How to Create AI Champions with an Innovative Adoption Program
Shipping AI features doesn't mean adoption. Announcements, webinars, and help docs aren't enough to change how your customers work.
When customers stagnate on old workflows while your product evolves, you lose stickiness, expansion opportunities, and eventually the customer. The gap between "we shipped it" and "they adopted it" is where CS leaders need to get creative.
Mikayla LaRosa designed a structured cohort program at Airtable that turned users across 40 companies into hands-on AI builders in just four weeks. No engineering support needed. Participants went from "AI curious" to deploying real solutions, driving a 5x increase in AI usage compared to similar users. More importantly, they became product champions deeply embedded in the platform's evolving capabilities.
Join Mikayla LaRosa and Jan Young (StepUpXchange) to see:
Why traditional enablement falls short for major workflow shifts
What they built: The program structure, milestones, and support model that went from idea to real deployed AI-powered app in 4 weeks.
How they did it: The program architecture that made this possible, including the selection process, weekly cadence, expert-led sessions, and progression-based accountability that kept builders on track
The results: Significant increases in AI adoption and engagement (5x increase in AI usage compared to similar users), and a portfolio of deployed AI-enhanced apps solving real operational challenges across healthcare, energy, entertainment, nonprofit, and tech.
If you're a CS leader thinking about how to drive real adoption of your product's AI capabilities, this session gives you a model worth adapting.
We'll have breakout discussions so you can brainstorm how something like this could work for your product and your customers.
Guest Speaker:
Mikayla LaRosa transforms AI overwhelm into competitive advantage for companies of all sizes. As an AI educator and strategist at Airtable, she designs adoption programs that meet teams where they are, equipping customers to solve real problems with AI at scale. As one of Airtable's early employees, she's spent the last eight years in the customer experience trenches, hosting 100+ educational programs and leading consultative engagements.
Mikayla also drives internal AI enablement across Airtable's organization, upskilling teams on best practices and building organizational muscle around AI. As a non-technical builder herself, she designs AI education for accessibility and immediate impact, not technical perfection. Her work proves that the path to AI adoption isn't through top-down mandates, it's through empowering business champions.
Host & Speaker:
Jan Young transforms CS leaders into business leaders in the age of AI. Founder of JanYoungCX and StepUpXchange, she also leads CxXchange, a global peer community. An award-winning leader and former VP for two exited startups, Jan has coached CS leaders and founders since 2016 to grow customer revenue and align go-to-market execution. With experience across Product, Marketing, Sales, and CS, her cross-disciplinary approach drives profitable, customer-led growth.
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