How One DMO Staff Member Can Drive AI Innovation
Credit: Visit Mesa
The following is a case study showing how one person can make a difference in an organization with AI when he or she has the space and freedom to do it.
Audry Brinkman, SHRM - CP is Director of People & Operations at Visit Mesa, and executive assistant for CEO Marc Garcia. Recently, she developed a couple custom GPTs that directly impact every staff person across the organization. Audry is also a member of Visit Mesa's internal "AI Avengers" task force that runs point on disseminating and distributing AI training for the team.
I think Audry's approach to AI, and how she's helping foster a shared environment for learning across her organization, is invaluable for our industry to hear.
For context, Visit Mesa is participating in the Matador/2050 City AI Roadmap for DMOs program, where we're working together to implement AI platforms and processes. Also, Visit Mesa just launched its new GuideGeek AI chat platform to optimize how it connects with visitors, industry partners and community stakeholders.
Next week, we're implementing the first in a series of new AI agents at Visit Mesa to help staff focus on more high value work and enhance overall quality of life at home and in the workplace by automating repetitive time-consuming tasks.
Greg Oates: Audry, what are your overall thoughts about AI at a high level?
Audry Brinkman: I see AI as a tool that helps me work smarter and faster, not something that replaces people. To me, it feels like having a second brain that can handle the heavy lifting—drafting, organizing, brainstorming, and structuring information—so I can move from idea to action more quickly. It doesn’t take away the human part of my role. If anything, it frees me up to be more human. I can spend more time thinking strategically, solving problems, and connecting with people instead of getting buried in busy work.
One of my personal goals this year was to be more efficient with my time. I work full time, and I have two kids at home, so I use AI both at work and in my personal life. It helps me plan my week, coordinate schedules, and organize what needs to be done, whether it’s for work, the kids or with my husband. For me, AI just makes everything easier. It gives me a little breathing room, which is something every working parent can appreciate.
GO: Are you using ChatGPT mostly, or a range of models?
AB: I primarily use ChatGPT. I haven’t explored other tools yet because this one has really become a good fit for me. It understands my style, and it helps me stay organized by identifying what tasks I need to prioritize. I’ve been trying to be more intentional with my time at work so I’m not mentally carrying it into the evening. Using ChatGPT helps me wrap things up during the day, which gives me more time to relax and be present with my kids.
GO: One of the things we've discussed internally at Visit Mesa is the Slack data suggesting we spend 41% of our time on menial tasks. But if we can use AI to cut down on that, like basically two days a week, that frees us up to focus on more important things. So that's what you mean when you said AI doesn’t make you less human; it makes you more human, right? AI is basically freeing you up to be more present when you want to?
AB: Yes. Since I’m in HR and I’m also Marc’s executive assistant, I'm doing a lot of different tasks but I also need to be present for the team. If I can get some of this busy work done quicker, then I can build connection with my teammates. They need someone to talk to, and I want to be that person they can come to. But if I’m too busy, it’s hard to build that connection. So I like to get these little things done more quickly so I can be here and have conversations with them and build connections, especially around problems they’re having. I want to be able to speak to them when they have an issue.
GO: When you say AI helps you get things done faster, that means everything—emails, making lists, scheduling, all the admin stuff?
AB: Yes, I use it every day. I rely on it for creating my to-do lists, and whenever I have an idea that I’m struggling to put into words, whether it’s for an email or something more involved, I can tell ChatGPT what I’m trying to say, and it captures it beautifully. It explains my thoughts clearly and saves me so much time compared to trying to type everything out on my own.
I also appreciate that it can adjust tone when I need something more neutral, more friendly, or less biased. Writing has never been my strongest skill, and using ChatGPT has genuinely helped me communicate more effectively.
GO: Where do you see other benefits with AI for you and Visit Mesa?
AB: I feel like we’ve really leaned into our AI training, and right now a lot of our focus is on organizational and operational efficiency. AI cuts down the time it takes to get a first draft done, which makes a huge difference. I use it to help write job descriptions, policies and even meeting minutes, and I plan to continue using it for those kinds of tasks.
