The Business Canterbury Team19 September 20252 min read

Making AI Work for Business: A Recap from Westpac Smarts

AI is reshaping how businesses operate. This week, Business Canterbury, in partnership with Westpac and MintHC, hosted “Making AI Work for Business”, a practical session showing that AI is far more than a buzzword, it’s a tool that businesses can use to tackle real challenges. Attendees found the session both thought-provoking and practical, with the speakers shared a great mix of engaging topics and real-world insights on how AI is being used in business today.

What AI Means for Business

Futurist Lee Parkinson opened by reframing AI as “Assisting Intelligence”—tools that help solve problems, automate tasks, and support decision-making. His advice? Don’t wait for perfect conditions. Go for a ‘marginal gains’ approach by starting small, focus on real pain points, and build from there.

How Local Leaders Are Using AI

Each panellist provided a variety of views of whether AI should be considered by businesses as a risk or opportunity with a range from 1% risk / 99% opportunity to 40% risk / 60% opportunity, highlighting the complex nature of AI adoption.

Key benefits of AI include better customer insights, more efficient routine tasks, and improved decision-making through data analysis.

The experts also pointed out potential risks like data leaks, privacy issues, and the need for human oversight. The key being to ensure AI is implemented responsibly with the panel suggesting businesses develop their own ethical guidelines for AI use.

The panel featured three speakers who shared how they’re using AI in their organisations:

Nick Allan – Head of AI, Indicator

Nick sees AI as a major opportunity for business growth.
 "The biggest risk is in some ways that we move too slowly. Maybe that we move too slowly as a country is a bit of a challenge."

His team uses tools like Second Nature and AI-powered meeting assistants to streamline operations.

Key takeaway: Focus on practical tools that save time and improve outcomes.

Shayne Moore – CEO, MintHC

Shayne emphasised the importance of managing risk, eliminating routine tasks, while preserving human-to-human relationships

"Customer service is never going away. People to people interface is not going to go away and we don't want it to,"

His team uses AI for voice automation, spreadsheet workflows, and internal agents—but always with a focus on brand protection and regulatory compliance.

Key takeaway: The better you manage risk, the more value you unlock.

Iain Boyd – GM Technical Delivery, Softsource vBridge

Iain encouraged businesses to start small. "You don't need a grand AI strategy to get going and you don't need to spend big to see meaningful results."

His team uses tools like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and N8N to improve productivity without needing a massive strategy or budget.
Key takeaway: You don’t need to “boil the ocean”—just begin with what’s useful.