Exclusive: 'AI everywhere' and embedded trust key to NetSuite's vision

It's no news that artificial intelligence is changing rapidly, and according to NetSuite's Senior Vice President of Technology and AI, Brian Chess, while companies aren't all ready yet, "they soon won't want to be left behind."

AI is no longer a side project at NetSuite, it's a company-wide directive.

According to Chess, the enterprise software platform is doubling down on making AI integral to every stage of the user experience.

Chess believes the strategy is simple: "AI everywhere."

That one simple phrase highlights both a complex and ambitious approach to embedding AI across NetSuite's entire product ecosystem - from initial onboarding to deep process changes.

"When we look across the suite, there are really no places that don't benefit from AI," he said. "It's not just about asking what your sales were last month or how many vacation days you have left. It really is everywhere."

Chess, a long-time NetSuite veteran with a combined 15 years at the company since first joining in 1999, spoke with TechDay following his keynote at the recent user conference. As AI reshapes enterprise software, he emphasised that NetSuite is not merely reacting to trends - it is shaping them.

One major development on the horizon is Oracle Code Assist, a coding tool aimed at bridging the gap between traditional software developers and NetSuite-specific expertise.

"Our customers have always struggled to find enough talent to help them customise their environment," he explained. "Oracle Code Assist helps someone who knows software development but not NetSuite to write SuiteScripts and build apps - without needing to be a NetSuite expert."

That aligns with NetSuite's long-standing focus on platform extensibility, but with a more accessible twist.

"We've done things like low-code and no-code before, with tools like SuiteFlow," Chess said. "But there's no such thing as making it too easy."

Ease of use is also driving adoption of features like item recommendations, which suggest add-ons during the sales process. These were quietly made a default feature - an intentional move.

"We saw this enormous uptick when we enabled it by default," he said. "People aren't thinking, 'How do I strategically apply AI?' They just log in and it's there."

It's a gentle but powerful way to introduce customers to AI, especially those still unsure about how it applies to their business. "A lot of people are excited about AI in theory, but they're still wondering - how does this benefit me?"

However, Chess believes that will change.

"Right now, we're the ones offering suggestions. But in the near future, customers will say, 'I want AI to solve this specific problem.'"

But AI can't come at the cost of customer trust - a word Chess says is "even more important than reliability or security."

"If you lose people's trust, they're gone," he said. "We're cautious about how we roll things out because we want to maintain that trust."

A case in point: NetSuite's Text Enhance feature, which uses generative AI to assist with writing business content. The early version lacked an undo button - a small but vital omission.

"We added it after customer feedback, and that made all the difference," Chess said. "They needed to know there was a way out before they were willing to use it."

Trust also means preserving human oversight. When Text Enhance is used to generate content like product descriptions, the user must explicitly review and approve it.

"After they submit it, their name goes on that text," Chess said. "You're not just turning your business over to AI. The AI is enhancing your business."

Still, some customers remain hesitant. Chess said the biggest blocker to adoption isn't fear - it's uncertainty.

"People don't know what to wish for," he said. "They buy a product for planning and budgeting, and then discover it has AI. But they didn't buy it for the AI. Not yet."

But that's changing too. "Eventually, people are going to say, 'I don't want to be left behind,'" he added.

He likened AI adoption to a moment early in his career: "There was a time when companies didn't give employees email addresses. They'd ask, 'What's the return on investment?' Now it's just part of doing business. That's where AI is headed."

According to Chess, certain industries are already ahead of the curve - particularly finance teams in the tech sector.

"They've been the most adventurous and the most imaginative. Maybe sitting near all the engineers has rubbed off," he joked.

However, making AI work at scale in an enterprise-grade platform like NetSuite isn't without hurdles.

Chess explained that building AI into the core - rather than layering it on top - required "major investment in user experience."

"We had to change the interface," he said. "Now it's not just the user clicking the buttons. The AI is clicking too - sometimes at the same time."

That overlap meant redesigning interactions so they made sense to users and were easier for developers to implement. "I wouldn't have predicted a few years ago that AI would lead us to rethink the UI like this," he added.

Looking ahead, Chess envisions a workplace where many roles become more strategic, shaped by collaboration with intelligent tools.

"More and more jobs are going to look like executive jobs," he said. "If your role today is to customise reports, the AI will soon be able to do more and more of that."

But the real change, he said, will come after that.

"Today, the AI gives you the report. Tomorrow, it might ask why you wanted the report in the first place - maybe it's helping you prepare for an investment decision. Eventually, it might say, 'Here are some suggestions.'"

And that, he believes, is the future of work.

"The human role becomes the judgement call - does this make sense or not?" he said. "And that's a good place to be."