🚀 Webinar Recap: From the Office to the Field: How Consumers Energy Wins with an AI-Powered Workforce

Huge thanks to everyone who joined our session with Consumers Energy! Their team shared a behind-the-scenes look at how they’re scaling AI across the organization, from field operations to HR, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.

Here’s your quick recap with key takeaways 👇

🔧 What Helped Them Scale AI

1. Strong process foundations

• Built a storm-support manual for volunteer responders
• Created an internal acronym library to reduce confusion
• Decommissioned legacy phones and streamlined device replacement, saving nearly 2,000 hours per year
   

2. Clear, consistent communication

• A dedicated change enablement team drives adoption
• Ongoing reminder comms keep users engaged
• Weekly VP-level updates reinforce leadership support
• Key stakeholders are always plugged in throughout the journey
   

⚡ How CEVA (their AI Assistant) Supports Electric & Gas Teams

Safety first — and the results show it.
Field teams now have fast access to critical processes, procedures, and compliance information, helping them maintain zero safety incidents.

Why it works:

• Designed around mission-critical needs
• Field workers adopted it faster than expected because it spoke directly to their workflows
• Extensive early testing ensured CEVA worked reliably in real-world conditions
   

🔍 How They Decide What to Build Next

Consumers Energy uses a “stay curious” approach:

• Broad statewide comms to gather feedback
• Constantly asking: Are we helping or creating noise?
• Prioritizing ease of use and keeping people inside CEVA
• Leveraging tools like QuickGPT and Brief Me to accelerate innovation
   

🧭 What’s Next for Agent Studio

The team is excited about expanding into:

• Incident management
• SAM Pro SKUs — reviewing by category to standardize software
• Instant access to insights without building complex reports
   

💰 The ROI So Far

Their transformation is already paying off:

• Service desk contacts reduced from 9,500/month → 2,700/month
• Roughly $1.1M in annual savings
• HR teams now use CEVA to help employees find common info and forms
• Next up: partnering with supply chain to streamline even more workflows
   

If you missed the session, keep an eye out — we’ll share the recording soon!
 

Have your own insight, tip, or story about scaling AI? Share it with the community!