Conversation Design Institute

As Global Head of Sales at CDI, I lead the charge in expanding our reach and impact across the world. My role focuses on aligning innovative sales strategies with our mission to empower businesses at every stage of their conversational AI journey—whether they’re just starting out or scaling to new heights.

With a dual focus on training and consulting, I work to drive growth across CDI’s core offerings, including hands-on workshops, comprehensive audits, and strategic consulting. My goal is to ensure businesses are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to implement impactful, future-ready conversational AI solutions.

In this role, I’m passionate about building strong partnerships, guiding teams toward success, and contributing to CDI’s evolution as a global leader in conversational AI. Let’s connect and explore how we can shape the future of conversational AI together!

Global Head of Sales

Companies around the world are looking for conversation designers, a rare breed of people that helps them advance communication between people and AI. That's where we help!

Conversation Design Institute teaches a human-centric workflow that has proven itself to organisations around the world. We work closely with tech partners, agencies and other key players in the industry. With this support, Conversation Design Institute is well on its way to becoming the number one platform in conversation design.

Become a certified professional, join one of our online courses, or work with our experts.

Business Development Specialist

Scaled Sales 

Good business coaches are there to help you see the blind spots and serve as your compass to make sure you are heading in the right direction. A business coach serves as an important objective third party to regularly check in to make sure that you are on the most direct path to your ideal destination. Oftentimes, the biggest hurdle to success is that you don't know what you don't know. You can't Google your way out of a problem that you aren't sure how to articulate—or worse, how to anticipate.

One pro for hiring a business coach for yourself is that it allows you to get constructive criticism from someone that doesn’t necessarily know you. 

A business coach is more like a person you're accountable to. No matter what level of success you have attained, there is a tendency to stay in your own lane and not observe habits and patterns that have been successful for others. A strong business coach can help increase awareness of methods and keys to success that have worked for other people and may be analogous to your own situation. 

One of the best investments you can make is in yourself. If you find yourself struggling in your professional career, or desire to increase your sales or improve your business relationship, then a business coach is an invaluable asset. One of the major advantages of having a coach or mentor is that they help you navigate through challenges and meet personal goals with their insights.


Steve Jobs once said, "We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." Where, if not coaching, could this apply to more? 

One of the biggest benefits of hiring a business coach is that they will help you stay on the right track. Building a business is tricky, especially if you're a startup. It's also very easy to get distracted by all the opportunities that come your way, but you can't possibly do it all. The key is setting the goals, developing the action plan on how to reach these goals and executing to make them happen.

Business Consultant

Yell 

Senior Sales Manager

Fingo - AMi

Digital Strategy Director

As a Business Development Specialist at Conversation Design Institute (CDI), I help organizations around the world create human-centric AI Assistants, such as chatbots and voice assistants. 

At CDI, I work closely with tech partners, agencies, and other key players in the industry to offer high-quality e-learning programs and live sessions for teams and individuals. I have trained hundreds of professionals in strategy, design, and development for AI Assistants, using our proven workflow and best practices.

My goal is to empower more people to design, deploy, and manage valuable conversational experiences.

Benjamin Taylor

I’m lucky enough to get to hear the episodes coming out of the academy before anyone else. 

So much of this episode struck me that I was blown away. 

Hillary Black  clearly gets it and we are unbelievably proud to have her as part of the community.

Global Head of Sales | Driving Growth in Conversational AI | Training, Auditing & Consulting Leader

View company: Conversation Design Institute (CDI)

We’re still at the beginning of conversational AI’s potential.

While prompting and new tools may make it feel like we’re starting over, this time the context is different. The widespread attention around AI has raised the baseline understanding across companies, brands, and individuals.

Many still don’t fully understand what conversational AI or conversation design truly means—but the conversation has changed. Today, people come in more informed, more curious, and more ready to explore what’s actually possible.

Join Hillary Black , conversation designer at MAV in the new episode of unprompted. by CDI. 

Watch the full video here https://hubs.la/Q03YBjZB0

That shift opens the door to deeper, more meaningful progress.
#ConversationalAI #ConversationDes

Anne Cantera

Optimum

At Optimum, I will lead the design of intelligent, AI-powered chat and voice experiences that serve millions of customers and frontline agents across residential, business, and internal support journeys. My work blends conversation design, agentic architecture, and multimodal interaction strategy to turn complex service flows into intuitive, human-centered interactions.

I own the end-to-end strategy, structure, and writing for enterprise-grade bots — from IVR modernization and chatbot optimization to generative AI integration and prompt engineering. I’ve built scalable design systems, reusable prompt libraries, and guided the evolution of agentic architectures where bots dynamically coordinate sub-agents to handle tasks like troubleshooting, sales support, and account management.

Sr. Product Designer Conversational AI

LexisNexis Legal

"Designed and implemented AI-driven chatbots and IVR systems across the LexisNexis ecosystem, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency and user experience. Deployed the 'make a payment' feature in the IVR system, resulting in a significant reduction in call center volume. Developed the password reset functionality, enabling users to regain access seamlessly, contributing to enhanced customer satisfaction. Due to NDA restrictions, specific metrics cannot be shared, but the positive impact was substantial. Led collaboration with development teams, managed User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and maintained stakeholder engagement throughout each phase."

AI Experience Designer Chatbots / IVR Global Customer Operations. 

