strAIght talk: AI tips for Amazonians

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strAIght talk: 4 AI techniques that work Jul 20, 2026

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We went back through every episode of strAIght talk and pulled together the four most essential AI techniques every Amazonian should know. Each one builds on the last, giving you a complete, repeatable approach to getting better results from AI. Whether you're brand new to AI or looking to sharpen your approach, start here.

The one question, asked daily, changed how this VP works, eats, and leads Jul 13, 2026

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In this episode, a VP who leads HR for Amazon's global operations shares his personal AI journey: from basic prompts to a daily framework that changed how he runs meetings, helped him lose 20 pounds, and even helped someone in his community build a business plan. His one rule: stay the human in charge.

Guest: J. Ofori Agboka, VP People Experience & Technology (PXT) - Global Operations, Amazon

The AI debate partner technique: One team rebuilt onboarding in 6 weeks Jul 06, 2026

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In this episode, Morgan shares how her talent development team used AI not just to code a new product, but to fundamentally rethink what onboarding should look like. What started as a debate with AI led to a six-week rebuild that shifted the focus from task completion to customer delivery.

Guest: Morgan Grimes, Sr Manager, Product Management, Amazon eXperience & Upskilling

AI Solution Jams: 15 minutes to teach, 30 to build. Try it with your team Jun 29, 2026

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One team in Global Tax Data used AI to reimagine how they work together — from automating month-end data validation that used to take days, to building an agent that translates code into plain English for compliance reviews. On this episode, members from Amazon’s Global Tax Data team share how "AI Solution Jams" (teach, demo, create) helped them scale AI experimentation across six countries and land three ideas in a finance-wide hackathon. Their biggest tip: it's about the habit, not the heroics. Start with the most repetitive thing in front of you and build from there.

Guests: Chris Jocson, Parmi Makh, and Raksha B from Global Tax Data team.

AWS certifications made easy: Let AI create a custom study plan for you Jun 22, 2026

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Carving out hours for exam prep feels impossible when you're juggling deliverables, launches, and meetings. On this episode, Sery Cybulski shares how she used AI to pass multiple AWS certifications with just 30 minutes a day. Her approach: tell AI exactly what you don't know, let it build a tailored study plan, and when you get questions wrong, feed them back so it adapts to your gaps. No cramming required.

Guest: Sery Cybulski, Senior Program Manager, AWS Support Engineering

A rough idea + AI became Kate Spade's concierge — here's how Jun 15, 2026

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One team at AWS used AI at every step to build Kate Spade’s AI "gift concierge" — a shopping assistant that asks customers what they need and narrows options through conversation. On this episode, David Dorf shares how they went from concept to live product in 12 weeks. His biggest tip: you don't need a perfect idea. Keep a backlog, present a rough one to AI, and let it research and refine until you pick up momentum.

Guest: David Dorf, Global Head of Retail Industry Solutions, AWS

Don't scrap it, ask it why: How one marketer made five AI agents reliable. Jun 08, 2026

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"I built an agent... now what?" Orlando O'Neill built five custom AI agents for his marketing work. On this episode, he shares how he makes them reliable: asking agents to diagnose their own mistakes, fixing issues permanently with steering files, and running weekly reviews to improve them over time. His biggest tip: when your agent gets something wrong, don't scrap it. Ask it why, and fix it together.

Guest: Orlando O'Neill, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Alexa Marketing

Cortex Kickstart asked her one question, then built four AI agents Jun 01, 2026

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Jackie Pizaña wanted AI to do more than summarize documents. Using an internal guided workflow called Cortex Kickstart, she built four AI agents that track commitments, flag escalations, prep coaching materials, and orient her week. Her biggest tip: lean into one tool, learn it well, and let your confidence build from there.

Guest: Jackie Pizana, Senior Manager, Operations Field Talent Acquisition

8 weeks, no roadmap, and a 50% chance of success. Here's how Kiro helped this PM deliver. May 26, 2026

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Eight weeks, no roadmap, and a 50/50 shot. Vedran Brozovic shares how he used AI to find the right data, generate technical requirements, and build an hourly forecasting system in weeks—not months. His biggest tip: ask AI questions like you'd ask a colleague, not a search engine.

Guest: Vedran Brozovic, Product Manager, Automated Profitability Management

Describe your problem, Amazon Quick builds the fix—try these skills today May 20, 2026

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Spending your mornings triaging emails and rewriting the same docs? Eric Johnson shares how he uses Quick to turn everyday pain points into automated workflows. Just describe your problem, and Quick’s desktop app builds the solution for you.

Guest: Eric Johnson, Principal Developer Advocate, AWS

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