Sparking Innovation: How Gamified Competition Drove 100% AI Skill Adoption
- Chrissy Malukiewicz
- Oct 7
- 2 min read
How do you get an entire team genuinely excited about learning a new technology?
At AIM, we found the answer in a little friendly competition. We’re thrilled to share the story and success of our first-ever “AI Illuminator Challenge,” an initiative designed to empower our team with the skills to leverage cutting-edge AI tools in their daily work.
The Vision: More Than Just a Game
Our goal was simple: to move beyond the buzzwords and show our team that AI is a powerful, practical tool that can act as a personal assistant. We wanted to empower each team member to work more efficiently and creatively. The idea was that by getting hands-on with tools like Gemini, they could discover new ways to streamline tasks, from drafting emails and summarizing long documents to brainstorming ideas and analyzing data.
We framed the challenge not just as a race to win, but as a collective opportunity to grow, learn from one another, and integrate game-changing skills into our professional toolkit.
The Game Plan: Let the Challenge Begin!
From September 8th to September 30th, we transformed training into a team-based competition. Here’s how it worked:
Teams were formed, and things were kicked off by creating their own unique team names to add a little extra flavor to the competition. AIM has some truly creative minds! Check out a few of our team names:
AI-Avengers
No Prompt Left Behind
The Bot Squad
A curriculum of 23 different modules focused on Gemini and other AI tools was created, each one teaching a new skill or application.
Teams earned points for every module completed by a team member, with progress tracked on a live scoreboard.
Incentives fueled the fun, with weekly shout-outs for the leading team and a grand prize of a $50 gift card for each member of the winning team.
The Outcome: A Resounding Success
The results exceeded our every expectation. The spirit of competition was infectious, and the engagement was incredible. We are proud to announce that the AI Illuminator Challenge concluded with 100% participation from our team!
The outcome was a win for everyone involved:
The winning team walked away with bragging rights and a $50 gift certificate each to the merchant of their choice.
To recognize individual effort, we also awarded a $25 gift card to the first three team members who completed all 23 modules.
Most importantly, our team didn't just complete the training; they embraced it. Everyone found a different Gemini tool to be their new favorite. From using Brainstormer to spark creativity, to organizing projects with Gems, and performing Deep Research for complex tasks, our team can now add more opportunities for efficiencies into their workflow.
The AI Illuminator Challenge was a catalyst for innovation and a fantastic team-building experience. We're incredibly proud of our team's enthusiasm and commitment, and we're excited to see how they apply their new skills to drive AIM forward.
P.S. AI might of even helped write this!
