Chhaya Methani is a data science professional with over 14 years of experience in her field. She is a published author of scholarly articles and holds multiple patents in topic generation and conversational AI. In her current role as Principal Applied Science Manager at Microsoft, she utilizes her expertise in Natural Language Processing, Generative AI, Deep Learning, and Machine Learning to lead the development of models for creating custom AI agents at scale.
Over the years, Methani has learned to embrace a growth mindset, seeing failed experiments as valuable lessons and change as an opportunity to grow and improve. This perspective has kept her at the forefront of the AI revolution, and she has contributed significantly to its advancements.
"In Data Science, the only constant is change. Embracing a mindset of lifelong learning is essential for staying relevant and driving innovation," she explains.
A Stellar Start to Methani's Career
Methani received a Master of Science By Research degree from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-Hyderabad), India. She published several research papers on biometrics before graduating and worked at Siemens Research Labs after leaving university.
"I was exposed to technical problems across various domains like computer vision, medical imaging, gesture recognition, etc. It sowed the seeds of invention in me early on," she recalls.
Methani has authored several patents inspired by the many technologies she has worked with. These include Natural Language Processing and Medical Imaging to improve radiography. More recently, her work has improved the quality of Large Language Models (LLM) in conversational workflow automation.
After leaving Siemens, Methani began working for Microsoft in Bangalore before transferring to its headquarters in the United States in 2017. She worked on various consumer products at Microsoft, including Bing Ads and the Bing search engine.
Methani then moved on to develop AI solutions for Enterprise applications. She developed Sentiment and Aspect detection models for Customer Insights in Microsoft Dynamics 365. She also worked on creating Copilot for cloud workflow in Microsoft Power Automate, an intelligent workflow automation system designed to boost productivity. She now leads the development of a Generative AI-based orchestration system for Microsoft's agent creation platform, Copilot Studio.
Methani's work also incorporates natural language interfaces to simplify user interactions, real-time data analysis for improved decision-making, and customizable AI agents for enterprise applications. Her contributions ensure these systems reduce human effort while maintaining ethical standards and minimizing biases.
She enjoys creating products that drive value for customers, and her current focus is on improving productivity for enterprise workflows.
Real-World Applications of Generative AI
During the COVID-19 outbreak, Methani designed a Smart News ranker to help supply chain managers quickly identify failures.
The model she worked on would sift through the high volumes of international publications and articles, looking for relevant categories like disease outbreaks, supply disruptions, curfews, etc., and rank these articles on their likelihood of creating delays. This helped supply chain managers stay ahead of shortages and helped relieve some of the pain felt across communities.
From that experience, Methani realized that AI could positively boost productivity among knowledge workers. By simplifying processes, workers would be able to interact more naturally with systems to gain insight and also automate the repetitive parts of their jobs. This would lead to a more inspired workforce with the bandwidth to look at problems from a broader perspective.
How Generative AI Is Transforming the Future of Work
Generative AI is growing more and more popular and continues to be integrated into many fields, especially since the release of ChatGPT. Methani leads several Microsoft data science teams working on the transformational impact Generative AI will have on how humans interact with business applications.
Integrating AI with databases or systems of record will streamline time-consuming routine tasks and free up workers to deal with other higher-value activities.
She is leading the transformation of enterprise workflow automation to natural language-powered interfaces to enhance customer ease by improving the quality of Generative AI models. These models support hundreds of thousands of user queries on a monthly basis.
As an expert in building applications using LLMs, Methani is working on creating an agentic ecosystem that will aid functions such as customer service agents, sales lead generation, and workflow automation of other repetitive workflows, saving time spent on these tasks.
"Most people today think that AI is far more capable than is actually observed in real industry scenarios. It is still not useful at creating value for most enterprise users, the main bottleneck being quality issues when deployed for complex chains of tasks that humans can easily do," says Methani.
She aims to create effective intelligent agents (automated systems) that work with a natural language command. This needs creating datasets reflecting customers' usage of the product and designing experiments to measure and improve the model's effectiveness.
Methani believes that ensuring the ethical use of AI and reducing biases in the design of AI systems is a priority to ensure the technology has a positive impact: "The true measure of AI success lies in its ability to deliver tangible value to customers, transforming data into actionable insights that make their lives easier. The creation of effective custom AI agents is a step in the direction of achieving that vision."
For Methani, the future of work is not about replacing humans with machines but empowering them with intelligent tools that free them to focus on creative and strategic thinking. Her vision is centered on integrating AI-powered systems that streamline complex tasks and encourage smarter, data-driven decision-making. By integrating these systems into business workflows seamlessly, Methani aims to shift traditional work models toward more dynamic, technology-driven ecosystems that promote efficiency.
Leading Others into the Future
Methani believes strongly in the importance of mentoring aspiring data scientists and other women in the tech industry. With her own team, she coaches members on achieving career growth and guides them through the complexities of the internal workings of corporations.
"I mentor early-in-career employees looking for advice on getting started in the field of Data Science along with women in tech through mentorship rings within the company. I prefer to lead by example by modeling the standards I set for my team. I am a firm believer in the ability of transparency to inspire creativity and purpose. Creating customer value and aspiring to drive for results is my mantra for success."
As she looks to the future, Chhaya Methani believes that advancements in AI technology have the potential to unlock new levels of productivity and potential, transforming the way people work and innovate.
