At Mercari, we aim to leverage AI strategically and become a company of AI-led growth. We are not only implementing AI in our product but exploring various ways of leveraging it to increase productivity at work.

In this article, we talk with Takanori Yamashita (@y-tama) of the Corporate Engineering Team (CET), which lays the foundation for AI usage at Mercari, and Hayakawa Gomi (@gomichan), who joined Mercari in July 2024 as AI Implementation Officer.

The conversation with these two members passionately driving AI initiatives within the company gives us insight into the current state of AI usage at the company and Mercari’s vision for the future.

Leveraging AI is necessary to achieve Mercari’s mission

—Mercari has implemented many initiatives focused on AI in the past. Could you give us some insight into the intention and background behind why the company places such importance on using AI?

@t-yama: Mercari’s group mission is to “circulate all forms of value to unleash the potential in all people.” To help us achieve this mission, we have a roadmap that outlines what initiatives we will be implementing and what kind of society we want to see realized between now and 2030.

One of our tasks at hand is to achieve more stable and advanced operations. Promoting the use of AI and LLMs when working on internal tasks is one way to improve the quality and efficiency of our daily work. This is also an important theme in the roadmap of the Corporate Engineering Team (CET).

Because we operate under this roadmap, other teams often ask us how they can make their work more efficient. At the same time, a lot of people tell us that they don’t know what AI can help them achieve.

@gomichan: AI and ChatGPT are global buzzwords right now, and people are aware that this technology can make their life easier. But a lot of people can’t think of concrete ways to use generative AI for their actual work.

@t-yama: That’s right. To address this, we decided to first split up members’ daily tasks into three different categories: generic, semi-specialized, and specialized. This helped us determine which tasks would benefit from AI.

The first type of task, generic, refers to tasks that all employees perform regularly, such as writing meeting minutes and sending messages. The next type, semi-specialized, refers to tasks specific to a certain team. The last type, specialized, refers to specific tasks performed by individual members. Another way to think of a specialized task is a task that can only be done by a certain member.

—So, you’re trying a different approach for each type of task?

@t-yama: Exactly. For generic tasks, you can easily implement top-down and company-wide initiatives, such as establishing common steps and rules. In other words, CET’s wheelhouse.

On the other hand, semi-specialized and specialized tasks require solutions and optimization on a more individual level. Simplifying these tasks is important for boosting overall productivity, but the same approach wouldn’t work for the entire company. Instead, we thought of how each team or individual could take the lead.

—Can you tell us about any specific initiatives?

@t-yama: At Mercari, multiple products that use AI and LLMs have been developed and initiatives that boost productivity company-wide are already underway.

Some examples of projects we’ve done or are doing now include:

• Developing and encouraging the use of Mercari ChatGPT (a version of ChatGPT specifically for Mercari members)
• Holding hackathons where people can share ideas about using AI
• Establishing rules and guidelines to create an environment where members can use AI more easily
• Promoting AI/LLM usage tailored to Gemini for Google Workspace

Mercari ChatGPT was first released about a year ago and offers members the biggest benefit of being able to use ChatGPT in a secure environment, so members can input confidential information without any worries.

However, a lot of members ask us basic questions about Mercari ChatGPT, like where to access it, which indicates that many members are not even fully aware of the service yet. That made me realize that there’s still a lot of untapped potential in using Mercari ChatGPT for a lot of different types of work.

Creating momentum for AI usage as AI Implementation Officer

—@gomichan, you joined Mercari in July 2024 as AI Implementation Officer to address these issues. What is your mission as AI Implementation Officer?

@gomichan: To put it simply, my mission is to get everyone who works at Mercari to fall in love with AI.

I want to witness the moment everyone is able to leverage AI, engineer or not. As a non-engineer myself, I hope that sharing my experiences with AI will make it more accessible to everyone. I want to show people its potential and how useful it can be.

What I’m focused on as AI Implementation Officer is creating momentum.

—What do you mean by “momentum”?

@gomichan: Based on what I’ve learned through starting my own brands and building my career at startups, I think momentum is needed if you want to convey a new form of value and move people. What I mean by “momentum” is a driving force that creates action. Amassing little victories and seeing progress creates energy and growth throughout the entire organization.

