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Are we creating AI solutions or just chasing problems? 🤔

It feels like everyone is jumping on the AI bandwagon. Heck, that is what this weeks Space Academy event is all about! But let's also acknowledge that many of us are sometimes simply looking for problems to fit the solutions we’ve created, rather than solving real issues... 😳

Research suggests that this year, 60% of companies investing in AI will abandon most of their projects due to inadequate foundations and guardrails. We're in an age of exploration, trying to optimize what we have, yet many are left with a closet of abandoned AI ideas (I know I have....).

In this CRO.CAFE Podcast episode, Juliana J. and I explore the current state of AI experimentation, the common challenges organizations encounter, and how to build a robust framework for successful AI deployment.

She will be MCing this weeks Space Academy event (organized by Experimentation Elite)

Discover how AI is transforming online experiences. Learn about the implications for industries and what it means for digital marketing strategies.

## About Sani
Sani is a well-recognized name in the field of web optimization, boasting over 15 years of experience. He is the host of the NoHacks podcast, where he delves into various topics surrounding web technologies and digital marketing. With a keen eye on the future, Sani is also one of the organizers of the Future of Experimentation conference, where he shares his expertise on AI and its applications in experimentation.

## The Shift from CRO to AXO
In our conversation, Sani highlighted a significant shift from Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) to what he refers to as AI-Driven Experience Optimization (AXO). This new paradigm emphasizes the importance of understanding that the next million visitors to your website may not be human. Instead, they could be AI systems designed to interact with your platform.  

## Key Takeaways
- Understanding the shift from CRO to AXO is essential for marketers today.  
- AI can significantly enhance personalization, automate interactions, and provide predictive insights.  
- Collaboration between AI and human resources is key to optimizing workflows and achieving better results.

## Links
* https://slobodanmanic.com/
* https://www.nohackspod.com/
* https://experimentationelite.com/

Summary
In this conversation, Jim Sterne discusses the evolving landscape of digital analytics and the impact of AI on customer relationships and the role of analysts. He emphasizes the importance of understanding context in AI interactions, the shift of analysts from report generators to certifiers of systems, and the need for new skills in a rapidly changing environment. The discussion also touches on the challenges of maintaining entry-level positions in the face of advancing technology and the necessity for analysts to become trusted advisors within their organizations.

Get your Space Academy tickets: https://experimentationelite.com/

00:00 Introduction to AI and Customer Relationships
08:29 The Role of Analysts in the Age of AI
13:11 Navigating the Future of Entry-Level Positions
17:59 The Transition of Skills in a Rapidly Changing Landscape

Links mentioned in the episode:
* Jim Sterne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimsterne/
* targeting.com: https://www.targeting.com/
* Coastal Intelligence: https://www.coastalintelligence.ai/
* The New Science of Customer Relationships: https://www.amazon.com/Science-Customer-Relationships-One-One/dp/1394319541
* Newsletter "Full Sterne Ahead": https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/full-sterne-ahead/

CRO.CAFE Podcast revival? 🤯 

In a mini-series preparing for the Experimentation Elite Space Academy event (May 6/7 in London, see https://experimentationelite.com/). I'm interviewing some of the speakers at the event, starting with Iqbal Ali.

Besides creating cartoons (https://iqbalacomics.com/tech-bro-tales/), Iqbal is consulting on and building with AI a lot, specifically with the AI text analysis tool Ressada (https://ressada.com/) and on May 6th he will run the workshop on using n8n and user small LLMs to make it fly.

He also pointed me to DSPy (https://dspy.ai/) and MCPo (https://github.com/open-webui/mcpo) two very usefull tools to increase the reliability of your AI workflows. Worth exploring if you're tired of prompt engineering 😅 

Iqbal will run the Space Academy workshop together with Slobodan Manić and they will cover:

 - Integrating AI into existing workflows without overcomplicating things

 - Building efficient pipelines that minimize errors

 - Practical experimentation with different models

 

If you're a CRO specialist, frontend developer or data professional looking to actually ship AI workflows, join the event! 

Registration is still available at https://experimentationelite.com/

Shownotes:
* Karen Hau empire of AI - https://karendhao.com/
* DSPy framework - https://dspy.ai/
* MCPo - https://github.com/open-webui/mcpo
* Tech Bro Tales - (https://iqbalacomics.com/tech-bro-tales/)
* Ressada: Unlock hidden insights from user feedback - https://ressada.com/
* Iqbal Ali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iqbalhussainali/

Next week, the Growth Marketing Summit event will take place in Frankfurt Germany, CRO.CAFE will be there with our own booth to record experts from the stage and audience. In this episode you'll get a short preview with the organisers of the event: André Morys and Julia Rumpf! Guest 1: Andre Morys URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/andre-morys | Guest 2: Julia Rumpf URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/julia-rumpf 