AI has also been really helpful with staff development. For example, it helped me build training materials and create surveys, including our AI survey. I even use it for fun things like creating all-staff activity polls. When we did our CEO survey, it helped me brainstorm meaningful questions.
On the marketing side, I see AI making an impact with stronger data and insights, like understanding where visitors are coming from and where they stay. It’s becoming a really valuable tool across different parts of the organization.
GO: What concerns do you have about AI?
AB: My biggest concerns relate to people using AI without understanding how it works or verifying accuracy, and that some staff could feel intimidated or worried they’ll do it wrong. Our goal isn’t to limit AI but to teach staff to use it safely and confidently. I want to make sure teams understand—like through you, using your knowledge and skills—how to use it correctly. There are things I didn't know, like, if you press this button, you get all these options. If I didn’t have that training from you, I wouldn’t know. Verifying accuracy, knowing it’s not always 100%, is a big concern.
GO: I feel like there's still so many people I work with in various organizations who just don't like AI, it seems.
AB: I definitely see that too, but I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum. I really enjoy using AI, and I use it every day for both personal and work-related things. Even when I’m just curious about something, I’ll ask ChatGPT instead of Googling because I can get a clear, quick explanation.
I’m naturally a curious person. I like understanding how things work so AI fits that part of my personality really well. Whether it’s a random question or something I’m exploring for fun, it helps me learn and get information faster.
GO: Okay, so I was blown away how you created those two custom GPTs at Visit Mesa. One is to help with training the team on a new software, and the other is really cool in terms of how you're optimizing internal culture. We don’t have to get too specific, but can you walk us through your process?
AB: Sure. I’ve built two custom GPTs that solve real day-to-day needs for our team at Visit Mesa.
The first one is our SAP Concur Training GPT, which you saw earlier. We’re rolling out SAP Concur soon, and we know there will be a learning curve, so I created a custom GPT that contains only our Concur training materials. I pulled everything directly from the SAP Concur website, including manuals, guides and instructions, and uploaded them into the GPT. I also set clear boundaries so it only uses those materials and doesn’t pull information from anywhere else.
The idea is that when staff have questions, they don’t need to wait for Julie or me to be available. They can get answers right away, any time of day. Some questions are quick and simple, so this gives them 24/7 support while still allowing them to come to us when they need deeper help. It just saves everyone a lot of time.
GO: Right, I didn't think of the always-on availability. Nice work.
AB: The second one I created is the Visit Mesa Team Coach, which is more of a communication coach. Before our Fired Up! Culture workshop in September, everyone completed a Birkman assessment. I contacted the Fired Up team, gathered all the reports, and uploaded them into a custom GPT.
I wrote instructions so the GPT only uses the Birkman data, never assumes anything about a person, and only gives communication advice based on those results. We also have staff start each session by telling it, “Don’t assume who I am,” so it clears any old context.
Then staff can ask questions like:
“How does this person prefer to be communicated with?”
“How can I work well with this person?”
“If someone is set on an idea, how can I present an alternative?”
“How can I approach Marc or Julie about a new idea?”
Alison actually asked a great one: “If Marc is really set on an idea but I think we should take a different direction, how can I persuade him?” And the GPT gave thoughtful, helpful suggestions. It was really cool to see.
We rolled it out yesterday, and for a team our size, or even larger organizations, this kind of tool could really help reduce misunderstandings, support collaboration, and give people a safe, neutral place for communication coaching.
All the results were already shared openly during our Fired Up workshop, so nothing confidential is being revealed. Everything was reviewed together as a team, and this just puts it in an easy-to-use place so staff don’t have to dig through paperwork to figure out how to best communicate with someone. Now they can just ask the GPT.
GO: I was just talking with Destinations International and their content people yesterday. You should be on stage sharing this. What other use cases are you thinking about AI for?
AB: One of the next things on my mind is creating an HR-focused custom GPT for Visit Mesa using our handbook and policies. I think that could be really helpful for staff. But we’re in the middle of updating our handbook right now, so I want to wait until everything is current before I build anything. I don’t want to load outdated material.
