The Sexual Wellness Professional Alliance (SWPA) is set to host "The AI Ladder," a free three-part webinar series designed to instruct adult retailers on integrating artificial intelligence into their daily business operations. The series, led by Zondre Watson of Ero-Tech (Secrets Adult Boutiques), will commence in November 2026 and continue into 2027.

"The AI Ladder" Series Overview

The webinar series, "The AI Ladder," aims to demonstrate how AI can be applied in real retail environments, starting with foundational concepts. Zondre Watson, general manager of technology & analytics for Ero-Tech (Secrets Adult Boutiques), will lead the sessions. The series description indicates that participants will learn to utilize AI to enhance business operations.

The first session, titled "Ask, Then Teach," is scheduled for Thursday, November 19, at 11 a.m. PT and will be conducted via Zoom. This session will focus on creating an initial AI assistant, configuring it to meet a store's specific requirements, and providing the necessary information to generate relevant results. Attendees will receive a handout and step-by-step instructions to begin implementing these practices.

The series will continue in 2027 with two additional sessions. Session 2, "Build," is planned for Q1 2027 and will explore the development of more capable AI tools and workflows for businesses. Session 3, "Schedule," set for Q2 2027, will cover how to schedule and streamline recurring tasks using AI. Registration for the series is available on "The AI Ladder" sign-up page.

SWPA's Broader Webinar Initiatives

The Sexual Wellness Professional Alliance (SWPA), a division of the Free Speech Coalition, has a history of hosting webinars for the adult industry. This includes a free webinar held on Wednesday, October 7, titled "Breaking Through: Landing Mainstream Media Coverage as a Sexual Wellness Brand." This session, hosted by Bryony Lees, PR Manager at Little Leaf Agency, began at 10 a.m. PDT and focused on strategies for sexual wellness brands to gain mainstream media attention despite industry challenges such as ad restrictions, shadowbans, and existing misconceptions. The webinar aimed to provide a "smarter approach to PR" to help brands distinguish themselves.

The SWPA's broader webinar series began on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 6 p.m. PT, featuring AVN Hall of Fame pleasure product professional Kim Airs. Airs presented "A Deep Dive Into Pleasure Toys (What You Don’t Know About Sex Toys)," which was open to the adult public and targeted adult retailers and consumers. Airs shared insights from her 31 years of experience in the adult retail industry, covering topics such as retailing, materials, and lubes. The series continued with a November 21 webinar featuring Ken Herskovitz, chief operating officer of Vibratex/Magic.

AI Fluency in Business Operations

The concept of AI fluency being role-specific rather than role-agnostic is a relevant framework for understanding the application of AI in business. The rapid pace of AI development is noted as unparalleled, with significant impact expected across various aspects of life. For leadership teams, the role involves ensuring that each team member understands AI as it applies to their specific function. While some overlap in knowledge is beneficial, full-stack AI knowledge is expected to be rare.

Different organizational levels require distinct AI competencies. For Board & C-Suite roles, the core competency is to transform AI hype into governance and strategy. This involves understanding risk vocabulary, such as adversarial attacks, model drift, hallucinations, and bias amplification, without necessarily knowing how to prevent them, but rather what questions to ask. It also includes comprehending ROI frameworks for AI investments, which differ from traditional IT due to factors like faster depreciation, ongoing training costs, and challenges in measuring productivity gains. Additionally, understanding the regulatory landscape and clarifying accountability for AI risk, adoption, and oversight across the organization are crucial for this level.

Key Facts

  • The Sexual Wellness Professional Alliance (SWPA) will host "The AI Ladder," a free three-part webinar series.
  • The series focuses on using AI to improve everyday business operations for adult retailers.
  • Zondre Watson, general manager of technology & analytics for Ero-Tech (Secrets Adult Boutiques), will lead the series.
  • The first session, "Ask, Then Teach," is scheduled for Thursday, November 19, at 11 a.m. PT via Zoom.
  • Subsequent sessions, "Build" and "Schedule," are planned for Q1 2027 and Q2 2027, respectively.
  • SWPA is a division of the Free Speech Coalition and has previously hosted webinars on topics such as mainstream media coverage and pleasure products.