Session Abstract

Today employees digitally collaborate with more people, more frequently, on more things and in more ways than ever before—and now, increasingly with AI systems as both tools and collaborators. This increased volume, velocity, variety, and integration of artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming the digital employee experience. We can no longer re-actively respond to collaboration needs with baseline enablement. We must pro-actively improve both human-to-human and human-to-AI collaboration experiences within our digital workplace or risk being left behind in the race for talent, competitive advantage, and better business outcomes. There are proven approaches and best practices that forward-thinking organizations are implementing today to integrate AI into collaborative workflows—not just as tools, but as active participants in the collaboration loop. Join Richard Harbridge, a Microsoft MVP and industry leading technology strategist, as he shares insight on how to better plan for, prepare for, and benefit from the future of AI-enhanced employee collaboration.

Note to event organizers

I have done this a few times over the years - recently at a collab con community event in Florida and it went over quite well. I enjoy it and with the title of the conference thought it would be nice to have more collaboration emphasized content in the docket (even if AI-ified).

Richard Harbridge

Richard Harbridge is a Principal Industry Advisor on Microsoft 365 and ShareGate as well as a long-standing Microsoft MVP. Renowned for simplifying the complex, Richard equips IT, executives, and business leaders with three essentials: clarity about Microsoft 365’s evolving capabilities, confidence in responsibly implementing and governing new technologies, and the connections that amplify success across partners, customer communities and Microsoft itself. Over the past decades he has: • Advised 200+ enterprises on Microsoft 365 strategy, AI governance and employee experience. • Delivered 450 + keynotes, workshops and conference sessions across five continents. • Empowered millions of employees with simpler, more secure Microsoft 365 experiences, while helping partners unlock $300+ million in new revenue. • Leads CIO think tanks and employee-experience forums while serving on research and community leadership councils shaping the future of work. Whether architecting AI rollouts, moderating executive roundtables, or writing practical frameworks, Richard’s focus is unwavering: turn technology potential into lasting business impact.