Dear Members,

One of the Top 3 questions we receive from CEOs/CXOs is, “…how can we insure that our AI partners can do what they say?”

Additionally, our 2024 AICX Survey™ indicated that maximizing ROI of capital investments is the CEO’s top priority for 2025-forward.  The honeymoon is over – boards are demanding returns from AI and there’s no turning back.  Getting “AI out of the lab and into production at Enterprise scale” has been the mission of The Institute since its inception. The AICX Institute’s mission is to guide global companies in the continuous challenge of optimizing performance of their end-to-end ecosystem – AI technologies, consultants & digital agencies.

AICX9000™ Certification ensures clients that their partners can do the job in the specific niche that they fill.  Certification provides vendor partners with the credibility they need to get a seat at the table.  The 21 attributes of an AICX9000 Certified partner are outlined below. Partners, within their area of expertise, need the ability to:

1) Support 10 Key AI Business Use Cases: technology or services meet the AICX Institute MET-A™ benchmark.  MET-A insures that AI solutions are business-driven vs. IT-driven.  Scroll down on this site for the MET-A Quadrant vendor scoring system or visit https://aicxinstitute.com/#meta.
2) Deliver an “AI Product”/Integration: ensure vendor AI tech integrates with existing marketing tools, data science, platforms. View solution from an “AI Product” viewpoint – strategy, data sources, AI algorithms, analytics and content are integrated to the appropriate degree given vendor scope.
3) Customer Focus: ensure AI tech prioritizes customer needs and preferences.
4) Leadership: establish clear leadership roles for overseeing AI marketing initiatives.
5) Engagement of People: involve all relevant stakeholders in the development and implementation of AI technologies & services.
6) Process Approach: define and manage processes to ensure consistent and predictable outcomes.
7) Improvement: continuously improve AI algorithms & personalization strategies, drive core client KPIs.
8) Evidence-Based Decision Making: use data and analytics to drive decisions.
9) Relationship Management: foster strong relationships with customers and partners.
10) Ethical AI Use: ensure AI is used ethically, respecting privacy and avoiding biases.
11) Transparency: maintain transparency in how AI systems make decisions and use data.
12) Data Security: implement robust data security measures to protect customer information.
13) Compliance: adhere to relevant laws and regulations regarding data use and AI across geographies.
14) Scalability: ensure AI engines and APIs can scale to handle increasing amounts of data and users.
15) Personalization Accuracy: continuously refine algorithms to improve the accuracy of personalization.
16) User Experience: focus on creating a seamless and engaging user experience.
17) Performance Metrics: define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for AI marketing efforts.
18) Training and Development: provide ongoing training for staff on AI technologies and best practices.
19) Customer Feedback: regularly collect and act on customer feedback to improve AI systems.
20) Innovation: encourage innovation in AI marketing strategies and technologies.
21) Sustainability: consider the environmental impact of AI technologies, strive for sustainable practices.

If you are a vendor seeking to establish credibility and differentiation for your brand, or a client needing to sleep well at night with vendor selection, contact us today.

Dennis DeGregor

https://www.linkedin.com/in/degregor/  (Direct Message)

or email: CEO@aicxinstitute.com

About the AICX Institute

In 2011, I was recruited by Meg Whitman, CEO of HP and past CEO at PayPal,  to develop the next generation of AI-driven CX & marketing Demand Center platforms. At the time, for customer-facing marketing, sales & service, AI was new and bleeding edge technology that was viewed with skepticism by the majority of the C-suite. By 2016, we had conceived, developed and launched the first AI-embedded omnichannel Demand Center platform for orchestrating the next generation digital customer experience. This effort gave rise to a whole portfolio of commercialized AI solutions currently in the global marketplace under the HPE brand – HPE Greenlake™ (https://www.hpe.com/us/en/greenlake.html).

At HP HQ in Silicon Valley, 3000 Hanover in Palo Alto, we developed what we affectionately called “the sharktank.” Partnering with Stanford University, The Sharktank became a recognized accelerator/incubator environment for the development of AI and data technologies – it would set the industry standard for how new AI technologies and startups would be evaluated both as partners and as candidates for venture capital funding. We knew that it was important to evaluate more than just functionality, as the management team, strategy, vision and funding are better predictors of staying power for AI vendors than software functionality. Our global clients at The Institute, the world’s biggest brands, have validated our approach. In the emerging art & science of AI, our clients want to be sure that the vendors they select as part of their AI ecosystem will stand the test of time, becoming leaders in their respective areas of competency.

In 2019, the work we did in the HP Lab led me to publish “HAILOs: Competing on AI in the Post-Google Era (Amazon),”  a futuristic look at how the “AI-driven Brand” leaders of the future will use AI in brand management, segmentation, offer targeting and content generation in the decades to come.

The AICX Institute™ was founded to develop the art & science of strategic AI ecosystems to the next level.
Our Advisory Board are Silicon Valley thought leaders, corporate execs, and notable pioneers and innovators in AI personalization tech.

In 2024  The Institute is taking AI “out of the lab and into production at Enterprise scale.”

The world’s biggest brands are counting on us.

Below are some selected thought papers that I have authored as potential thought starters for your AI personalization strategy…enjoy!