Cutting through the hype-fuelled noise in Conversational AI: From Conversations to Insight
Conversational AI has been surrounded by buzzwords and hyped-fuelled concepts over the past few years. In his upcoming keynote at Beyond Boundaries Barcelona 2026, Darren Ford will share real examples of the methods, measures and tools organisations use to improve the performance of their text or voice virtual assistant.
Darren has held senior executive roles at Oracle, SDL, and Artificial Solutions, where he served as VP of Global Customer Services, leading large-scale conversational AI and digital engagement programmes worldwide.
Since then, Darren founded The CAI Company, specialising in the design, deployment, and optimization of Conversational AI solutions. With over 15 years of experience in enterprise AI and customer experience, he has worked with global brands including AT&T, HelloFresh, Shell, Swisscom, ICA and CircleK to deliver high-impact conversational systems that drive measurable business outcomes. Darren is a frequent speaker and advisor in the AI space, known for his practical insights on operationalising AI and coaching teams to succeed with next-generation virtual assistants.
Beyond Boundaries Global Festival 2026 Speaker
In his keynote, Darren will explore what high-performing organisations measure and why, where AI assistants fail and how to fix them, and how conversational data can be transformed into operational and commercial insight.
The session draws on insights from interviews with global companies and hands-on experience working with leading brands. This knowledge has been captured in Chatpulse, a tool purpose built to provide actionable insights from conversational data. It’s common for teams deploying conversational assistants to struggle to really understand how the system is performing. BI analytics tools report numbers, but not the ‘why’ or how to enhance the system; Chatpulse enables teams to quickly interrogate their data and get to the root of issues. Read more about Chatpulse.
At Beyond Boundaries Darren is looking forward to being fully immersed in discussions about conversational AI, sharing what we’ve learned while learning just as much from others pushing the space forward. And, despite spending much of his time helping companies automate human interactions, he values connecting in person with like-minded people.
If you’re attending Beyond Boundaries Barcelona, hosted by Conversation Design Institute, in April 2026 and care about performances, not promises, connect with Darren Ford and join the session.
Find out more about Beyond Boundaries and discover other events where you can meet The CAI Company team.
