Automattic Builds Company-Wide AI Fluency With Two-Week In-Person Programs for 1,400 Staff
AI Engineer · youtube · 2026-10-09
Em Shreve, head of AI enablement at Automattic (WordPress.com, Tumblr), explains how the 1,400-person, fully remote company builds AI fluency.
Core bet: handing out tools doesn't change how people work — they need real time to learn.
- Two-week in-person programs: half workshops, half real project work, for engineers, cross-functional teams, and non-technical groups like finance and leadership
- Constantly updated curriculum: skills, MCPs, hooks, autonomous agents, plus an internal MCP server
- Graduates as multipliers: internal guides, local meetups, AI ride-alongs, and an always-on help channel; seven cohorts so far
- Measurement: surveys at 72 hours, 30 and 90 days
- Projects built in two weeks include a Zendesk connector and a shared skills directory — one built by a support teammate, not an engineer
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