A Pilot Program Exploring the Potential of AI for Teams
Background
In May 2025, Cybozu-shiki Books published PLURALITY: Transforming Conflict into Creation—Collaborative Technology and the Future of Democracy through Writes Publishing, Inc. The book presents “plurality” as a new vision for society—one that transforms conflict into creation and enables people to shape the future by bringing diverse voices together.
Cover of PLURALITY (Source: Cybozu-shiki Books)
How can diverse voices be heard, and how can they be brought into discussion? This question resonated deeply with Cybozu's organizational culture, which has long valued dialogue and discussion.
Around this time, the idea emerged of piloting Idobata, a deliberation support tool developed by Aoyama of Plural Reality, at Cybozu. Aoyama had previously participated in Cybozu Labs Youth, Cybozu Labs' program for developing young researchers.
The desire to explore new forms of AI-enabled communication became the starting point for this initiative.
Initiative
Idobata Hands-On Event
The first step was an Idobata hands-on event held internally at Cybozu in August 2025. Approximately 50 employees took part, experiencing AI-enabled discussion firsthand through practical use of the tool. Cybozu-shiki later published an article covering the event.
Scenes from the workshop (Source: Visualizing Employees' Honest Opinions in 5 Minutes: A New Form of AI-Powered Workshop (Cybozu-shiki))
Internal Use of Idobata and Cartographer
Following the hands-on event, several departments began using the tools. Idobata was used from September through the first half of December 2025, after which teams shifted to its successor, Cartographer, from the second half of December 2025 through April 2026. A total of 28 sessions were created in Cartographer, with 95 respondents participating across those sessions.
Use cases ranged from internal events involving 30-40 people to meetings of 4-5 people. The tools were used across a wide variety of discussion topics, including organizational policy development, workflow improvements for small teams, and gathering input on specific issues.
At first, the tools were expected to be used synchronously during meetings. Over time, however, they were increasingly used to gather input before meetings, demonstrating that asynchronous use was also effective.
Impact of Cartographer
Users of Cartographer shared the following feedback.
Organizing the Key Issues Made Discussions Easier to Advance
When a meeting topic is abstract, considerable time can be spent simply determining what to discuss. By organizing the key issues in advance with Cartographer, participants were able to focus on deeper discussion during the meeting itself.
Differences of Opinion That Had Not Been Apparent to Facilitators Became Visible
By making participants' views visible, Cartographer revealed differences of opinion that had previously gone unnoticed. This made it easier to engage in more thoughtful dialogue.
Answering Multiple-Choice Questions Helped Participants Clarify Thoughts They Had Not Yet Put into Words
Because Cartographer also generates a report on each participant's responses, it helped respondents clarify thoughts they had not previously been able to articulate. By using AI to help people identify what they wanted to say, the tool made it easier for them to express their views.
Anonymity Made It Easier to Discuss Topics That Are Usually Difficult to Raise
Responses were made anonymous for sensitive topics, making it easier for people to share their views in situations where concerns about their position might otherwise have kept them from speaking up.
Reflections and Future Outlook
Through this initiative, Cybozu was able to examine what is needed to hear diverse voices and how teams can best use AI. Applying the tools in actual meetings and events produced insights that could not have been reached through theoretical discussion alone.
The knowledge gained through this initiative will inform Cybozu's product development and its ongoing exploration of AI use within the company.
Project Overview
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Client | Cybozu, Inc. |
| Period | September 2025-April 2026 |
| Tools Used | Idobata and Cartographer |
Project overview
- Partner
- Cybozu, Inc.
- Background
- Inspired by PLURALITY, published by Cybozu-shiki Books, Cybozu conducted an internal pilot program using the deliberation support tools Idobata and Cartographer (Baisoku Kaigi) to explore new forms of AI-enabled dialogue.
- Collaboration Period
- September 2025-April 2026
- Tools Used
- Idobata and Cartographer. A total of 28 sessions were created in Cartographer, with 95 respondents participating across those sessions.
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