Hands-on AI Corporate Evangelists Surface as Hot Commodity

A recent job posting for an AI evangelist at Adobe Enterprises LLC promises: “You will influence strategy across diverse industries and cultures, collaborating closely with product, marketing, and sales teams to deliver consistent and compelling narratives that resonate with Americas customers.”

Once in-vogue C-suite titles like chief diversity officer or chief sustainability officer have faded in the current political climate. But with companies scrambling to integrate and promote artificial intelligence, the AI evangelist position is showing up on more job boards and within companies.

Salesforce has a chief digital evangelist. Databricks has a pair of them with different roles. And Anthropic has advertised for an “Applied AI Claude Evangelist” who will focus on startups.

The role is evolving, but it often involves a mission apart from an operations-focused chief AI officer. The aim is not just to manage a company’s AI use but to find and integrate emerging tech that works best for each operation—and push for companywide acceptance of AI’s potential instead of worrying about its perils.

“There’s a lot of money to be made in figuring out who should you listen to in that market, where’s the money in that market?” said Zack Kass, a well-known speaker and AI consultant. “Becoming a voice of any new religion or any new technology or any new market presents financial upside. And they exist in many cases because there is an economic necessity to telling the stories.”

At its best, an AI evangelist helps people understand the potential of the technology. And just like with any transformative technology or social movement, there are those with questionable credentials eager to tout themselves.

“The most effective evangelists are the ones who do things with the technology. They’re doers, not just thinkers—but they are often, if not always, both,” said Kass, who previously worked at OpenAI as the head of its go-to-market team.

Job Changes

An AI evangelist might surface organically at some companies where an adept middle manager takes the reins on AI adoption until the role is formalized, said Camille Stewart Gloster, the CEO of CAS Strategies, a company that offers technology advice.

But more than three years after OpenAI’s ChatGPT burst on the scene, the job has changed from selling a vision of AI to detailing specific operational challenges and potential returns on investment. About 80% of CEOs expect that artificial intelligence will force changes in how companies do their work, an April Gartner survey found.

“If their job is to translate possibility into operational reality, they’re starting to realize just how much requires redesigning of processes from start to finish, not just bolting AI on,” said Gloster, who previously worked at the White House as deputy national cyber director.

AI evangelists are a bridge between the builders, the tech employees, the cybersecurity group, the leadership and different teams, she said.

And they are expected to go about their job as the top brass of a company deals with questions about job loss tied to AI use. “Leadership and HR, not AI evangelists, need to clearly explain how those shifts will affect roles, teams, career paths, and expectations across departments,” she said.

Pat Bodin, author of Paddle Forward: Teaming in the Age of AI, said knowing all aspects of AI isn’t feasible. “The biggest challenge is to stay current,” he said.

Bodin, who works as an AI evangelist at World Wide Technology, offered advice based on his own beliefs and not as a corporate spokesperson: “You have to stay connected to the industry more than probably any technology in the history of man, and you have to understand the customer’s needs.”

Power Users

For a mid-tier company, consider looking to an outside organization for candidates, said Jon Oltsik, a cybersecurity specialist.

“I would start with a service provider, one of the large system integrators or an IBM or maybe a HP or Dell who have that expertise in-house who have the vertical industry expertise and could at least start to make suggestions or where it would fit,” Oltsik said.

A company could also look at in-house talent and identify “power users” within their organization.

“I wouldn’t be looking for an AI evangelist. I’d be looking for a strategy leader who will find the evangelists that are already at your organization. Those individuals exist and are power users of those tools whether you know it or not,” said Casey Bleeker, CEO of SurePath AI.

Carnegie Mellon University offers a program called Managing AI systems for those who want to take a role promoting the technology. Rachel Dzombak, a professor of design and innovation at the university, said there were too many people who were guiding responsible AI but didn’t have the depth of knowledge. And those with a computer science background didn’t necessarily speak in a language that felt accessible, she said.

“The program has really been trying to add depth and credibility to folks who are in the AI evangelist role,” Dzombak said. “The challenge today is that the barrier to calling yourself an AI expert is functionally zero right now.”

AI Sloppiness

Just like with previous hot corporate roles encompassing ESG and DEI, the AI evangelist job is enticing people who might not be qualified for it.

A word salad of corporate buzzwords that appear to be written with the help of artificial intelligence is one giveaway. “I cannot believe there are people who are actively writing about the risk of AI slop who represent AI slop, who have regularly scheduled posts at 6 a.m.,” Kass, the AI consultant, said.

Dzombak cautioned against turning to AI advocates who aren’t able to do any critical thinking around it.

“Advocating for AI is great,” she said. “At the same time, you have to be able to back it up if you want to lead your organization to a new reality.”