Episode 8: Darren Ford from The CAI Company

In today's episode, we're meeting ⁠Darren Ford⁠, the Founder and Director of ⁠The CAI Company⁠. Darren and his team are amongst the most experienced Conversational AI experts around, having driven the strategies and implementations for some of the largest players around. Our discussion is wide-ranging. We start first with Darren's background and the origin story of ⁠The CAI Company⁠. Then we get into some key use cases, he talks about how consumer acceptance is really changing (for the positive) and he highlights some of the key requirements for any successful implementation -- namely, executive sponsorship and commitment, data-led decision making and the importance of talent development. Reach out to Darren ⁠at his company website⁠ or ⁠via his LinkedIn Profile⁠. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Conversational AI and CAI Company 02:47 Darren's Background and the Origin of CAI Company 04:10 Use Cases and Growth of Conversational AI 10:08 Consumer Acceptance and Chatbot Horror Stories 12:30 Generative AI and Executive Awareness 15:48 Talent Development in Conversational AI 18:44 Ethics in Conversational AI 20:59 Internal vs External Chatbots 23:46 Key Considerations for Executives in Conversational AI Keywords Conversational AI, CAI Company, chatbot, generative AI, voice technology, user experience, ethics, talent development, executive awareness, use cases