Beyond that, I’m honestly still learning and exploring what’s possible. I don’t pretend to be an expert. A lot of the time, I’ll just ask ChatGPT, “What else could I be doing with this?” or “How can this help me in my role?” I’m constantly experimenting, asking questions, and using it to build my own knowledge base.
So I’m sure there’s more I can do with AI in my role, but because I’m still fairly new to it, I don’t even know the full range yet. I feel like there’s a lot of potential; I just haven’t uncovered all of it.
I’ve also used it for brainstorming and role-playing, which has been really helpful, and it’s not just me. Alison actually used AI to help prepare for a sales conversation. She role-played objections and practiced how to respond. So even beyond my role, it’s proving valuable in different parts of our organization.
GO: We're working with Diva now to develop some new agents for her, so that should open a whole new world up for you and everyone's AI journey. It's really exciting, but it also depends on your role too, right? There are so many AI use cases for data analysis, scenario modeling, marketing optimization, finance, legal, etc. It often depends what you're focused on that guides training, but also what people are curious about. Anything else you're imagining with AI moving forward?
AB: I’d really like to explore how I can incorporate AI into my work with our Board of Directors. I’m already using it for meeting minutes, and that alone has made a huge difference. I usually upload the meeting transcript and tell ChatGPT the tone and format I need, and then I go through and review for accuracy, especially names and motions. What used to take me over an hour now takes about 20 minutes. It saves a lot of time, and the minutes sound more polished and professional.
What’s funny is that Marc didn’t know I was using AI for the minutes at first. He knew we were using AI in general, but not specifically for that task. For about six months, he kept telling me, “These are perfect. No changes.” And I was like, “Yes… they are.” Eventually he asked, “Are you using ChatGPT for these?” and once I told him yes, he loved it.
It saves him time too because he reviews the minutes before I send them to our board chair. Now he doesn’t have to send edits back to me, and the whole process moves much faster. From there, it goes into our board platform, so efficiency really matters. AI has streamlined that workflow for both of us.
Going forward, I’d love to see what other board processes AI could support, whether it’s prepping briefing materials, helping with agenda planning, organizing documents, or creating summaries of long reports. I think there’s a lot of potential; I’m just starting to explore what that could look like.
GO: I love it! Let's talk about Plaud and Zeck after this, for boards. That’s a perfect segue. What do you want to tell CEOs at DMOs everywhere? What's your perspective on how they can better steward change management and AI adoption inside their organizations?
AB: I would tell them that staff want to use AI; they just want permission and a safe space to learn. AI has become a daily tool for me. It saves me time, especially when I'm trying to get thoughts out of my head and onto the page clearly, professionally and without bias. Instead of staring at something for an hour trying to figure out the perfect wording, ChatGPT gets me there in minutes. That’s the type of efficiency staff want, but people need support to feel confident experimenting. When leaders provide training, resources and encouragement, it changes everything. Staff need encouragement, investment, training, permission and recognition for small wins.
One thing I always recommend is tracking AI use internally. Each staff member on our team logs how they’re using AI every month. At the end of the year, we’ll be able to look back at everything we created, how often we used it, and most importantly, how much time it saved us.
I think that kind of transparency is really valuable. CEOs and leadership teams should understand that AI doesn’t replace staff. It empowers them. It allows people to work smarter, not harder. And when leadership actively supports AI adoption, it gives the team more confidence to experiment, be creative and innovate. That support really shapes the culture around AI in a positive way.
GO: I think this is invaluable. Anything else you want to say that you admire about how Marc has led our AI Roadmap project, and how we've been working together?
AB: One thing I really admire about Marc is how empowering he is as a leader. He’s not a micromanager at all. He lets each of us run our role like it’s our own little business, which builds so much trust and confidence. He’s always pushing us forward and encouraging us to explore new tools and ideas, especially with AI.
Marc truly embraces it. He wants us to use it every day, experiment with it, and see what else might help us work smarter. He’s genuinely invested in our success, and that level of support makes a huge difference. It creates an environment where we feel comfortable trying new things and bringing forward new ideas.