BrainTrust Partners, an Austin-based firm that helps brands navigate the AI era, has signed on as the founding title sponsor of the YOU × AI Summit, Waco's first AI conference. The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Performing Arts & Community Center in downtown Waco.
The summit aims to address a critical gap in AI adoption: many companies are not yet ready to leverage AI effectively because their data is not properly structured. BrainTrust CEO Tim Hayden will share insights on how businesses can identify use cases before making further investments in AI tools. He emphasizes that companies often overlook the proprietary intelligence within their own operations. "You have intelligence sitting somewhere within the pipes of your business," Hayden said. "That's your brand. It is your brand DNA that can shape AI in your brand voice."
Hayden founded BrainTrust in 2016 to help companies structure and make sense of their data for personalization and improved analytics. He notes that a decade later, many businesses still haven't fully unified and labeled their data, which is essential for AI to work effectively. "Data resolved, unified, structured and labeled has AI work stronger for your brand. Skip it, and Tim says it's going to cost you much more in budget and accuracy to use any AI." He also cautions against relying solely on commercial AI models like ChatGPT or Claude for all business needs. "There's no reason why you have to look at ChatGPT or Claude to run everything," he said, pointing out that open-weight models can be trained on a company's own data, run privately, and cost a fraction of enterprise subscriptions.
The summit will feature a main stage and four concurrent tracks: Build, Get Found, Sound Like You, and AI Safety. Opening keynote speaker Bryan Eisenberg, a pioneer in conversion rate optimization and bestselling author, will present "Before the Algorithm, There Was Your Story. That Hasn't Changed." Closing speaker Dr. Hope Koch, who holds the Godfrey Sullivan Endowed Chair at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business and serves on the Texas Artificial Intelligence Council, will deliver a session titled HOPE: Human Opportunity and a Period of Exponential Change.
Hayden's main stage talk, "Your Data, Your AI, and Your Future," is scheduled for 9:50 a.m. He expressed enthusiasm about participating: "I'm excited to join the event, hear other viewpoints, and meet folks who are on their AI journeys, actually experimenting and building."
The event also includes 23 speakers across four tracks, with several hands-on workshops that require attendees to bring a laptop. Sessions range from "AI, Crime & Community" to "Build an AI Assistant" and "The Human Story in an AI World." Co-organizer Fernando Labastida explains the summit's name: "Most people think AI is the great equalizer. It's a multiplier, and multipliers widen gaps. A business with nothing to say brings a 1, and AI takes it to 2. The competitor with a real point of view brings a 10, and the same AI takes them to 20. Same tools. Bigger gap."
The YOU × AI Summit is produced by the Viral Genius Institute and Rogue Media Network, with presenting sponsor BrainTrust Partners. Tickets are $99, with a team rate of $69 per seat for groups of 10 or more through September 10. Registration is available at youxai.live.
