Webinar: Applications for AI in SEM: Agents, Coaches, and Process Documentation

Join the SEM Collaborative for a special webinar featuring Jason Trager of Plentiful.AI as we explore how artificial intelligence is beginning to intersect with SEM, where the technology may offer meaningful opportunities, and what energy professionals should be thinking about now.

Everyone in SEM is being told to "use AI," but almost nobody is told where to start. This session argues the starting point is something SEM practitioners already do well: documenting process. The same discipline behind energy management systems, treasure hunts, and opportunity registers is exactly what AI systems need to be useful. Before any tool selection or vendor conversation, the question is whether you can write down how a task actually gets done, including the decisions, exceptions, and handoffs.

What We’ll Explore

We will spend most of the session on the process documentation: what makes a process AI-ready, why some tasks translate well to automation and others quietly fail, and a plain-language mental model for the landscape (chatbots that answer, agents that act, coaches that guide). Attendees will work through a structured worksheet to map one of their own processes and assess where AI could assist, where a human must stay in the loop, and where the honest answer is "not yet." No coding background required, and no software will be built in the room.

We will close with case studies from our current work on AI coaches and concierges in energy programs, including systems that follow up with participants, interpret building data, and hand off to humans. We will be candid about what works, what breaks, and what these systems cost, so you leave with a grounded sense of what is real today versus what is still a demo.

About the Speaker

Dr. Jason Trager | Plentiful.AI

Dr. Trager is the founder and CEO of Plentiful.ai, where he builds AI tools that make building electrification faster, fairer, and radically more scalable. A serial entrepreneur with a UC Berkeley Ph.D., he's built geospatial forecasting platforms used by utilities serving over 30% of U.S. electric meters, led ML teams, and successfully exited his first company along the way. Equal parts data nerd and climate optimist, Jason is always up for a good book recommendation, a quirky startup idea, or talking renewable energy art.

This Webinar Is Open to the SEM Community

You do not need to be an SEM Collaborative member to attend.

We invite utility and program professionals, implementers, consultants, researchers, technology providers, energy managers, and anyone interested in the intersection of AI, energy management, and SEM to join us.

Thursday, August 27, 2026
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Pacific
12:00–1:00 PM Mountain | 1:00–2:00 PM Central | 2:00–3:00 PM Eastern

Ready to Join the Conversation?

AI's role in SEM is still being written. Come explore where it's headed, what may be possible, and how our community can help shape what comes next. Register now.