Inside the Second AI Advantage Session: From LLMs to Agentic AI
The AI Advantage program returned for its second session with a clear mission: move from theory to practice and demystify AI for the sports and entertainment industry. Co-hosted by Sports Innovation Lab and Microsoft, this session built upon our first gathering at the Microsoft Garage in NYC, expanding our focus from general large language models (LLMs) to the cutting-edge world of agentic AI.
If you missed it, here’s what you need to know—and what you should be doing right now to prepare your organization for the age of AI.
Session Kickoff: Context, Community, and Urgency
CMO of Sports Innovation Lab Gina Waldhorn opened the webinar by grounding us in why AI matters now. She reminded us that the sports industry has historically lagged in adopting technology—CRM being a prime example—and warned that we risk doing the same with AI unless we act fast.
We revisited the idea of the Fluid Fan, Sports Innovation Lab’s data-driven framework that defines today’s sports audience: empowered, evolving, and expectation-rich. Understanding this fan isn’t optional—it’s foundational. And AI is the toolset that can help you meet them where they are.
From LLMs to Agentic AI: What's the Difference?
Next, CEO of Sport’s Innovation Lab Josh Walker helped attendees transition from applications and chatbots to agentic systems—software that doesn't just respond, but acts, reasons, and learns.
In today’s world, a chatbot might help you buy a ticket. In the near future, an agent will know you’re looking for a family-friendly event, see that it’s raining in your city, and offer a ticket, a jersey, and a Domino’s dinner bundle in a single flow—without you clicking a thing.
This isn’t speculation. It’s already happening. And it’s built on:
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems
Integration of first-party data
Tools that bridge enterprise logic with consumer intuition
Live Demo: Building Smarter Bots Without Code
Our own Travis Fleisher demonstrated what’s possible today using off-the-shelf tools like Zapier. He walked through the creation of a Brooklyn Nets sales assistant chatbot that:
Pulls from custom Nets fan data sets
Queries merchant spend indices to suggest promotions
Generates TikTok campaign ideas
Logs outputs to Google Sheets for seamless team collaboration
And it took less than a day to build.
✅ Cost? Around $15/month. Technical barrier? Very low. Impact? Immediate.
Even more impressive, Travis explained how to overcome the limitations of tools like Zapier by pre-processing data, uploading documentation, and guiding LLMs with natural language instructions. It’s a playbook every team should copy.
Going Deeper: The Agentic Studio Vision
After showing what's possible with no-code tools, we switched gears to custom agentic platforms. Gina previewed the Brooklyn Nets Ticket Genie—an internal sales assistant powered by Sports Innovation Lab data that:
Targets micro-segments like "parents of teens"
Prioritizes top-spending audiences
Surfaces market trends from both proprietary and public sources
Generates media strategies and even programmatic custom audiences
It’s a glimpse into what sports-specific AI agents will look like when LLMs, proprietary data, and enterprise APIs all work in sync.
Where the Industry Stands: White Space and Opportunity
We’re still in the early innings. As Gina and Josh noted, there’s a noticeable gap in sports-focused agentic platforms. But that’s changing fast. We heard from Pete Scott of Hypermindz, one of the few players building agent-native solutions that integrate with real-time databases like Ticketmaster and SeatGeek to drive results across merchandising, ticketing, and marketing.
And the most exciting part? This innovation isn’t locked behind seven-figure vendor contracts. From Zapier to Lovable to Hypermindz, the tools exist for teams of all sizes to start building now.
Why Women’s Sports Should Lead the AI Charge
A consistent throughline across both sessions has been Sports Innovation Lab’s commitment to women’s sports. In an environment where resources are often limited, AI offers an unfair advantage—efficiency, productivity, and a direct path to monetization.
Whether it’s generating pitch decks in minutes or identifying new sponsorship categories through spend data, women’s sports organizations can leapfrog traditional models by embracing these tools today.
What You Can Do Now
The session wrapped with a practical framework for getting started:
Stop letting your traffic be anonymous – Encourage logins and collect user signals.
Audit your data infrastructure – What do you know? What’s missing? Where does it live?
Add data sources that teach AI who your fans are – Surveys, transaction data, segmentation.
Start experimenting – Use our pre-built segments, leverage our insight reports, and begin building your own bots.
Everything shared in the session—from tools to demos to contact info—is available via the AI Toolkit (check the recording or reach out for a link).
We’re Just Getting Started
With over 300 professionals now involved across both sessions, it’s clear that the AI Advantage community is growing fast. And we’re not stopping.
📅 Our next session drops August 2025.
📥 Want to explore a custom demo or get a sample data set for your team? Reach out at travis@twinbrain.ai.