/products/ai-foundry/ 
• Facilitator app in Microsoft Teams: https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoftteams/facilitator-teams 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅ Keywords      
ai adoption, microsoft copilot, enterprise ai, ai literacy, digital transformation, agentic ai, process automation, copilot training, ai governance, business processes, generative ai, productivity

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 

This episode explores how organisations can move from AI curiosity to real value using Microsoft Copilot and agents, drawing on practical insights from Yves Habersaat. The conversation focuses on adoption that starts where people already work, keeps early use cases simple, and scales only when the need is clear. It also covers real-world agent scenarios, model choice, and why low-code tools are often enough to deliver results quickly. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/803

🎙️ What you’ll learn     

• How to introduce Copilot in tools teams already use every day 
• Why Teams is often the fastest way to see AI value 
• When simple agents are enough and when custom builds make sense 
• How to approach agent design without overengineering 
• Why understanding the use case matters more than the tool choice 

🔴 Highlights     

• “A lot of customers want to try concretely what is AI.” 
• “They want to use AI in the day-to-day basis.” 
• “Teams is a really good entry point.” 
• “You can have concrete results without spending a lot of time.” 
• “Keep it simple at the beginning.” 
• “After, you add more complexity and more logic.” 
• “Copilot Studio has evolved a lot.” 
• “You need to understand the use case first.” 

🧰 Mentioned     

• Microsoft Copilot - https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
• Agent SDK (Microsoft 365 Agents SDK) -  https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/agents-sdk/ 
• Azure AI Foundry -  https://ai.azure.com/ 
• Azure -  https://azure.microsoft.com/ 
• ChatGPT -  https://chat.openai.com/ 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅ Keywords      
microsoft copilot, ai agents, copilot studio, microsoft teams, azure ai, agent sdk, ai adoption, prompting, enterprise ai, ai workflows, low code ai, applied ai 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
This episode reframes how leaders should approach generative AI, with insights from Justin Trombold. Instead of chasing use cases or tools, the focus is on fixing processes, incentives, and operating models. The conversation explores why many AI pilots fail, how ROI thinking can mislead, and why AI should be treated as a new way of working rather than a software upgrade. Practical examples show how small, disciplined changes can unlock productivity, innovation, and meaningful business impact without overinvesting or freezing in fear. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/802   

🎙️ What you’ll learn 

• How to identify AI opportunities by examining business processes, not tools 
• Why most AI pilots stall before delivering real value 
• How incentives and operating models determine AI ROI 
• When ROI metrics help and when they get in the way 
• How productivity gains can unlock business model innovation 

✅ Highlights 

• “Let’s not talk about use cases. Let’s talk about your processes.” 
• “If you don’t have to mow your lawn, why would you do it?” 
• “You’re just going to shift the bottleneck to another place.” 
• “There’s a very high level of maturity in the potential.” 
• “There’s generally a very low level of maturity in the willingness.” 
• “People are talking a lot about the drill.” 
• “Generative AI is transformation.” 
• “It’s a change in the way that you’re working.” 
• “AI gives people permission to innovate.” 

 🧰 Mentioned  

• Start your own value-creating GenAI Journey with our "rapid" diagnostic here: 
  Survey Page | AnteSyn Advisors - https://www.antesynadvisors.com/blank-3  
• "How to Flourish" with guest Daniel Coyle - EconTalk Podcast Archive - Econlib - https://www.econtalk.org/  
• Generative AI - https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/generative-ai 
• MIT study on AI ROI -  https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/28/1126693/finding-return-on-ai-investments-across-industries/  
• Proofs of concept (POCs) -  https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/proof-of-concept-definition 
• Design thinking viability and feasibility concepts https://www.uxdesigninstitute.com/blog/desirability-viability-and-feasibility/ 

✅Keywords 
generative ai, ai roi, operating model, business processes, productivity, innovation, incentives, ai pilots, digital transformation, leadership, applied ai, enterprise ai 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

AI enablement is a change problem, not a tech problem. In this episode, Molly Rupert-Sullivan breaks down how to support three groups at once: people who do not get AI yet, people who want to opt out, and champions who want more. You will hear practical ways to set expectations, avoid over‑teaching “all AI”, and build momentum by giving champions the right access, platforms, and repeatable wins that can scale across an organisation.

