Event Recap

Please see below for a recap from the October 30th "AI in Action" workshop — part of the 2026 SPESA Executive Conference.

Click here to see everything you missed in San Antonio!

Workshop Session | AI in Action

Moderated by Michael McDonald, President, SPESA

On Friday, October 30th, SPESA President Michael McDonald led attendees in an “AI in Action” workshop. Attendees ranged from one-person businesses to global equipment manufacturers, discussing the AI tools they are currently using in their day-to-day activities, as well as their key challenges and goals related to implementing new tools.

The first piece of advice from the group was to start small with the tools you already have. Attendees reported real time savings on routine work: meeting minutes, email follow-up, contract and spec comparisons, data analysis, presentations and trade show prep.

“I go through 20 follow-ups, and if I focus, within an hour and a half all those emails are done,” said newly-elected SPESA Chairman Michael Rabin.

Martin Gopman of Universal Sewing Machine Company shared that he had AI review an unfavorable customer contract from the vendor’s point of view: “I renegotiated the contract, and it was very, very favorable to me at the end.”

The group agreed that results depend on how you use AI. Give it clear context and a role, push back when an answer is weak, and treat every output as a first draft. Verify the facts and math, keep confidential or controlled information out of it, and tell people when meetings are being recorded. You don’t need an IT department to get started; free courses like Anthropic Academy are a good first step.

Michael ended the session by breaking the attendees into small group and giving an assignment: pick one pain point, ask your AI tool how to solve it and who needs to be involved. The next assignment takes place once attendees go home: take the first step and begin implementing the plan that you created during the workshop.

Michael used his own AI tools to create a summary of what the workshop attendees shared so members who weren't in the room can put it to work. Click here to read the workshop takeaways.

SPESA included this interactive session in the 2026 SPESA Executive Conference to provide attendees an opportunity to step out of the classroom, network in a creative way, and take what they learn during conference discussions and put it to use and thought right away. If you have an idea for a future workshop, please let us know!

Click here to learn more about the SPESA Executive Conference.