Podcast Summary

Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders

Episode 61: Using AI for Seamless Workplace Booking with Khurram Sheikh
Host: Chris Daigle
Guest: Khurram Sheikh, CEO & Founder of Sky CX AI
Date: July 14, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the evolving landscape of hybrid work and how artificial intelligence is being applied to optimize employee experience within the modern workplace. Host Chris Daigle interviews Khurram Sheikh, CEO and Founder of Sky CX AI, about his journey through tech revolutions and the creation of Sky—a platform designed to seamlessly connect people, places, and processes in large enterprises. They discuss the pain points of traditional space booking and logistics, how AI transforms workplace operations, and why individualized employee experiences are foundational—not just ancillary—to successful AI adoption.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Khurram Sheikh’s Background and Vision for Sky CX AI

• Transformation through Tech: Khurram highlights his 30-year tech journey through major revolutions (internet, wireless broadband, mobile, Wi-Fi, cloud), positioning AI as the next frontier.
  • Memorable Moment: “My journey is all about transformation... now I believe it's the transformation with AI.” (01:19)
• Genesis of Sky: Sky CX AI was founded to address post-pandemic hybrid work, focusing on making employee experiences seamless and engaging for both in-office and remote workers.
  • “It's about employee experiences... It's about coming to the office and collaborating, engaging.” (02:36)

Problems with Traditional Booking and the Hybrid Work Challenge

• Workplace Frustrations: Employees face logistical nightmares—fighting for desks, double bookings, lack of check-ins, and massive inefficiency. The traditional systems are manual, confusing, and don’t adapt to changing work patterns.
  • Example: Employees in congested offices (e.g., Warner Bros. Singapore) must compete for limited desk space, leading to midnight bookings and wasted resources when people don’t show up (06:05).
  • Quote: “People wake up at midnight two weeks in advance to book a desk... and then they don’t show up.” (06:24)
• Different Environments, Universal Pain: Use cases vary globally (e.g., sprawling US campuses vs. high-demand international towers), but the need for agility and visibility is universal.
• Pre-AI Inefficiency: Manual processes result in wasted time, employee frustration, and inefficient space utilization—worsening the employer's ROI on real estate and reducing engagement.
  • Quote: “If it’s taking you 30 minutes to schedule an hour meeting, that’s a lot of wasted time.” (11:18)

How AI Changes the Workplace Experience

• Automation & Agentic AI: Sky integrates AI to automate booking, wayfinding, food ordering, and more using natural language and contextual awareness.
  • “You wake up in the morning, you say, Sky, get me my desk, my locker, my parking spot, and I need a meeting with Chris...” (11:50)
• Spatial & Social Awareness: The app provides real-time, spatially aware news, notifications, and the ability to see where colleagues are sitting, making it easy to coordinate in-person collaboration.
• AI as a Trusted Advisor: The platform acts as more than an executive assistant—it’s a ‘trusted advisor’ that leverages user preferences, history, and company data to prompt smarter actions.
  • “If your trusted advisor Sky said, ‘Hey Chris, you forgot about that person...’” (14:16)

Cultural and Human Dimensions

• Employee-Centric Design: Technology is positioned as an enabler to enhance employee well-being, engagement, and belonging—not mere corporate surveillance or cost-saving.
  • “At the core of this is the experience of the individual employee, not necessarily the big corporation.” – Chris (19:20)
• Creating Connection: Even in global or remote teams, Sky aims to replicate the “water cooler” moments and foster communities.
  • “We are also creating that network effect, right?... In the palm of your hand, you have access to all 60,000 [colleagues].” (20:04)
• Communities & Localization: The app is rebranded in each company’s DNA (e.g., “Adobe Life”), including localized content, languages, and processes.
  • “Localization is not just language, it's also things that they would like to know and do in their campuses.” (36:58)

Impact on Workforce and Job Roles

• Workforce Transformation: AI adoption does reduce the need for certain administrative roles (e.g., front desk assistants), but simultaneously upskills employees and creates new opportunities.
  • “We’re in a different dimension... The future is an AI-enabled enterprise. If you’re not using AI, you’re going to be left behind...” (21:58)
• Sky Kiosk: Touchscreen kiosks in offices replace traditional front desks, providing self-service and AI-driven information for employees and visitors (23:57).

Adoption, Training, and Change Management

• C-level Engagement: Implementation usually starts as an ROI and optimization discussion at the C-suite, then broadens to employee engagement and change management.
• Bite-Sized AI: Sky delivers AI experiences that “just work” for employees without being intimidating or overly technical.
  • “The experience isn’t like, oh, I’m having an AI experience. They’re seeing a tool that helps them in their day to day...” – Chris (34:38)
• Training and Local Rollouts: Customer success teams provide both global and site-specific, localized training for adoption (35:37).

