Smarter PMOs: Leveraging AI & Automation Without Being a Tech Expert
I’ll be blunt: most PMOs I’ve worked with are drowning in admin.
We chase updates across 20 projects. We spend hours formatting slide decks for executives who never flip past page three. We take notes in meetings instead of facilitating them. We manually consolidate spreadsheets that are outdated by the time they reach the sponsor’s desk.
And then, after all that, executives turn to us and ask: “What’s the value of the PMO?”
It’s exhausting.
I know the look on a PMO leader’s face when they’re asked that question. It’s a mix of frustration and fear because deep down, we know we’re working harder than ever, but it doesn’t always look like value.
Now, here’s where AI and automation enter the picture. Not as robots replacing us. Not as some futuristic experiment in a lab. But as practical tools we can use today to claw back credibility, time, and influence.
The Big Misconception About AI
The biggest misconception I hear is:
“I’m not technical enough for AI. That’s for IT or data scientists.”
Wrong.
AI in the PMO doesn’t mean coding. It doesn’t mean outsourcing judgment. It means automating the mundane so we can focus on the meaningful. If you can send an email, you can use AI. It’s not about knowing how algorithms work. It’s about knowing which problem you’re trying to solve and then letting the right tool do the heavy lifting.
And the problems PMOs face? They’re tailor-made for AI and automation.
Let me walk you through the specific ways I’ve seen AI shift the PMO’s credibility, influence, and workload. These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re the real, practical cases where AI makes us faster, sharper, and more trusted.
Practical Use Case #1: Auto-Generated Meeting Minutes
The Pain Point:
Let’s be honest, most of us hate taking meeting minutes. It’s time-consuming, it’s distracting, and half the time we miss nuance because we’re typing instead of listening. And yet, minutes are critical for accountability.
How AI Helps:
AI transcription and summarization tools (many already embedded in Teams, or Zoom) record the discussion, highlight key decisions, and list action items, often before the meeting ends.
What It Looks Like in Practice:
- A governance meeting runs.
- AI captures every word.
- Within minutes, you receive a draft summary with decisions and actions clearly outlined.
Actionable Step:
Choose one recurring governance meeting. Enable the AI note-taker. At the end, review the auto-generated summary for accuracy, then circulate it. What used to take you two hours now takes five minutes.
Why It Matters:
The first time I walked out of a steering committee with the minutes already drafted, I realized I could finally focus on facilitating the room, not transcribing it. That changed how I showed up as a PMO leader. I wasn’t the secretary anymore, I was the strategist.
Practical Use Case #2: Smarter Dashboards for Faster Decisions
The Pain Point:
Executives don’t want 40-slide PowerPoints. They want one dashboard that tells them if the portfolio is healthy. But most PMOs spend days consolidating data into spreadsheets, manually formatting, and double-checking numbers. By the time it’s ready, it’s stale.
How AI Helps:
AI and automation pull real-time data directly from project tools and consolidate it into dashboards. Instead of crunching data, you’re curating insights.
What It Looks Like in Practice:
- Smartsheet dashboards update automatically as project managers input data.
- AI surfaces trends, like which programs consistently overrun.
- Executives see current portfolio health instantly, without waiting for a monthly cycle.
Actionable Step:
Start small. Build one dashboard that auto-updates weekly. Stop manually consolidating spreadsheets. Instead, use the dashboard in your next executive meeting. Watch how the conversation shifts when leaders can see live data instead of lagging reports.
Why It Matters:
A PMO that delivers real-time insights is a PMO executives listen to. You move from “reporting team” to “decision enabler.” That’s how you shift perception.
Practical Use Case #3: Portfolio Prioritization Without Politics
The Pain Point:
Intake is messy. The loudest voice often wins. And PMOs get caught in the middle of organizational politics.
How AI Helps:
Automation triages requests, tags them against strategic objectives, and filters out operational noise. Instead of debating endlessly, you present data-driven prioritization.
What It Looks Like in Practice:
- A simple intake form auto-categorizes requests.
- AI scores alignment to strategy based on defined criteria.
- PMOs present an objective view instead of subjective judgment.
Actionable Step:
Set up a basic intake form with automated tagging. At your next intake review, compare which projects scored high vs. which got pushed by politics. The contrast speaks for itself.
Why It Matters:
This isn’t about removing politics, it’s about arming yourself with data. AI doesn’t end debates, but it makes you the voice of reason in the room.
The Human Side of AI
The truth is most PMO leaders aren’t afraid of AI, they’re afraid of losing control.
That’s why I frame it differently: AI doesn’t replace your judgment, it amplifies it.
Executives don’t expect us to become data scientists. They expect us to show up with clarity. AI helps us get there faster. And when used strategically, it makes the PMO more visible, more credible, and more valued.
Why This Matters Strategically
If we don’t embrace these tools, someone else will. Business leaders already set up “shadow PMOs” with the same tech we hesitate to touch. That’s how formal PMOs become invisible.
The choice isn’t between AI or no AI. It’s between a PMO that stays relevant or one that gets replaced.
And let me be blunt: executives are watching. They notice who brings solutions and who clings to spreadsheets. They notice which PMOs drive insights versus which ones ask for more time. AI isn’t a threat to PMOs.
AI isn’t a threat to PMOs. Complacency is.
The Practical Bridge: Smartsheet
I’ve helped PMOs adopt Smartsheet and AI features in ways that are simple, practical, and non-intimidating.
- Set up smarter dashboards.
- Configure intake workflows.
- Embed AI in ways that serve strategy, not just operations.
Because the point isn’t to “do AI.” The point is to run a smarter PMO that executives actually trust.
And if you’re ready to explore how AI and automation can make your PMO smarter, without the overwhelm, let’s talk about it directly. Sometimes all it takes is one conversation to map out what this could look like in your context.
