22. AI Adoption in Medical Affairs: What High-Performing Teams Do Differently

In this episode, Scott sits down with Nick Taylor, Head of Gilead’s IT Innovation Lab, to unpack how he has led enterprise-wide adoption of Copilot and built AI solutions now used by nearly 30,000 employees. Nick shares the mindset, methods, and practical realities of teaching teams to use AI well, from personal productivity to enterprise-scale agents.

Together, they discuss:
• How Nick moved from IT architecture to leading AI innovation across Gilead
• What early pilots revealed about real-world AI adoption
• The small wins that drive big productivity gains
• How teams should think about governance, compliance, and risk
• The shift from personal AI use to team- and enterprise-level AI
• What Medical Affairs teams should expect in the next 3 years of AI maturity

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntaylornc

OnPoint: The Medical Excellence Podcast delivers insightful conversations on the most pressing issues facing top Medical Affairs professionals. Listen to stay ahead of industry trends and be inspired by leaders shaping the future of Medical Affairs.

OnPoint is available on several podcast platforms, including the Acceleration Point YouTube channel.

[00:00] – Welcome and Introduction
[02:00] – Early Copilot Pilots and the Small Wins That Sparked Enterprise Adoption
[06:40] – Building Genie: Gilead’s Enterprise AI Assistant
[08:35] – Security, Compliance, and Fixing Broken Data Hygiene
[14:45] – The Four Levels of AI Maturity in Medical Affairs
[18:55] – Personal AI Mastery: Prompts, Roles, and Nick’s ‘Board of Advisor’ Agents
[28:35] – Scaling AI Across Pharma and Why You Can’t Outsource Thinking