Christopher P. Willis on Using AI to Create a Better User Experience with Better Content

In this episode, Frank and Andy speak to Christopher P. Willis about Using AI to Create a Better User Experience with Better Content.

Certainly, if you have ever you read instructions or product documentation that left you annoyed and confused, then you can appreciate the work he does with Acrolinx.

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Transcript

00:00:00 BAILey

Hello and welcome to data driven.

00:00:02 BAILey

In this episode Frank and Andy speak with Christopher Willis about how artificial intelligence can help bake brands create congruent content across cultures, languages and writers.

00:00:13 BAILey

One quick word of correction.

00:00:15 BAILey

Frank made the assumption that CPO was chief product Officer.

00:00:19 BAILey

Chris is actually Chief pipeline officer.

00:00:21 BAILey

In addition to being chief marketing Officer, Acrolinx currently does not have a chief product officer.

00:00:28 BAILey

Frank should know by now what happens when you assume anything.

00:00:32 BAILey

I'll have a chat with him later.

00:00:34 BAILey

For now, enjoy the show.

00:00:44 Frank

Hello and welcome to data driven, the podcast where we explore the emerging fields of data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

00:00:52 Frank

If you'd like to think of data as the new oil, then you can think of us like Car Talk because we focus on where the rubber meets the virtual road and with me on this epic road trip down the information.

00:01:04 Frank

Superhighway as always is Andy Leonard.

00:01:07 Frank

How's it going Andy?

00:01:08 Andy

Good Frank, how are you doing?

00:01:10 Frank

I'm doing great, I'm doing great.

00:01:11 Frank

It's a beautiful Tuesday morning here in the DC area.

00:01:14 Frank

We're recording this on September 28th and I can't believe it's already October.

00:01:22 Andy

Almost gosh, yeah, yeah.

00:01:23 Frank

Almost October.

00:01:25 Andy

It's it's been beautiful fall weather.

00:01:28 Andy

Past few days here in sunny Farmville, VA.

00:01:33 Andy

And I'm really enjoying that.

00:01:35 Andy

Got a lot of outdoors work done in the past few days and that's always a good thing.

00:01:40 Frank

Yeah, we just built the trampoline for the kids and that was a was a lot of fun.

00:01:46 Frank

'cause the.

00:01:46 Frank

Instructions were horrible.

00:01:50 Andy

Did you get one with that big net around it?

00:01:53 Andy

Keep from bouncing off and 'cause otherwise it should come with a coupon for a free cast.

00:01:58 Frank

Freecast and free healthcare that'd be funny.

00:02:00 Andy

Yes, yes, that's right, yeah.

00:02:03 Frank

Yeah, so without further ado I'd like to introduce we have this.

00:02:07 Frank

Awesome guest today.

00:02:08 Frank

We've been really lucking out on terms of folks coming to us and and suggesting guests for us, which is quite refreshing, actually.

00:02:17 Frank

So so today we have with us Christopher Willis, Acrolinx Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Product Officer.

00:02:25 Frank

Christopher is an expert in technology, marketing and brand alignment alignment with over 20 years of experience in with some of the world biggest tech names including Perfecto.

00:02:35 Frank

Kmag and Cambridge technology group.

00:02:39 Frank

And through his work at Acrolinx, he's become a renowned thought leader on the topics of content governance and brand alignment.

00:02:46 Frank

He's also an expert on AI and how AI can help.

00:02:50 Frank

Big brands can great create congruent content across cultures, language and writers.

00:02:56 Frank

Acrolinx creates tools for developing content that feels human, relatable, and compassionate.

00:03:01 Frank

It's already used by some of the biggest brands in the technology world today, so welcome to the show, Chris.

00:03:09 Christopher

Thank you, I'm excited about your trampoline.

00:03:12 Frank

Well, thank you.

00:03:12 Frank

Thank you.

00:03:13 Frank

You should come on down I.

00:03:14 Frank

I think you're on the East Coast somewhere in Boston.

00:03:17 Christopher

I am outside of Boston, yes?

00:03:18 Frank

Awesome cool cool you never know 'cause sometimes people will put where they used to live on LinkedIn and not update that so.

00:03:26 Christopher

Nope, haven't gone anywhere in what a year?

00:03:27 Christopher

And a.

00:03:27 Christopher

Half if not.

00:03:28 Frank

Right, right?

00:03:29 Christopher

A lot, not a lot of travel, yeah?

00:03:30 Frank

Year and a half in the two week lockdown.

00:03:35 Frank

Well, welcome to the show so so.

00:03:38 Frank

Tell me about what so, so you're a CMO and a CPO.

00:03:43 Frank

That's that's, uh.

00:03:45 Frank

That's an interesting mix I I can see how the two are related, but can you explain kind of like what it is you do for acrolinx and maybe a little bit about.

00:03:54 Christopher

So I do a bunch of things.

00:03:55 Christopher

I I I joined the company to run marketing and marketing has.

00:04:00 Christopher

A lot of.

00:04:00 Christopher

Reach in this organization because of what we do and who we sell to.

00:04:05 Christopher

So I reach into pipeline.

00:04:07 Christopher

I reach into the product process on product marketing in there and come from a background where this approach really resonates and makes a lot of sense and the way that we collect and build and use data is very aligned to the way that I've.

00:04:24 Christopher

I've built content in the past.

00:04:28 Frank

Interesting, interesting.

00:04:29 Frank

So the the product at acrolinx it it.

00:04:33 Frank

It uses AI to create content.

00:04:36 Frank

So, so like what does that do is?

00:04:38 Christopher

Different so we are.

00:04:38 Frank

It kind of NLP.

00:04:40 Christopher

We're improving content, so we're we're about being improving the quality and effectiveness of enterprise.

00:04:47 Christopher

Content so the easiest way to think about what we do is everybody that writes everybody that owns a content organization, whether that's in a development group with technical documentation or product manuals, or marketing content enablement content, internal education.

00:05:04 Christopher

All these folks have a whiteboard in their office and.

00:05:07 Christopher

On that whiteboard are all the components of language, the way that they want to create their content.

00:05:12 Christopher

It's the tone of voice.

00:05:13 Christopher

It's the clarity level education level of their of their readers.

00:05:17 Christopher

It's the amount of compassion, emotion, inclusiveness that they want in their contents.

00:05:22 Christopher

The words that they want to use and that they don't want.

00:05:24 Christopher

Use, it's all up there on the whiteboard.

00:05:26 Christopher

They feel good about it.

00:05:28 Christopher

They've defined essentially the voice of their group or their organization.

00:05:32 Christopher

The problem with that whiteboard is that it's in their office and nobody can see it, and even if they could, we don't have a writers pool in the world anymore.

00:05:40 Christopher

We're all writers when you go to work, a byproduct of your work...