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Clarity

Mariya Yao

San Francisco, CA

I'm Chief Technology & Product Officer at Metamaven, a company which applied AI & machine learning to revenue growth. We help Fortune 500 companies and global brands deploy successful AI applications to consumers and enterprises.

I recently published a book, Applied Artificial Intelligence: A Handbook For Business Leaders, which gives executives a foundational overview of enterprise AI: http://amzn.to/2rwOEcd

You can watch an introductory preview of my talk "What Executives Need To Know About Artificial Intelligence" here: http://www.topbots.com/ai-education-intro

You can also read my writing on applied AI for various industries, verticals, and functions at TOPBOTS.com, where I operate as Editor-In-Chief: http://www.topbots.com

$8.33/min

5 Calls

7 Reviews

43 minutes
Avg. call

Marketing Product Design Big Data Content Marketing User Experience Design Data Science Enterprise Software Machine Learning UX/UI Design Artificial Intelligence

Call me to talk about

Bots, Chatbots, Conversational Interfaces

I'm Head of Research & Design at TOPBOTS, a strategy & research firm focused on applied artificial intelligence and machine learning for enterprises. We help a number of enterprise clients build bot technologies, with a focus on improving customer experience with automated technologies.

I can help you:

1) Determine whether a bot or conversational experience is right for your company and brand. Bots can include any conversational interface, whether it be a chat interface on a messaging platform like Facebook Messenger, Slack, WeChat, or Twitter, a voice system for Amazon Echo / Alexa or Google Home / Assistant, or an integrated natural user interface with a regular website, app, IoT, or service product.

2) Identify key workflows replaced by a conversational agent and design the right functionality and experience

3) Make the right build vs. buy decision regarding bot or chatbot builders, natural language processing / natural language understanding - i.e. NLP, NLU - libraries and toolkits, and deployment platforms.

4) Prototype, test, and continuously improve bot usability and UX based on real-time user feedback and analytics

5) Ready a bot, chatbot, or conversational experience for production deployment at scale.

Content Strategy & Marketing for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

I'm Head of R&D at TOPBOTS, a strategy & research firm for applied artificial intelligence and machine learning. We produce a industry publication at TOPBOTS.com that educates executives and entrepreneurs on AI applied to different industries, verticals, and functions.

I'm also an expert contributor to Forbes, VentureBeat, Smashing Magazine, and other leading publications for business and tech audiences. My content regularly gets between 200,000 to > 1 mil pageviews / month.

I can advise companies building AI technologies or capabilities on strategies and tactics to best communicate their stories, describe their technology, reach the right audiences, and convert paying customers.

Mobile & Cross-Platform UX & UI Design

In my current role as Head of Research & Design at TOPBOTS, an applied artificial intelligence & machine learning firm, I help executives design AI-enabled experiences that improve workflows and enhance user experiences for both enterprise users and consumers.

I was previously the Founder & Creative Director of Xanadu, a data-driven cross-platform strategy and design firm in San Francisco, and have designed for over 100 million users across dozens of mobile, wearables, IoT, and VR products. We combine business strategy with product design to deliver amazing cross-platform experiences that engage and retain users. Clients include Fortune 500 brands as well as up-and-coming startups.

Across all my projects, I employ a rigorous, data-driven approach to user research and product strategy. Our UX design process at Xanadu is broken down into research, strategy, design, and testing phases

Research
- Stakeholder interviews
- User research
- Market & competitive research
- Usability audit
- Task analysis
- Content inventory
- Metrics analysis

Strategy
- Brand positioning
- Product roadmap
- Customer segmentation
- Mental models
- Personas and scenarios
- Functional and technical specs

Design
- Use cases
- User flows
- Site map
- UI & visual design
- Interface design
- Interaction design
- Prototype engineering

Testing
- Heuristic evaluation
- Usability testing
- Multivariate testing & optimization

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

I'm the Head of Research & Design at TOPBOTS, a strategy & research firm for applied artificial intelligence and machine learning. We advise Fortune 500 executives on AI trends & technology and deploy AI solutions for consumers and enterprises. Our clients include L'Oreal, Paypal, WPP, and other major corporations.

We can help you learn:

1) How to educate business leaders on essential A.I. trends and applications

2) How to build and implement an executive A.I. strategy for your organization

3) How to grow your business using emerging technologies like machine learning and conversational bots

4) How to develop successful marketing and growth strategies for A.I. products, services, and companies

5) How to identify antiquated enterprise workflows ripe for disruption by automation and A.I.

6) How to navigate organizational politics and prepare your company for technological change

7) How to evaluate A.I. vendors and make the right decisions on whether to build vs. buy

8) How to assess M&A, investment, and partnership opportunities with A.I. companies

9) How to ensure robust implementation, integration, and deployment of A.I. technologies

My specific specialities are:

1) How to design A.I. powered products and services that people love to use

2) How to apply A.I. research and breakthroughs from industry and academia to your business

3) How to develop a data strategy and technology stack to enable scalable A.I. applications

4) How to lead successful A.I. teams of diverse executives, engineers, and experts

5) How to plan, manage, and measure progress for pilot A.I. initiatives

6) How to train non-technical executives on the technical nuances of applied A.I.

Answers 0
Reviews 7

Answers

Reviews

Mariya was candid about the challenges of developing a series of VR videos. But, her tough love comes with a great sense of humor and experience to back up her advice! Very much appreciate the opportunity to ask questions.

Lisa Rowan Source: Clarity

My call with Mariya was exactly what I was hoping for. She was very focused, took time to understand my situation and provided experienced insight and tailored responses to the questions I prepared for her. She was honest enough to give me answers I probably didn't want to hear, but needed to. Will be calling her again soon.

Pierre Venter Source: Clarity

I reached out to Mariya as a way to understand her perspective on the career field of UX. She is absolutely impressive. I found her feedback to be honest, sincere and passionate. She also provided me with a highly organized set of suggestions (which are awesome) to consider for my early stage startup. I’ve been refining my concept based on our discussion. I highly recommend Mariya and cannot wait to reach out to her again!!

Steve Arnold Source: Clarity

As always, Mariya's tips for mobile app design were both strategic and practical. She gave very structured advice on how to build successful mobile apps and test out mobile app ideas without coding. I would definitely recommend her to anyone building or thinking of creating a mobile app for enterprise or for startups. Call Mariya. You will not regret it.

Ramli John Source: Clarity

My conversation with Mariya was absolutely amazing. I came in with some need to get advice about UX recommendations for a promotional website and a mobile app, and I got that and a whole lot more in terms of great, honest (but not harsh) advice about how to really structure my business for long-term sustainability and financial success. I will absolutely seek Mariya's help again and cannot recommend her highly enough to others!

Russell Alleen-Willems Source: Clarity

I have been knowing Mariya for a while when she was a startup founder at StartX, the Stanford startup accelerator. As a UX consultant, Mariya is smart, creative and knowledgeable. In a few minutes she's able to grasp any type of business and deliver precise design and UX recommendations for a successful mobile strategy. I highly recommend her.

Adriano Farano Source: LinkedIn

Mariya is awesome to work with on mobile-related consulting projects. She is the first person I turn to for user experience, product development and design because she has incredible insight into usability, functionality and general mobile trends. We worked together on a project for a Chinese smartphone app developer that was looking to enter the US market. She provided incredible feedback, direction and a first version of wireframes for the product. Throughout the project, she was available, open, quick to respond and a general pleasure to work with. I look forward to continuing to work with Mariya on other projects in the future!

Kerin Lanyi Source: LinkedIn

Member since June 2012