Speaking Topics
Most commonly requested topic
Future-Proofing in the Age of AI
As AI systems are able to take on longer and longer tasks that humans were originally hired to do, knowledge workers must adapt to stay relevant. But there is also a missing piece to the puzzle. There are a wealth of things that AI is bad at: being original, critical thinking, having theory of mind and many others. Knowledge workers of today must learn this sharp difference and reorient their skills for this new age. Sharon Gai, who saw the power of Gen AI in 2018 change her team at Alibaba learned this lesson early. In this energising keynote, Sharon shows how individuals and teams can build the mindset, skills, and habits that keep them relevant and future-ready in an economy shaped by automation and intelligent tools
Takeaways:
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How to upgrade your mindset to stay relevant as AI reshapes every industry.
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Daily practices that build adaptability, resilience, and creative thinking.
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How to use AI to work smarter, not harder, so your value increases over time.
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What skills matter most in an AI-powered workplace and how to develop them.
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How to future-proof your career by embracing change instead of resisting it.
Why Sharon
Deep Expertise
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Unlike some speakers who simply report on the latest trends, Sharon has worked in the trenches in one of the largest ecommerce and AI companies in the world. She has built marketplaces, presented to Heads of State, and advised CEO's on digital strategies. She is regarded as an expert in her field, highly sought after by intelligence agencies, investment institutions, brands and retailers.
She has a talent for breaking down complex concepts in digital ecosystems into simple to understand and relatable language, enabling her audience to instantly connect with her material.
Industry-specific AI Keynotes
Agentic Commerce 2.0: When AI Becomes Your Newest Customer
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Consumers are no longer the only ones making purchase decisions; their AI agents are. In the new world of Agentic Commerce, autonomous systems discover, negotiate, and transact for us, reshaping every touchpoint between brand and buyer.
Sharon Gai, a former Alibaba executive and global commerce strategist, takes audiences deep into how agentic technologies are transforming retail as we know it. From product discovery to post-purchase loyalty, she shows how brands must evolve their storytelling, data models, and customer experience to stay visible and relevant when algorithms become the gatekeepers of choice.
Drawing parallels between China’s super-app ecosystems and Western AI-driven platforms, Sharon reveals what the future of shopping looks like — and what brands must do now to thrive in it.
Key Takeaways:
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Meet Your New Buyer: The AI Agent
Understand how autonomous agents interpret intent, filter products, and make purchase recommendations — often faster and more precisely than humans. -
The End of the Funnel as We Know It
See how the buyer journey collapses when agents shop on behalf of users, and how brands can influence decisions in a world without search. -
Data as Brand Language
Learn how to translate brand identity into machine-readable metadata so that AI agents “understand” your products, story, and values. -
Loyalty in an Algorithmic World
Explore how brand affinity and retention will shift when loyalty is driven by machine logic and contextual personalization. -
Practical Playbook for Readiness
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Structure product data for agentic visibility.
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Build agent-friendly APIs and discoverability layers.
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Use AI to co-pilot marketing and merchandising strategies.
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The Future Consumer: Navigating the Age of Hyper-Personalization, AI, and Invisible Payments
By 2030, AI won’t just enhance software—it will replace it. We’re entering an era where AI agents perform the tasks apps used to handle, embedding commerce, communication, and decision-making into everyday interfaces. Payments, once driven by manual input and app-based workflows, will become ambient—handled by AI that knows what you want, when you want it, and how you prefer to pay.
Sharon Gai, drawing on her experience at Alibaba where she witnessed software giving way to ecosystems powered by data and automation, takes audiences on a journey into this AI-first future. In this world, personalization is no longer a feature—it’s the interface. The consumer of tomorrow will expect seamless, ethical, and predictive engagement across every touchpoint, with payment logic embedded into LLMs, voice assistants, and smart devices.
But as AI eats software, it also creates new threats: opaque decision-making, AI-powered fraud, and the erosion of user control. Sharon unpacks the double-edged sword of invisible commerce—where trust must be rebuilt even as friction disappears. This keynote arms leaders with the insights needed to stay relevant in a world where apps are vanishing, and AI is the new operating system of consumer experience.
Session takeaways:
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· How AI is replacing traditional apps and becoming the new interface and how payments will become invisible, automatic, and embedded.
· Learn what the future consumer expects: speed, personalization, and zero friction.
· Identify the risks of AI-driven commerce, including fraud and loss of control.
· Prepare your business for a world where AI, not software, runs the experience.
From SEO to AEO: How Brands Get Discovered in the Age of AI Answers
Session Description
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Search is no longer just about links and keywords. Increasingly, customers are discovering brands through AI systems that generate answers, recommendations, and summaries on their behalf. If your brand is not structured for how AI reads, understands, and selects information, you may become invisible even if your website still ranks well.
In this session, Sharon Gai introduces Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), explaining how discovery is shifting from search engines to AI assistants. Drawing from real-world examples and her experience working at the intersection of commerce, technology, and AI, she shows how brands can position themselves to be cited, recommended, and trusted by AI systems.
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This session reframes digital presence for an AI-first world and helps leaders understand what must change now to stay discoverable tomorrow.
