AI Categories
Recognizing the achievements of individuals and organizations using AI in the workplace.
Nominations that won in the 2026 ABAs may be resubmitted for consideration in the 2027 ABAs. If they have been updated with recent achievements, they may be submitted to the same categories in which they won. If they have not been updated, they must be submitted to categories different from those in which they won.
Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories for the 2027 ABAs will include
a. An essay of up to 4,900 characters describing the nominee’s accomplishments since January 1, 2025, OR a video of up to five (5) minutes in length describing the same.
b. Optional (but highly recommended), add to your entry up to 10 webpage links and up to 10 document uploads to support your case to the judges. These might be press articles, press releases, videos, or images, for example.
Individual
Q01. AI Innovator of the Year
Recognizing an individual (engineer, researcher, product leader) whose work significantly advanced AI applications or solutions.
Q02. AI Leader of the Year:
Honoring a CEO, executive, or senior leader driving AI strategy and impact within their organization.
Q03. AI Rising Star
Honoring early-career professionals making notable contributions to AI projects or research.
Q04. Women in AI Leadership
Spotlighting women executives, researchers, and entrepreneurs shaping the AI landscape.
Organization-wide Achievements
Q05. AI & Sustainability Achievement Award
Spotlighting AI-driven initiatives that reduce environmental impact or advance sustainability goals.
Q06. AI Breakthrough of the Year
Recognizing a groundbreaking AI innovation, invention, or technical advancement that represents a significant leap beyond existing approaches or capabilities. Entries should focus on what is new or pioneering about the AI itself, its significance to the field or industry, and its potential or demonstrated impact.
Q07. AI Company of the Year
For organizations demonstrating outstanding achievements in applying AI across operations, products, and services.
Q08. AI-Driven Culture of Innovation
Honoring companies fostering a strong culture of AI adoption, training, and ethical innovation.
Q09. AI-Driven Startup of the Year
Recognizing startups whose growth and innovation are fueled by AI.
Q10. AI for Customer Experience
Recognizing the use of AI in customer support, personalization, or engagement.
Q11. AI for Social Good
Spotlighting initiatives using AI to address societal challenges (education, accessibility, disaster relief, etc.).
Q12. AI-Generated or AI-Enhanced Video
Honors videos that were created or significantly enhanced using AI tools, including AI avatars, synthetic voice, automated editing, or generative visuals. Entries should demonstrate innovation and impact.
Q13. AI Implementation of the Year
Recognizing an organization for the successful deployment and adoption of an AI solution within a specific business function, operation, or use case.
Q14. AI in Data & Analytics (New for 2027)
Recognizing organizations that use artificial intelligence to transform data analysis, business intelligence, forecasting, decision-making, or the generation of actionable insights. Entries should demonstrate measurable improvements in the speed, accuracy, accessibility, or business value of data and analytics.
Q15. AI in Finance & Financial Management (New for 2027)
Recognizing the use of AI to improve financial planning, forecasting, reporting, risk management, fraud detection, auditing, budgeting, or other finance-related processes. Entries should demonstrate measurable improvements in financial insight, efficiency, accuracy, or organizational performance.
Q16. AI in Healthcare Achievement Award
Honoring impactful AI applications in medical technology, patient care, or health outcomes.
Q17. AI in Human Resources & Talent Management
Recognizing AI-driven solutions for hiring, learning, employee engagement, or workforce planning.
Q18. AI in Marketing & Sales
Spotlight AI-powered tools for demand generation, analytics, personalization, or sales enablement.
Q19. AI in Operations & Process Automation (New for 2027)
Recognizing the successful use of AI to automate, optimize, or improve business operations and workflows. Applicable achievements may include intelligent automation, process optimization, predictive maintenance, resource allocation, supply chain operations, or other initiatives that produced measurable gains in efficiency or performance.
Q20. Best AI-Powered Product or Service
Recognizing commercially available products or services that integrate AI to deliver exceptional results. This category is open to AI-powered products and services across all industries and applications.
Q21. Best Use of Agentic AI (New for 2027)
Recognizing organizations that successfully implemented AI agents or agentic AI systems capable of autonomously or semi-autonomously performing tasks, coordinating workflows, making decisions, or taking actions on behalf of users or organizations. Entries should demonstrate innovation, effective human oversight, and measurable organizational or customer impact.
Q22. Best Use of AI in Business Transformation
Recognizing an organization that used AI to fundamentally transform how it operates, competes, or delivers value.
Q23. Ethical AI Initiative of the Year
Honoring responsible and transparent approaches to AI development and deployment.