191 - How AI Stewards Turn Prompts Into Business Outcomes

AI is starting to feel less like a tool you click and more like a coworker you direct and that shift changes everything. We sit down with Evan J. Schwartz, CIO and Chief Innovation Officer at AMCS Group, to unpack what happens as companies move from classic UX to what he calls AX, the agentic experience. If you lived through the early internet era, you will recognize the pattern: the first wave adds new tech on top of old work, and the second wave rewires the work itself. We get specific about what leading an AI initiative actually looks like inside an enterprise: adopting AI across internal functions like HR and finance, building with AI inside product and engineering teams, and shipping enterprise-grade AI to customers in resource-intensive industries like waste, recycling, and sustainability. Evan explains why “AI knows your industry but knows nothing about your business,” and why context, governance, and real use cases matter more than flashy demos. The heart of the conversation is the emerging role of the AI steward. We break down how stewards orchestrate agents, provide the right data and knowledge to reduce hallucinations, set targets and guardrails, and focus human attention on exceptions and strategy. We also explore why LLMs may become the new Excel, how roles compress toward generalists, and why the real upgrade is shifting your identity from output to outcomes. If this sparks new ideas for your team, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more product and growth leaders can find it. What role in your org is most ready for AI stewardship?