One of Disney's top AI users tells all: 'I'm pushing the bleeding edge'

"They said they have eight to nine AI agents that complete tasks on their behalf. This staffer said their heavy AI usage had turned heads inside Disney in a good way. The super-user said a "solid handful" of software engineers had seen their name near the top of the AI dashboard and reached out, asking what they were working on and how to replicate their methods. Feedback has been positive from both their peers and bosses, they said."

""I was sort of expecting, 'Hey man, you better chill out,'" the power-user said. "But it's more 'OK, we really like what you're doing. Let's try to produce tangible results as soon as possible.'" AI isn't just a token gesture at Josh D'Amaro's Disney. The Mouse House is encouraging employees to use AI more often, seven tech staffers told Business Insider."

"The AI dashboard shows that some tech employees are invoking coding tools like Claude and Cursor tens of thousands of times a month. Other large companies have been pushing the use of AI, including Wall Street giant JPMorgan, Meta, and Visa. Disney's token usage is "in the sweet spot" for a non-tech company, said Val Bercovici, the chief AI officer at AI memory storage company WEKA, after reviewing internal documents on the company's AI usage obtained by Business Insider."

"Tokens are basic units of data processed by AI models, and companies are billed based on how many they use. The AI power-user said AI agents can pull in data from across Disney, finishing tasks that could take days or weeks in as little as hours."

An AI power-user at Disney reported using eight to nine AI agents to complete tasks on their behalf. The approach increased productivity and led other engineers to notice their name near the top of an internal AI dashboard and ask how to replicate the workflow. Feedback from peers and managers was positive, with encouragement to produce tangible results quickly. Disney also promotes frequent AI use across employees, with an internal dashboard showing heavy usage of coding tools such as Claude and Cursor. Token usage is described as a billing-relevant unit of data processed by AI models, and Disney’s token levels are characterized as being in a favorable range for a non-technical company. AI agents can gather data across the organization and finish tasks that might otherwise take days or weeks in hours.

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