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Smartsheet Embraces AI to Transform Business Operations
Five months after completing its $8.4 billion take-private deal, Smartsheet is making significant strides in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations. CEO Mark Mader emphasizes that the timing is ideal for this transformation. “One of the things we’re able to benefit from now is high velocity decision-making with a long-term investment vision,” Mader stated during an interview.
After seven years on the New York Stock Exchange, Smartsheet went private again in January through a deal supported by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners. This move has allowed the company to operate without the quarterly pressures of public markets, enabling it to focus on long-term growth and innovation.
Mader highlights that Smartsheet is currently focused on “AI-ifying” its business, which involves applying AI and automation to existing features. Rather than reinventing the wheel, the company is concentrating on enhancing what users already do, such as building dashboards and querying data. The goal is to make these tasks more efficient and user-friendly for the average business professional, not just AI experts.
AI Integration in Smartsheet’s Tools
Smartsheet has seen notable results from its AI initiatives. More than a third of elements created with its “Dashboards” tool are now generated by AI. Additionally, customer inquiries related to complex formula creation—once the top support request—have dropped nearly 50% since the introduction of a natural language assistant for formulas.
Looking ahead, Smartsheet’s long-term AI roadmap includes developing more agentic capabilities, allowing AI to not only assist but also take action across workflows. However, Mader stresses the importance of starting with the basics. “If you give someone confidence in those building blocks, I think you’re in such a power position to then graduate them,” he said.
With over 100,000 global customers, 16.7 million active users, and more than $1 billion in annual revenue, Smartsheet is well-positioned in the competitive AI landscape. The company has more than 3,000 employees worldwide, and over 90% of its workforce is using AI tools.
Internal AI Strategies
Smartsheet has adopted a two-pronged approach to AI: top-line and bottom-line. Top-line AI refers to customer-facing capabilities, while bottom-line AI focuses on internal productivity areas such as coding, quality assurance, and customer support.
For some employees, AI isn’t optional. “If you’re on certain teams, you are actually measured on your usage of these things,” Mader explained. While there has been some pushback on the AI philosophy, Mader remains confident in the direction the company is taking. “That’s fine,” he said. “But that’s how Smartsheet will run in the future. That’s how modern enterprises are running. And I would say there’s not a lot of tolerance for opting out on that.”
Future Outlook and Challenges
Mader anticipates that the volume of work and insights derived from platforms like Smartsheet will grow significantly, placing even more pressure on individuals to manage this increased flow. “With increased flow rate, the human is actually more consequential than less consequential,” he noted.
Despite the challenges of keeping up with rapid innovation, Mader is excited about the future. He echoed his message to graduates at the University of Washington’s Information School: embrace the stress. “You have this constant stream of opportunity facing you—sometimes you almost don’t have time to think,” he said. “But the benefit that comes out on a net basis is dramatically positive.”
