Webinar: Practical AI for Keys to Success

by Royce Sin

Date: September 12, 2025

Hosts: Christopher Wiebe & Royce Sin

Topic: Practical Keys to AI Success: Building Trust, Clarity, and Scalability in Small Businesses

The Big Picture: Why Most AI Projects Struggle

Royce Sin opened with a striking reminder: 95% of generative AI pilot projects fail, most commonly in areas like chat and customer support.

The main reasons for failure:
• Unclear Goals: Businesses often chase AI for the hype instead of solving a real problem
• Lack of Trust: Both employees and customers need transparency to believe in AI outputs
• Poor Data Quality: Without structured, reliable data, even the best AI fails

Christopher Wiebe compared these pitfalls to why most startups collapse: lack of clarity, trust, and foundation.

Defining Goals: Finding the Real “Why”

Royce shared the case of Aaron, a real estate agent. Aaron thought he needed AI for social media automation. After deeper questioning, his true goal surfaced: staying top-of-mind with clients for referrals.

Instead of broad social posts, AI-driven personalized emails tailored to client interests, such as luxury condos or pet-friendly housing, proved more effective. Fewer messages created higher engagement.

Key Quote: “Projects fail when you solve the symptom, not the problem.”

Building Trust in AI: From Black Box to Glass Box

Trust is the cornerstone of AI adoption.
• Transparency: Let clients know AI is being used for efficiency, not deception
• Authenticity: Avoid generic, repetitive AI content that damages brand reputation
• Review Process: Treat AI like a junior employee by allowing for oversight and approvals before sending outputs

Royce illustrated this with a Microsoft Forms and Power Automate workflow where data is collected visibly, steps are traceable, and users can see why the AI made each decision.

Deconstructing AI Tasks for Accuracy

Instead of giving AI broad, complex jobs, break them into smaller, specific steps:
• Step 1: Identify which clients are interested
• Step 2: Draft personalized emails
• Step 3: Route to user for review or send automatically

This segmentation reduces hallucinations and increases reliability while still saving significant time.

Data: The Foundation for AI Success

Royce emphasized that most businesses fail at data before they fail at AI.

• Many CRM systems sit empty because staff avoid manual entry
• AI can make data capture effortless by pulling information from meeting transcripts, emails, or WhatsApp messages
• Building a data-driven culture early prevents future scaling problems

Christopher highlighted how even simple wins, such as auto-capturing time cards or meeting notes, can transform small businesses.

Key Takeaways

  1. Start with Why: Nail the real goal before choosing tools

  2. Be Transparent: AI adoption grows with trust and authenticity

  3. Process Before Tech: Break tasks down and apply AI where it adds the most value

  4. Good Data = Good AI: Build systems where clean data happens naturally