• (00:00) - Welcome Back to CRO.CAFE
• (00:20) - Upcoming Growth Marketing Summit
• (01:01) - Origins of the Conversion Summit
• (03:30) - Evolution of the Event's Name
• (11:21) - Importance of In-Person Networking
• (14:32) - Preparing for the Event
• (18:15) - Final Thoughts and Farewell

For this episode we have Shiva Manjunath from Speero dropping some (painful?) CRO truthbombs for the new year... Guest: Shiva Manjunath URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/shiva-manjunath 

Together with Matt we go through a variety of CRO agency topics, like how to educate your clients and how to hire for your team. Guest: Matt Scaysbrook URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/matt-scaysbrook 

Guest: Rishi Rawat URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/rishi-rawat 

Guest: Juliana Jackson URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/juliana-jackson 

Guest 1: Colin Crowell URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/colin-crowell | Guest 2: Manuel Da Costa URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/manuel-da-costa 

Guest: André Vieira URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/andre-vieira 

Guest: Eliza Mukherjee URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/eliza-mukherjee 

Guest 1: Craig Sullivan URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/craig-sullivan | Guest 2: Alun Lucas URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/alun-lucas 

Guest 1: Tim Stewart URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/tim-stewart | Guest 2: Karl Gilis URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/karl-gilis 

Guest 1: Arnout van Scherpenzeel URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/arnout-van-scherpenzeel | Guest 2: Annemarie Klaassen URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/annemarie-klaassen 

Guest 1: Els Aerts URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/els-aerts | Guest 2: Rianne van de Rijt URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/rianne-van-de-rijt 

Guest 1: Maaike Wittebrood URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/maaike-wittebrood | Guest 2: Robin Leenders URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/robin-leenders 

Guest 1: Simon Vreeman URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/simon-vreeman | Guest 2: Gerk Mulder URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/gerk-mulder 

Guest: Oscar Nogueras URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/oscar-nogueras 

Guest: Ricardo Tayar López URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/ricardo-tayar-lopez 

Guest: Rich Page URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/rich-page 

Guest: alexander-ivaniuk URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/alexander-ivaniuk 

Guest: Steen Rasmussen URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/steen-rasmussen 

Guest: Eden Bidani URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/eden-bidani 

Guest: Andrea Romano Velandia URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/andrea-romano-velandia 

Guest: Rishi Rawat URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/rishi-rawat 

Guest: Jeremy Horowitz URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/jeremy-horowitz 

Guest: Iqbal Ali URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/iqbal-ali 

Guest: Alex Muñoz URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/alex-munoz 

Guest: Aleksander Fabijan URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/aleksander-fabijan 

Abi Hough is an experienced QA specialist for online experiments and she'll show us the Top 10 reasons A/B tests fail... even before they go live. Guest: Abi Hough URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/abi-hough

Guest: Tawab Jabar URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/tawab-jabar 

Guest: Erwin Kerk URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/erwin-kerk 

Guest: Abbey Schoenberg URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/abbey-schoenberg 

Guest: Brian Cugelman URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/brian-cugelman

Guest: Eltine van der Veer - URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/eltine-van-der-veer

Guest: Chad Sanderson URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/chad-sanderson 

Guest: Tim Ash URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/tim-ash 

Guest: Merritt Aho URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/merritt-aho 

Guest: Derek Gleason URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/derek-gleason 

Exploring the earning potential for different kinds of CRO work. From agency CRO specialists to those that work clients-side to freelance CROs. I quite enjoyed answering this question because I've been in all three positions: I've worked at agencies, then moved to client side and then finally took the plunge into freelancing. I've come to find out that there are trade-offs for each. Your personality-type will be largely responsible for determining which scenario is best for you. For example: If you're the kind of person that wants something safe while working on a side-hustle then maybe working at an agency or company is best. Don't overthink it, try each scenario if you get the chance, as that's the best way of determining what's best for you. Once you do find what's best for you, it's smooth(er?) sailing from there. The 2019 State of Conversion Optimization Report by CXL: https://conversionxl.typeform.com/to/CIeV4Uuw Want to receive the 2020 survey results? Our podcast partner Convert.com and CXL teamed up to get the CRO industry report of 2020 updated again. How are we as a CRO industry are moving forward and in what aspects. Join this annual survey so we can all shortly enjoy the results: https://cxl.com/blog/2019-conversion-optimization-report/

Guest: Casandra Campbell URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/casandra-campbell 

Guest: Peep Laja URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/peep-laja 

Jonny Longden URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/jonny-longden 

Guest: Sumantha Shankaranarayana URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/sumantha-shankaranarayana 

Guest: Bas Wouters URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/bas-wouters

Guest: Emily Oliver URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/emily-oliver 

Guest: Dave Powell URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/dave-powell 

Guest: Ricardo Tayar López URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/ricardo-tayar-lopez 

Guest 1: Abi Hough URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/abi-hough | Guest 2: Craig Sullivan URL: https://www.cro.cafe/guest/craig-sullivan