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Key Takeaways
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Why SEO alone is no longer sufficient in an AI-mediated discovery world
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What AEO and GEO mean in practical, business-friendly terms
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How AI systems decide which brands to mention, cite, or recommend
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The role of authority, structure, and clarity in AI-driven visibility
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How to future-proof your brand’s digital presence as AI adoption accelerates
Who This Session Is For
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Marketing and digital strategy leaders
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Brand, communications, and content teams
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Executives responsible for growth and visibility
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Organizations preparing for AI-driven customer journeys
Future of Work
The Red Pill or Blue Pill: Navigating the Dichotomy in AI
AI is no longer a futuristic concept reserved for science fiction movies. It's already here, and it's rapidly changing the way businesses operate, compete, and grow. From machine learning to natural language processing, AI is revolutionizing the way we work, transforming the very fabric of industries across the globe. In this keynote, we'll dive deep into the transformative effects of AI on business and explore the tremendous opportunities and challenges it presents. We will discover how businesses of all sizes can leverage AI to gain a competitive edge, streamline processes, automate tasks, and make data-driven decisions that drive growth and profitability. We will also unravel the intricate web of anxiety, social isolation, and job displacement that may arise from these technological advancements. You will leave this keynote with a new mindset, with insights and perspectives that will enable you to navigate the complex landscape of AI, make informed decisions, and position your organization for success in the future. Now the question is, will you take the red pill or blue pill?
Session takeaways:
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How companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia can shape our lives in the next decade
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Understand the difference between hype and reality when it comes to AI and its potential for business.
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AI’s impact on local communities and how to use it to develop local economies
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Learn about the skills and competencies needed to succeed in the age of AI, and how to cultivate them in yourself and your team
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Examine the potential negative consequences of AI on mental health, including increased anxiety, social isolation, and job displacement
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A new mindset to adopt to navigate new technologies that impact our economy
Leadership in an AI Age: Redefining Teams and the Future of Work
In the age of artificial intelligence, leadership is undergoing a seismic shift. Soon, when organizations request additional "headcount," they might be submitting that request to the IT department instead of HR. Why? Because AI agents—autonomous, intelligent digital coworkers—are becoming key players in the modern workforce.
In this forward-thinking keynote, we explore the future of work where AI agents integrate seamlessly with human teams, transforming the way we lead, collaborate, and scale. These agents are more than automation tools—they are strategic partners capable of decision-making, communication, and execution at speeds and scales never before possible.
Perfect for executives, HR leaders, and digital transformation strategists, this session delivers a powerful framework for AI-powered leadership, preparing you to manage hybrid teams of people and AI, rethink talent acquisition, and design adaptive organizations for a future that’s already unfolding.
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Key Takeaways:
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What AI agents are and how they're reshaping the workplace
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How to lead hybrid teams made up of both humans and intelligent AI systems
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Why "headcount" may evolve into "compute power" in tomorrow’s org charts
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Strategies for incorporating agents into workflows to drive productivity and innovation
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Leadership skills needed to thrive in an AI-first, automated business environment
Generalist or Specialist? Navigating the New Rules of Work in the Age of AI
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As AI reshapes work and creativity, where do humans fit in? Using the S-curve principle from biology and technology, this keynote helps audiences identify where they are in their personal growth: just starting, rapidly evolving, or ready for reinvention.
We’ll unpack how transformer models work—not as thinkers, but as prediction engines—and contrast them with deeply human traits: originality, adaptability, and the ability to learn how to learn. With real AI-generated art, films, and designs, we’ll explore: what can machines do—and what can they never replace?
And one big question looms: In the future, is it better to be a specialist or a generalist?
Key Takeaways:
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Pinpoint where you are on your own S-curve—and what that means for your career.
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Understand how AI thinks—and why creativity, intuition, and critical thinking still matter.
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Explore the human skills that machines can’t master: originality, adaptability, and systems thinking.
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Learn why the future favors not just experts or jacks-of-all-trades, but adaptive minds that can bridge both.
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Ecommerce and Retail
Advancing E-Commerce: Using AI and Automation to Revolutionize the Customer Experiencee
The rules of e-commerce are changing and being rewritten every day. To remain competitive, marketers must become “Culture Fluid” - more agile, innovative, and resistant to forces outside their control. Acclaimed speaker and author Sharon Gai discusses how AI and automation technology is revolutionizing e-commerce at every level from personalization and customer experience through improved customer service. Understanding these developments will allow marketers to thrive and remain competitive in an increasingly AI-driven retail landscape.
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Keynote Takeaways:
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Discover trends in AI that will improve customer experience and foster loyalty
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Learn about AI-driven tools, leading to cost savings and increased efficiency
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Explore frameworks for analyzing disruptive technologies in the retail industry
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Gain clarity and direction on immersive and interactive shopping experiences, setting businesses apart from competitors
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What brands can learn from ecommerce in China, the world’s largest consumer market
One in two retail transactions in China is done online making the Chinese ecommerce market the most advanced in the world. Livetreaming, social commerce, and virtual influencers are occurring on a daily basis in China. Naturally, local platforms such as Tmall, JD and now Tik Tok are changing the way consumers interact with brands online. Evolving from a sales channel, to a marketing channel and now to an entertainment channel, these ecommerce platforms have evolved how brands are discovering their consumers online. This keynote will go over some of the most recent trends to emerge from ecommerce in China.
Session takeaways:
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A deep understanding of the innovations coming out of Chinese technology companies and the impact they are having on the global market
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Frameworks to think about innovation
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Be able to analyze and evaluate the strategies and business models of these companies and to apply them to different situations and projects around the world.
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Check her availability
Sharon is available for virtual and in person presentations