Tech Fleet Community DAO

🔹 UX Designer / Guild Member 2022 – 2023 Tech Fleet, Remote 
Managed the full lifecycle of UX research and digital design concepts to gain hands-on experience through the 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating fair access to tech careers by providing skill-building opportunities. 
Collaborate cross-functionally on 3 client projects to deliver interactive prototypes in Figma; designs were chosen by Tech Fleet and have moved into development. 
Projects included:         

▪ IDM Math: Founder and visionary for an inclusive research-driven app for Nuerodivergant Learners, built on my proprietary approach to teaching Neurodiverse students. 
Oversaw the e2e product roadmap and sprint cycles, ensuring the mobile app prototype was developed based on caregiver and student persona requirements, provided guidance to the project team, and sign-off for development
▪ Career Here: A mobile responsive website that provides high school students with career counseling, college guidance, aptitude testing, and financial aid resources. 
Identified user needs and pain points by creating a persona and user journey map. 
Built sitemap and initial wireframes for usability testing and translated designs into low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes; improved usability by 60% by adding new search features. 
Delivered comprehensive style guide and components for implementation.
▪ Confidential Investment App (subject to NDA): Led design and feature ideation and delivered user flows, information architecture, affinity maps, and high-fidelity design with the prototype. Ensured application included proper legal requirements (TOC, Contract Page, etc.) 
Participated in sprint retrospectives, identifying personal and collective areas for improvement.

Prompt Design Teacher/ Product Owner / Guild Member / UX Designer

Projects:
🔹Podcast Chatbot, Stealth	Jul 2023 – Present 
Assisting AI-Entertainment based podcast create “Yappy,” their Ai-based web co host who asks listeners to pitch in their hot topics or takes
Soon-to-be released stealth podcast 
🔹Julia GPT, Culinary Chatbot	April 2023 
Created Julia, a well-loved AI-driven chatbot culinary assistant
Seamlessly generates shopping lists for users and integrates them with their favorite grocery delivery services
Also generates recipes, meal plans, nutritional information, and ingredient substitutions
Voiceflow was used to create this bot, leveraging NLP/slotting capabilities 
🔹Biz Baker, Hands-free ordering and inventory	January 2021 
Created Biz Baker, a hands-free, multi-modal platform that automates the non-baking tasks of baking
With its NLU/NLP based capabilities, this bot helps bakers manage inventory, create orders, manage vendors, place orders, price products and meet deadline effortlessly
Voiceflow was used to create this bot, leveraging NLP/slotting capabilities

NLU / VUI / Conversational designer

The Inclusive Group | IDD Life 

🔹Promoted from UX Manager within 6 weeks; 
Lead the core product strategic roadmap and delivery for the Public Benefit Corporation committed to helping people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities live their best lives through innovative AI-generated technology (subject to NDA, no further details available). 
🔹Partner with the startup founder to secure venture capital funding.
🔹Set Product strategy, including AII integration, and designed a program to onboard and deploy 40+ UX interns on agile sprints. 
🔹Establish and build from scratch supporting operational processes, release planning, resource allocation, and prioritization criteria.

Senior Product Manager

🔹 Conducted in-depth research and interviews with parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, resulting in detailed service maps.
🔹 Rapidly promoted to Product Owner within six weeks of starting, a testament to my passion and expertise in UX.

UX Researcher

MIT Incubator 

UX Designer Nov 2022 – Dec 2022 MIT Incubator, Remote 
🔹 Delivered actionable recommendations to improve mobile application user experience for a B2C client (subject to NDA);
🔹  Performed a comprehensive user-interface audit, desk research, and competitor analysis.

User Experience Designer

Canteras  Creations

🔹 Ran a successful custom cake business in New York.
🔹 Managed daily operations, including finances, client meetings, custom cake designs, and deliveries.
🔹 Gained an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of running a business and providing beautiful and delicious custom cakes.

Business Owner

Sr Product Designer 💻 Bot Builder 🤖 Conversation Designer / VUI / NLU 🗣️ Prompt Whisperer 🤫 Voiceflow Enthusiast 😎 Yes, I do BOTH ✌🏻UX & Conversational AI Design 💡chatbotbuilder.ai 🤓 annecantera.com

Experienced AI and Conversation Design Leader with a track record of over 15 years in pioneering and shaping innovative projects. Specializing in crafting cutting-edge digital, physical, products tailored to enhance customer experience and drive revenue for B2B/B2C clientele. Renowned for expertise in conducting comprehensive multi-disciplinary research to discern intricate user and client needs. Proficient in utilizing advanced AI/UX design methodologies, compelling storytelling techniques, and profound business acumen to shepherd startups from inception to successful product deployment. Recognized for adeptly bringing clarity and strategic direction to fast-paced environments. Currently at the forefront of revolutionizing conversational AI products through experimentation and groundbreaking innovation.

Product Owner

🔹Assist founder with daily operations
🔹Oversees 40 interns that building a web product
🔹Agile & Waterfall Methodologies

If only the US valued their children more than profits.

🐉 Sr. AI Product Designer ✨ Conversation Design 🤖 Agents/Chat/Voice/IVR ✊ AI Orchestration 📚 Knowledge Engineer 🧩 Model Design 🌐 Multimodal 🧠 NLP/NLU 🗣️ Prompt Whisperer 🎙️ DESIGNathon Host 🤔 annecantera.com

I like ducks, they're fowl but not through choice. Wardley Mapping by the inventor - swardleymaps.com

Noteworthy. 

Looks like the game could be up for Silicon Valley's kiddie influencers. The tech bros might have to start acting ethically as companies by producing safer platforms. I suspect that they'll probably first send in hordes of lobbyists and lawyers.

Personally, I think the age limit should be raised to 30, especially for AI services. Well, we haven't been teaching the critical thinking skills to use them safely.

taplio

The Battle

Benjamin Taylor

Anne Cantera

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taplio

The Battle

Benjamin Taylor

Anne Cantera

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Anne Cantera's LinkedIn Performance

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