Security, Privacy, and Trust

• Enterprise-grade Security: Focus on data privacy, pen testing, and compliance, especially in regulated industries—AI operates on company-specific data, not external datasets.
  • “When our app goes out, it has to be pen tested. Security is high...” (32:02)
• No Hallucination AI: Interactions are restricted to enterprise data, ensuring accuracy and preventing irrelevant or incorrect outputs (50:14).

Measuring Impact: Analytics and ROI

• SkyView Analytics: Powerful, real-time analytics deliver actionable insights into space usage, engagement, and RTO trends, enabling both operational efficiency and employee satisfaction.
  • “Desk bookings were higher than room bookings... which desks are higher? Why are they higher at that time?” (51:54)
• Predictive Analytics: Enables leaders to forecast trends, manage change, and improve policies.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Transformation is in my DNA... I was part of the mobile revolution, part of the Wi-Fi revolution, part of the cloud... now it’s the big transformation with AI.” – Khurram (01:19)
• “The pandemic changed the way people work... For that, we felt there needed to be an application to connect the dots between employee, experience, and place.” – Khurram (01:54)
• “If your trusted advisor Sky said, ‘Hey Chris, you forgot about that person...’ That feels like magic.” – Chris & Khurram (14:15)
• “Our mission is to enable, ensure it’s available to them all the time. Once you get started using it, you’re not going to lose it.” – Khurram (18:39)
• “We are creating that network effect... You may be in a company with 60,000 people. In the palm of your hand, you have access to all.” – Khurram (20:04)
• “The CEOs that get it... are engaging the employees in the discussion. They want to know what are you doing, why you’re doing, what’s working.” – Khurram (27:00)
• “If it saved you five minutes, but also saved 60,000 other people five minutes today... incredible.” – Chris (51:13)

Demo Highlights & Key Features (with Timestamps)

Sky App Workplace Assistant (from 45:13)

• UI Walkthrough: Clean interface with actionable tiles; 3D maps for wayfinding.
• Natural Language Agentic Booking:
  • “Hey Sky, I have an unexpected client drop-in with at least 3 guests in 10 minutes, need a meeting room nearby.”
  • App uses conversational AI to book a nearby room, suggest food options, give directions, and update calendars (45:41).
• Contextual Understanding: Handles accents, ambiguous phrasing, and personalizes recommendations.
• Multi-Agent Execution: Booking, navigation, and catering happen via a single prompt in under one minute (48:00).

Event Management Use Case (from 48:50)

• “Set up a workshop on March 1st and ensure our CEO is invited. Secure space for all 15 guests, arrange refreshments.”
• App pre-selects preferences, manages invitations, books rooms, and visualizes locations.

Analytics Dashboard (from 51:37)

• Smart Analytics Expert: Visual charts, heat maps, behavioral insights (e.g., which areas are over- or under-used, RTO trends, space optimization data).
• Predictive Insights: Helps enterprises see the impact of policies and forecast future trends.

Noteworthy Innovations & Surprising Use Cases

• Emergency Notifications: Quick location-based alerts for safety events (fire, weather, etc.) – an emergent, user-driven feature (41:46).
• Delegate Access: Executive assistants and staff can coordinate seamlessly—even across organizations (41:46).
• Pre-boarding: Enables potential hires to become engaged before day one, boosting onboarding success (29:45).
• Beacon & Mapping Tech: Spatial intelligence is central, allowing real-time interaction and direction within large campuses (38:13).
• Google Maps Integration: Extends office experience into adjacent neighborhoods for food, services, etc. (44:25).

Closing Thoughts & Resources

• Transformation Done Right: True AI transformation requires buy-in from the top, focus on cultural as well as operational ROI, and making AI “just work” for every user.
• Human-Centered AI: The conversation always circles back to the individual employee experience versus just corporate efficiency.
  • “At the core of this is the experience of the individual employee, not necessarily the big corporation.” – Chris (19:20)

Where to Learn More

• Sky CX AI: cxai.com
• Contact Khurram: khurram@cxai.com or marketing@cxapp.com
• Podcast Host: Chris Daigle on Using AI at Work

This summary aims to give listeners—especially leaders and workplace innovators—a comprehensive and inspiring view of how AI is transforming not only space optimization, but also the fabric of workplace culture and individual engagement.