How to Build a Conversational AI Platform That Scales

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A candid conversation with Alan Nichol (Rasa) and Hans van Dam on what it really takes to build conversational AI platforms in the LLM era: what’s changed, what breaks first, and what actually works in enterprise deployments.

Everyone's talking about agents, LLMs, and moving "beyond intents." But hardly anyone's being honest about what it actually takes to build conversational AI that works in production, at enterprise scale, over the long haul.

Join Alan Nichol, Co-founder of Rasa, and Hans van Dam, Co-founder and CEO of the Conversation Design Institute, for a candid conversation about what's really changed in conversational AI and what the industry still gets wrong.

This isn't a product demo. It's an honest discussion between two people who've spent years building conversational AI systems and watching them fail in the real world.

We'll talk about:

What "moving beyond intents" actually meant and how far we've really come
The most valuable lessons from working with enterprise customers in the LLM era
Common misconceptions about using AI in customer experience
What breaks first when conversational systems become more autonomous
How these insights shape real platform and architecture decisions
What successful enterprise deployments quietly get right and what most organizations miss

You'll walk away with clearer mental models, better language for internal discussions, and a realistic understanding of what it takes to build conversational AI that holds up beyond the demo.

Who should attend:

Conversational AI and CX leaders
Product, platform, and AI decision-makers
Designers and technologists working with LLM-heavy systems
Anyone tired of the hype and interested in what actually works

Alan Nichol is the co-founder and CTO of Rasa, one of the world’s leading platforms for building enterprise-grade conversational AI.

Alan has spent over a decade working at the intersection of machine learning, product, and real-world conversational systems. He was one of the earliest voices in the industry to challenge intent-centric chatbot design, advocating instead for more flexible, resilient approaches to conversation long before large language models entered the mainstream.

At Rasa, Alan has worked closely with global enterprises to help teams move conversational AI from prototypes to production — navigating the messy realities of scale, knowledge management, evaluation, and long-term maintenance. His work focuses not just on what AI can do, but on what it should do to be trustworthy, usable, and sustainable in complex organisations.

Alan is a frequent speaker and writer on conversational AI, known for his clear thinking, technical depth, and willingness to question industry assumptions.

In 2018, Hans co-founded the Conversation Design Institute to establish processes, techniques, and organizational standards to professionalize the role of conversation design within large enterprises.

Since then, the organization has expanded globally with offices located in Austin and Amsterdam, along with an international team based across Africa, Asia and Australia.

CDI provides industry leading courses and certification across a number of conversational AI disciplines along with services including auditing, consulting and training services to organizations looking to improve their conversational AI capabilities.

Hans also sits upon the board of CDI Foundation, which is focused on undertaking research, education and industry development, along with providing scholarships to help people from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds enter the CAI industry.