Making AI a trusted part of your glazing business
By Carly Graham, Thinkivity.
At Thinkivity, we often say that AI isn’t just a tool – it’s a team member. But what does that really mean in the day-to-day world of a glazing business?
To answer that, let me take you inside a recent AI training session we ran for a well-known component supplier. In the room were people from various departments. Each person had a different role, a different set of responsibilities, and a different idea of what they wanted to get from AI.
The fascinating part? During that session, every single one of them found a new teammate – not just a tool, or better ways to use a tool.
That’s the power of AI when it’s introduced with a practical mindset. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a highly flexible assistant that adapts to each person’s needs. The specifics might differ. An operations manager might use AI to support production planning, while marketing focuses on campaign messaging, and sales sharpens customer emails. But underneath it all, they’re doing the same thing: using AI to interrogate data and create content.
AI helps us tackle two major challenges which are common across roles: processing information and generating output. Whether that output is a draft email, a batch of social posts, a report summary, or point-of-sale concepts, the process starts the same way – by engaging with data.
Think about how often we have to distil complex input into something usable. A spreadsheet full of SKUs. An email chain with a supplier. Notes from a customer call. In every case, AI can clarify, summarise, or transform this information into something more helpful and easier to act on.
And when it comes to content creation, AI offers a fast-track from blank page to first draft. It doesn’t matter if you’re in sales, service, or product development – AI supports the thinking, phrasing, and formatting that takes up so much time. The end result is still human, but the effort to get there is halved.
My favourite piece of feedback from the day? “That job usually takes me two days – I’ve just completed it in an hour!”
That’s why we say AI is like a new team member. It’s not about replacing anyone. It’s about giving your people an assistant that’s always on, always fast, and always ready to help with the heavy lifting.
But like any team member, it needs training, context, and clear instructions to do its best work.
And let’s be honest, there’s never been a more important time to make every team member count. With recent increases to the minimum wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions, businesses are being asked to do more without increasing headcount. AI is one of the few solutions that can genuinely deliver more capacity without added cost.
So how do you bring AI into your glazing business like a team member?
First, make it accessible. Tools like ChatGPT should be as easy to reach as your email inbox. Second, encourage every department to explore how AI could lighten their load. Don’t assume it’s only for marketing. And third, treat AI like someone you’re onboarding. Give it context. Give it direction. Give it feedback.
The future of glazing businesses isn’t about replacing people with machines. It’s about giving your team the right support so they can perform at their best. When AI becomes part of the daily workflow, not only do you save time – you build a more confident, more capable team.
And just like that, AI stops being the new tech in the corner. It becomes part of the team.