Ever invested in a tech solution that no one ever used?

That's usually because it was built or deployed with an incomplete understanding of the end user and their environment.

Second Mind Solutions brings deep expertise in User Experience Research, Product Development and Strategic Communications to ensure that whatever you build or roll out actually gets adopted.

We de-risk your tech investment.

Adopting AI Your team has AI tools, but no one can say where they have changed how the work gets done. AI Workflow Redesign We study how the work actually runs, then redesign the steps where AI should help and decide where people's judgment stays in charge. Building AI You're building an AI-enabled product, and you don't yet know if people will trust it, adopt it, or pay for it. AI-Enabled Product Research We find out before you commit the build budget, and keep checking while you build.

Plus Build & Implementation for both, when the answer needs engineering. How builds work →

Discuss your AI adoption challenge Building a product? Book a product research call

How we de-risk it

Engage. Surface. Feed back. Repeat.

  1. Engage the intended end userEarly and often, in their real working environment.
  2. Surface insightsWhat helps, what gets in the way, and why.
  3. Feed them into design or rolloutThen check again, so what ships fits how people actually work.

Track Record

AI adoption expertise grounded in real workplace research.

Terence Milstead, PhD, Founder and Principal of Second Mind, led the user experience research team supporting Pennsylvania's yearlong enterprise AI pilot, conducted in partnership with OpenAI and involving 175 employees across 14 agencies. Today, he helps organizations understand where AI fits into their work, what employees need to use it effectively, and how to evaluate adoption.

Read the Commonwealth's published pilot report → How the research was done →

1yearenterprise AI pilot run by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
175state employees in the pilot
14Pennsylvania state agencies
3research methods: focus groups, interviews, and diary studies

Podcast · with Pete Cooper

What does it take to work effectively with AI?

Terence Milstead, Founder and Principal of Second Mind, speaks with Pete Cooper (founder and CEO of Skillion AI Labs and host of the AI: Hype or Help? podcast) about the skills people bring to AI-assisted work and lessons from his research on AI adoption in Pennsylvania state government.

Watch the conversation More media appearances →

Where to Start

Two paths. One clear first step each.

Adopting AI

We're adopting AI into our organization

The problem
AI tools are in place, but use is uneven and no one can show which parts of the work they have changed.
The outcome
A clear view of which workflows, decisions, and handoffs between people and AI should change, and written guidance your team can follow.
Start with
A free 30-minute conversation about your team, your AI tools, and what is getting in the way.
Then
If there is a fit, we recommend one paid first step: an Executive Brief (one working session and a written memo) or a 2-Week Diagnostic (a mapped and prioritized look at one function or team). How they differ
Discuss your AI adoption challenge See the full practice →

Building AI

We're building an AI-enabled product

The problem
Development budget is being committed before you know whether people will trust the product, adopt it, or pay for it.
The outcome
Evidence on the user problem, the concept, and your adoption assumptions, mapped to what to build, cut, and test next.
Start with
A free 30-minute product research call about your product, where it is in the build, and the decision you need to make next.
Then
Depending on your stage, the first engagement is Concept & Adoption Validation, or Prototype & MVP Testing if you already have something people can use. Research can continue through the build.
Book a Product Research Call See the full practice →

Not ready for a call?

See how ready your organization is to adopt AI

The AI Adoption Readiness Scorecard is a self-assessment: 18 questions across six dimensions of adoption, informed by selected published research. It takes 10 to 12 minutes. Your score and readiness band are free; the full report is $49.

Take the Assessment How it works →
Shared capability Build & Implementation. When either practice calls for engineering, such as integrations, automation, or a custom AI tool, we spec it, direct vetted engineers to build it, and prove it with real users before it ships. How builds work →

Both practices share one method: research-grade understanding of how people behave around AI, turned into decisions someone can act on.

Who We Work With

Built for teams at this specific moment

We work best with two kinds of teams: organizations whose people have AI tools but have not changed how they work, and teams building AI-enabled products who need to know whether people will trust, adopt, and pay for them.

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Teams whose work depends on skilled judgment, where quality and turnaround directly affect what the work earns

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Teams already using AI that are seeing uneven quality, inconsistent use, or no clear answer to what it has changed

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Leaders accountable for AI outcomes in communications, marketing, operations, or strategy who need a disciplined, evidence-based path forward

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Organizations ready to move past experimentation and settle how AI is used in specific workflows, with review steps everyone understands

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Teams building AI-enabled products and services, and the agencies and development partners behind them, who need to know people will trust and adopt what they are building

The senior researcher who scopes the work is the one who does it. Nothing is handed to a junior team.

How We Work

What makes our approach different

We study how people actually work

UX research methods applied to AI: interviews, workflow mapping, prototype testing, and friction analysis grounded in real behavior, not vendor playbooks.

We design for adoption, not just capability

Behavior-led system design, so the workflow survives contact with real teams, not only the early adopters who would have figured it out anyway.

We make the change land

A rollout needs more than a training session. We plan how the change is explained to each group of stakeholders and how managers will reinforce it afterward.

We get it built, without the handoff

The lead who did the research directs the engineering, so nothing gets lost between the findings and the developers, and every build traces back to a workflow we have studied.

Clients

BNET
National Urban League
MTP, Inc.
Avatar Insights Avatar Insights

Get in Touch

Contact Us

Using AI in your firm, or building an AI-enabled product of your own? Send us a message and we'll follow up within one business day.

Or Book Time Directly

Adopting AI

Start with a conversation

A free 30-minute call about your team, your AI tools, and what is getting in the way. No pitch, no pressure.

Discuss your AI adoption challenge

Building AI

Book a Product Research Call

A free 30-minute call about your product, where it is in the build, and what you need to know before the next decision.

Book a Product Research Call