A live example of AI

At Sullivan, we initiated a competition to find new, innovative and readily implementable applications of AI to our business. And we offered a $5,000 award to the team with the best idea. I was wowed by the ingenuity. Congratulations to everyone who participated—especially the winning team members. 

In the spirit of exploring AI, a portion of this blog post was written using artificial intelligence. To do that, I fed ChatGPT information about the projects to inform the content and gave it samples of my writing to train it in my voice.  

But that wasn’t the end of AI’s role. If you came here through social media, the visual we used was also generated by AI. Sullivan’s creative team brainstormed some ideas and fed Midjourney a series of prompts to generate an image that captures the spirit of our AI competition and adheres to Sullivan’s brand guidelines. 

But as we all know, AI is only a tool, and it still requires skilled people to use it and guide it. So, we had to bring humans back into the process. The post it wrote wasn’t perfect; it needed a human editor. There were nuances in my voice that were off and points of accuracy that needed clarification or correction. The image it generated was a good start, but it needed some design team love.  

The entire process has given me the confidence to move forward enthusiastically, yet responsibly, as our company embraces these new tools in our arsenal.  

What we got from the AI competition, as described by ChatGPT: 

This year brought something new and exciting to Sullivan – our very first Fearless AI competition. It was an absolute delight to see our colleagues shine as they presented their innovative projects. From enhancing daily tasks to transforming client interactions, the breadth of ideas was truly inspiring. A big round of applause to everyone who stepped up and showcased their hard work. The projects had a significant impact on four key areas: 

• • Workflow Efficiency: It’s incredible to see how these smart solutions can simplify our daily routines. Now, we can have more time to dive deep into the things that really matter, like strategy and innovation.
  • Client Interaction: The improvements in how we connect with clients are just fantastic. Clearer, more effective communication means we’re building stronger relationships every day, which is essential in our digital-first world.
  • Creative Processes: Our creative team explored ways to help clients visualize creative concepts in the early stages of concepting, so teams can focus their time and energy on generating ideas rather than searching stock image libraries.
  • Data Management: Better data tools mean we can make smarter decisions faster. That means less time spent crunching numbers, and more time strategizing. 

I am thrilled by the creativity and innovative thinking this competition has sparked at Sullivan. But as we continue to add AI to our toolbox, we will have to navigate new issues such as prioritization of tool integration, changes to definitions of roles and responsibilities, and protecting the confidentiality of client information. As we learn to tackle these challenges, the dedication and ingenuity of our team suggests that this is just the beginning of an exciting and fruitful journey with AI.