👉️ Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/801  

🎙️ What you’ll learn 

• Map AI adoption into segments and tailor support levels to each group. 
• Respond to “no thanks” with clear expectations and a path to re-engage.  
• Build champions by focusing on domain expertise, not technical depth.  
• Scale internal wins by giving champions access to enterprise tools and visibility.  
• Decide when to use personal AI tools versus enterprise copilots for data separation.  

 🔴Highlights 

• “My entire role is about AI enablement.”  
• “There’s such a spectrum of where people are.”  
• “I think that there will be a place for some people to opt out.”  
• “It will become very difficult for people not to use it because they will fall behind.”  
• “We don’t all need to be AI experts.”  
• “You’re already an expert in whatever your domain is.”  
• “Access is, a big one.”  
• “Showcasing those wins and successes, giving them platforms.”  
• “I use Pi on my phone a lot.”  
• “I don’t want answers tied to my corporate data.”  

🧰 Mentioned 

• Pi - https://pi.ai/ 
• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ 
• Change management: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management 
• MVP Summit:https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-US/Summit [mvp.microsoft.com] 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅Keywords 
ai enablement, ai adoption, change management, champions, resistance, opt out, productivity, enterprise access, copilot, chatgpt, professional services, agents 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM  

This episode tracks how Manbhawan Prasad and the Word team are evolving Copilot from simple prompt-based help to goal-based “agent mode” that can plan and edit documents directly. You will hear practical, enterprise-focused examples: using SharePoint knowledge as authoritative context, reducing blank-page inertia, mirroring customer language from emails and meeting transcripts, and using AI as an always-on reviewer for structure, clarity, and accuracy. 

👉️ Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/800

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• Shift from instruction prompts to goal-based document creation with “agent mode” in Word. 
• Build a SharePoint “knowledge vault” so Copilot can draft with authoritative business context.  
• Use retrieval (RAG-style grounding) to write specs and proposals from internal files, emails, chats, decks, and meetings.  
• Improve proposals by mirroring a customer’s terminology pulled from email threads and meeting transcripts.  
• Apply Copilot as a reviewer to spot gaps, inconsistencies, and missed requirements across long documents. 

✅ Highlights 

• “Creation and comprehension, that's all.” 
• “We are going beyond that and we are making it unable to solve your goal.”  
• “We are calling agent mode inside Word.”  
• “Most of the customers' data is in either Microsoft files or SharePoint, et cetera.”  
• “Use those as RAG in RAG model to kind of generate or even answer accurately.”  
• “First of all, inertia is gone because it gives you a starting point right away in seconds.”  
• It also sometimes brings information which you and I may not have thought of.”  
• “Do you see any gaps in my communication?”  
• “It can directly edit the document and it can directly, you know, create a document.”  
• “The interface for every app will become natural language.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Microsoft Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
• Microsoft Word: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/word 
• SharePoint: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/sharepoint/collaboration 
• PowerPoint: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/powerpoint 
• Visio: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/visio 

✅Keywords 
copilot, microsoft word, agent mode, generative ai, sharepoint, rag, chatgpt, proposal, rfp, natural language, microsoft editor, visio 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
This episode challenges goal-driven thinking in an AI-enabled world through a conversation with Radhika Dutt. The discussion explores why OKRs and vanity metrics often fail, especially when AI accelerates optimisation without understanding. The core insight is a shift from goal setting to puzzle setting. By framing problems clearly, staying in the discomfort, and learning through small experiments, teams can build products that create long-term value. Practical examples show how this mindset helped recover stalled growth, improve trust, and reduce churn while keeping humans central to AI-driven decisions. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/799   

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• Why AI makes weak metrics and OKRs more dangerous, not more effective 
• How to shift from goal setting to puzzle setting in product and AI work 
• A practical framework for defining problems before jumping to solutions 
• How to measure learning and narrative, not just numbers 
• How puzzle solving supports sustainable innovation and growth 

✅ Highlights 

• “We measured success by the logos of companies on our website.” 
• “Are we all just doomed to learn from trial and error?” 
• “Everything that we humans can do in terms of optimizing numbers, AI can do it even better.” 
• “What is the puzzle is the question we should have been asking.” 
• “The more intimacy was gamified, the more it created a toxic dating environment.” 
• “You kind of need to stay with the discomfort.” 
• “Don’t just spit out numbers at me.” 
• “They hated magic and they did not trust technology.” 
• “This approach was more like putting your ears on the tracks.” 
• “It is the biggest illusion that OKRs work.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Radical Product Thinking
  https://www.radicalproduct.com/  
• OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)
  https://www.atlassian.com/agile/agile-at-scale/okr
• Puzzle setting and puzzle solving framework
  https://www.radicalproduct.com/toolkit/ 
• Design thinking
  https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking  
• Toyota 5 Whys
  https://www.learnleansigma.com/guides/5-whys/  