To get Mercari riding the wave toward leveraging AI, people first need to understand the value and convenience that AI and LLMs bring. Once that happens, I can get them to enjoy using the technology. I really want to hype everyone up and create that momentum before the end of the year.

—What will be your approach?

@gomichan: There are a few important elements to creating and maintaining momentum, such as providing regular learning opportunities and visualizing progress.

Specifically, I want to do the following four things:

1. Hold around five AI study sessions per month and announce them at company-wide events
2. Create a Slack channel and reactions that people can use to share how they’re using AI
3. Share a roadmap and event calendar with the company
4. Visualize AI usage rate in each department and share that weekly with VPs

For example, I’m planning to hold around 25 study sessions between September and December in 2024. So far, I’ve held three sessions with a total of 350 participants, which covers 17% of the company.

@t-yama: That’s a great participation rate! That tells me that a lot of people at the company are interested in using AI.

People are bound to be surprised and become interested in AI when they use it for themselves and see what results it can produce. Having people use AI a few different times and gain experience with the technology will lead them to become more interested and start using it seriously.

@gomichan: I think so, too. The study sessions include some time where participants can use AI for themselves, and a lot of people are surprised at what it can do.

I also hold beginner-friendly sessions so that everyone is up to speed when it comes to using AI. Additionally, I’d like to visualize and share AI use cases at the company, provide support to allow for successful AI usage in each team, and try everything else I possibly can to promote AI.

Mercari’s culture fosters bold AI usage, showing positive signs

—Have either of you noticed any changes at the company after these initiatives?

@gomichan: I feel that AI literacy and understanding of the technology has increased a lot among members. People now understand what AI can and cannot do and the difference between AI and automation.

Take the Sales Team, for example. Members are now interested in using AI as a support tool for sales and have come up with some specific ideas, like role playing exercises. Other teams have also suggested ways to use AI specific to their team.

@t-yama: Personally, I really feel that @gomichan has had a big impact. In departments like mine that specialize in foundations and systems, few people have the knack for influencing others. @gomichan takes the lead and does what we can’t do, which is a massive help.

@gomichan: Hearing that makes me even more motivated!

—Has there been anything unique about promoting AI usage at Mercari?

@gomichan: I think most members of Mercari are curious people. One of Mercari’s values is “Go Bold,” and I feel that most people embrace change and respond positively to new developments in an effort to embody the Go Bold value.

To get people on board with a new product, service, or brand, it’s important to find early adopters. However, many companies struggle to find people and the project loses steam at that stage. I’ve personally struggled with that with my own brands.

But it’s easy to find early adopters at a company of 2,000 employees like Mercari. A few members in each department naturally start taking the lead and adopting AI, and they act as a hub and spread the word.

@t-yama: It’s interesting that you (@gomichan) were assigned to the HR department even though you’re in charge of AI. That really reflects Mercari’s belief that using AI will greatly contribute to employee development and member growth.

Reforming with readiness to become a company of AI-led growth

—Lastly, please tell us about your future plans for promoting AI.

@gomichan: I just talked about creating momentum, and I’d like to create that momentum by hyping everyone up before the end of the year. I want to remove barriers that prevent people from using AI and create more initiatives that make people enjoy AI.

Specifically, my mission is to see how many success stories I can create for each team. Like the Sales Team, I want other teams to also think of ways they can use AI suited to them and then share what was successful.

@t-yama: AI is becoming more deeply incorporated into our work day by day and is now used by a lot of people. For Mercari, this is the ideal situation and the future we want to see to achieve our goal of becoming a company of AI-led growth. We won’t get there if people lose interest in using AI.

@gomichan: If you’re really intent on chasing that ideal, I think you’ll have to rework existing processes and maybe even fundamentally change the structure of the organization. Change inevitably comes with growing pains.

@t-yama: In terms of what we’ll achieve for Mercari’s business and organizational growth in the mid- to long-term, I think the expected cost-benefit will greatly exceed those growing pains. Replacing rudimentary and time-consuming tasks with AI will allow members to focus on the parts of their job that really matter.

@gomichan: AI is still a new technology, so we may struggle at first. But taking that first step is sure to open up a wealth of possibilities!