Airtable’s co-founder and CEO, Howie Liu, is rewriting the rules of corporate life—and it might just change the way we think about work forever. Instead of back-to-back meetings, endless emails, and the usual daily grind, Liu is pushing his 700-plus employees to do something radically different: cancel their schedules and “play” with artificial intelligence tools.
Liu calls it the most important thing employees can do right now. In a recent podcast appearance, he explained that curiosity and experimentation with AI are far more valuable than routine tasks or traditional meeting-heavy workweeks. “If you want to cancel all your meetings for a day or an entire week and just go play around with every AI product that you think could be relevant to Airtable, go do it. Period,” he said.
This isn’t just lip service. Liu himself leads by example. He’s the “No. 1 most expensive in inference-cost user of Airtable AI” across all Airtable customers. By running detailed sales call transcripts and experimenting with AI-driven insights, Liu often racks up hundreds of dollars in computing costs. But to him, the payoff is clear. Compared to what a consulting firm might charge for similar insights, the investment is negligible, especially given the strategic value that AI experimentation can bring to the company.
The bigger lesson Liu emphasizes is simple but profound: AI isn’t just a tool—it’s a game changer. Employees who immerse themselves in AI, testing, exploring, and experimenting, can uncover insights and efficiencies that traditional corporate practices can’t offer. This “play” mentality is what Liu believes will keep Airtable competitive in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Liu’s approach also highlights a shift in workplace culture. Companies have long relied on structured meetings, rigid hierarchies, and predictable workflows. But AI, he argues, demands creativity, flexibility, and hands-on experimentation. By giving employees permission to prioritize AI exploration over routine tasks, Airtable is betting on long-term innovation over short-term process compliance.
Experts say Liu’s strategy could serve as a blueprint for other tech companies looking to integrate AI into their operations. Instead of top-down mandates, leaders can empower employees to explore technology hands-on, fostering a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and rapid learning. This approach may even accelerate productivity, innovation, and problem-solving in ways traditional work methods never could.
Of course, not everyone in the corporate world is ready to embrace a “cancel meetings and play with AI” philosophy. It requires trust, flexibility, and a willingness to accept that short-term disruption could lead to long-term gains. But Liu’s bold experiment at Airtable shows that when companies give employees the freedom to explore, the results can be transformational.
In a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping industries across the globe, CEOs like Howie Liu are demonstrating that the future of work isn’t about sitting in meetings—it’s about curiosity, creativity, and fearless experimentation. By encouraging employees to dive deep into AI, Airtable is positioning itself as a leader in innovation, setting an example for the entire tech ecosystem.
Whether this approach will become mainstream remains to be seen, but for now, Airtable’s “play with AI” mandate is one of the most intriguing workplace experiments in tech today.