✅Keywords 
artificial intelligence, ai innovation, okrs, product thinking, puzzle setting, metrics, innovation culture, design thinking, product strategy, ai metrics, business transformation, experimentation 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
Amelia Hernandez Osorio explores practical ways organisations can build lasting Copilot habits, strengthen internal communities and drive effective AI adoption. Amelia shares her journey through web technologies, SharePoint, cloud transformation and Microsoft 365 adoption, offering guidance on behaviour change, team enablement and identifying meaningful Copilot use cases that improve daily work. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/798 

🎙️What you’ll learn      

• How to help teams build sustainable Copilot habits 
• How internal communities strengthen adoption 
• How to identify high value Copilot use cases 
• How to support behavioural change during AI transformation 
• How to structure training and sponsorship for successful rollout 

✅ Highlights   

• “Take a step at a time really to use Copilot.” 
• “How can I translate this into my daily work.” 
• “The idea is really to help people to stick with Copilot.” 
• “It is hard to stay on track of all the changes.” 
• “This internal community is amazingly important.” 
• “Find use cases that can be improved with Copilot.” 
• “You have the perfect unit when you work with teams.” 
• “Look for executive sponsor, but real executive sponsor.” 
• “Try to work not only down to top but also top to down.” 
• “Help people really embrace the tools in ways that make sense for them.” 

🧰 Mentioned     

• Microsoft 365 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365 
• Microsoft Teams - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app 
• Copilot - https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
• Copilot Studio - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio/ 
• Dynamics 365 Customer Service - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/products/customer-service 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅ Keywords      
microsoft 365, copilot, adoption, teams, sharepoint, serviceNow, dynamics 365, training, community, cloud, automation, behaviour change

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
Craig Taylor shares practical, real‑world guidance on cybersecurity, AI risks, and behaviour change inside organisations. He explains why positive reinforcement outperforms punishment, how biases appear in AI systems, and why zero‑trust matters for companies of all sizes. The conversation offers pragmatic, people‑centred steps to strengthen cyber literacy, reduce insider risk, and navigate emerging threats such as deepfakes and social engineering. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/797   

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• How to strengthen cyber hygiene using behaviour‑based training 
• How AI bias emerges and why validation and critical thinking matter 
• How to reduce insider‑risk through access control and observation 
• How zero‑trust improves resilience beyond the legacy walled‑garden model 
• How to help staff recognise social engineering and emotional manipulation 

✅ Highlights 

• “We're using it to produce videos, to produce scripts for the videos, ideas” 
• “AI lies to you with very convincing falsehoods” 
• “Rewarded behaviours are repeated” 
• “Leaderboards… got leaders within companies to actually participate” 
• “It's not rocket science. It's a lot of common sense” 
• “Accidents happen and not malicious, not intentional, but boy can they have tragic consequences” 
• “We have to try in some way” 
• “The world is flat… our front doors are logically open to the world” 
• “If you ever get an e‑mail that makes you want to take an immediate action, pause” 
• “Anyone that wants a little free awareness training… cyberhoot.com slash individuals” 

 🧰 Mentioned 

• Main Website: https://cyberhoot.com/ 
• Individual Registration (Free Personal Training for Life): https://cyberhoot.com/individuals/ 
• Businesses & MSP Registration Signup: https://nest.cyberhoot.com/autopilot-signup/? 
• Newsletter Registration: https://cyberhoot.com/newsletters/ 
• Blog Articles: https://cyberhoot.com/blog/ 
• Cybrary (Library of 1000+ Cybersecurity Terms in non-technical language): https://cyberhoot.com/cybrary/ 

🎯 Special Podcast Offer: 

• 20% off CyberHoot for 1 year using the podcast’s unique coupon code: "AI Unfiltered" 

✅Keywords 
cybersecurity, ai bias, zero trust, social engineering, cyber literacy, behaviour change, phishing, deepfakes, access control, insider risk, data protection, training 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith