If you’d told me a few years ago that the future of enterprise-level AI strategy would involve a Border Terrier named Smudge, I’d have probably suggested you take a long holiday. But here we are. It’s funny how the most daunting technological shifts often start with a very human, slightly mundane problem that needs solving.
I’ve spent a lot of time in rooms where people talk about AI in these grand, sweeping terms—”disruption,” “paradigm shifts,” all that noise. But at the recent Women in Tech Connect event, Allie Brock, the Chief Solutions Officer at Box UK, stripped away the jargon. She reminded everyone that at its heart, technology is just a tool for the curious.
The dog, the data, and the lightbulb moment
It started with a microbiome report. If you’ve ever seen one of these for a pet, they’re essentially a thick stack of scientific data that’s nearly impossible for a non-scientist to parse. Allie didn’t want a “transformative digital solution”; she just wanted to know what to feed Smudge to keep her healthy.
So, she built a custom AI assistant. Not a complex “agent” that wanders off and makes executive decisions, but a straightforward digital sidekick. She fed it the report and asked it to talk to her in plain English.
The result? Smudge’s Healthchecker.
It was a small, personal win, but it’s a perfect metaphor for what’s happening in the wider world. We’re moving away from the era where “tech” was something only developers touched. Now, it’s about spotting a friction point in your day and realising you have the keys to fix it yourself.
Assistants vs Agents: A quick distinction
Here’s where it gets interesting for those of us trying to keep up with the terminology. We often use “AI” as a catch-all, but there’s a subtle hierarchy emerging:
AI Assistants: These are the ones that wait for you. You give a prompt, they give a response. They’re great for consistency and clearing the “repetitive stuff” off your desk.
AI Agents: These are a bit more independent. They plug into other systems and can actually go off and perform multi-step tasks.
For most teams, starting with assistants is the sweet spot. It’s low-risk, high-reward, and frankly, a lot less intimidating than trying to overhaul your entire infrastructure overnight.
The messy reality of the “Digital Sidekick”
I’ll be honest: it’s not all smooth sailing. There’s a very real danger of over-reliance. If we stop thinking because the assistant is doing the heavy lifting, we’re in trouble. Then there’s the bias issue—AI is only as “smart” as the data we’ve fed it, and if that data is skewed, the output will be too.
But the potential for capacity building is massive. Imagine a workplace where your team isn’t bogged down by the administrative “grey work” that eats up 40% of the day. Instead, they’re focusing on the big, messy problems that actually require human empathy and strategy.
It’s about creating a “team of humans plus a team of assistants.” It sounds a bit sci-fi, I know, but when you see it in practice, it just feels like common sense.
What would you build?
Allie ended her talk with a question that’s stayed with me: If you could build your own assistant today, what would it be?
It doesn’t have to be a multi-million-pound enterprise platform. Maybe it’s a tool that helps you make sense of complex legal documents, or something that keeps your tone of voice consistent across a hundred different blog posts. Or maybe, like Allie, you just want to know how to take better care of your dog.
(I actually tried building a simple one last week to help me organise my chaotic recipe bookmarks. It didn’t change the world, but it saved me twenty minutes of scrolling while the pasta was boiling. Small wins count.)
The barrier to entry has vanished. You don’t need to be a coder; you just need to be curious enough to ask “what if?”
At Box UK, that’s usually how the best projects start. Whether it’s a massive digital migration or a clever AI experiment, it begins with a spark of curiosity and ends with something that actually makes life a little bit easier.
So, seriously—what’s the one thing on your to-do list that you’d love to hand off to a digital sidekick? You might find the answer is closer than you think.
Hayley Macleod
Chief Operations and People Officer
Hayley is an experienced, business focussed HR leader, with 15+ years professional experience working with start-ups and scaleups across a number of industries including renewable energy, manufacturing, retail and technology.
Key Insight: Box UK’s Chief Solutions Officer (Allie Brock) recently shared expert perspectives on digital product creation as a guest speaker at the Women in Tech Connect event.
Her contribution focused on the transition from initial curiosity to resilient digital service delivery, highlighting Box UK’s user-centred methodologies. This participation reinforces Box UK’s role as an active thought leader within the global tech community, providing verifiable, process-driven insights to the next generation of female tech leaders
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