PARK CITY — Right now, discussions about AI in Utah mostly revolve around policies—what regulations are necessary, what risks should be addressed, and which laws are on the table. While these talks are crucial, two Utah-based companies are actually implementing AI for real clients and keeping a close eye on the outcomes.
What they’re discovering is definitely noteworthy.
AI and Your Dentist
Shawn Miele has been at the helm of MyAdvice in Park City for several years. The company collaborates with over a thousand healthcare providers—mostly doctors, dentists, and lawyers—managing their digital marketing and online visibility. Three years ago, he took a gamble that many in his field were hesitant to make.
“We saw AI as potentially the greatest opportunity or a significant threat,” Miele said. “It might be both.”
As a result, they created Maya—a completely in-house AI system. What sets Maya apart from many chatbots we encounter is that it doesn’t rely on a generic model. MyAdvice custom-builds a small language model tailored to each client, focusing on their unique voice, services, patients, and brand. In other words, the AI responding to questions for a dental practice in Provo isn’t the same as the one answering queries for a law office in Salt Lake City. Each model serves a distinct function.
This customization is essential. Generic AI, like most commercial chatbots, can produce inaccurate answers. A small language model, however, trained on a specific business’s verified data, is much less likely to hallucinate. This results in clients and their patients receiving reliable information.
“The AI delivers consistent quality, while human input can lead to variability,” Miele explained.
The statistics from MyAdvice’s implementations are impressive. When practices switch to Maya for their website chat, conversion rates nearly triple. The time taken to respond to reviews, which used to average over 20 days, now is under 24 hours—with almost 100 percent of reviews getting a response.
For a dentist who managed this process herself while seeing patients, that’s not just a slight improvement; it’s a game changer.
“Since the doctor doesn’t have to handle this anymore, they can see more patients—higher value activities for their role,” Miele noted.
A Challenge in Hospitality—And a Local Solution
Scott Van Hartesvelt has led GCommerce, a digital marketing agency focused on hotels, for 24 years. His agency manages the online presence for 2,500 properties nationwide. He’s seen the industry evolve through the internet boom, social media, and now mobile technologies. He considers AI the most significant shift he’s witnessed, by far.
“This AI wave has come in faster and more disruptive than anything I’ve encountered in 24 years,” Van Hartesvelt remarked.
The issue he’s concentrating on involves travelers increasingly relying on AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to research and book their trips. This seems beneficial for hotels—until it’s realized that when someone asks an AI to book a room, it often directs them to third-party sites like Expedia or Booking.com. This results in hotels losing direct connections with guests, not to mention the hefty commissions those third-party platforms charge.
Van Hartesvelt draws a historical comparison that resonates. After September 11, 2001, the hotel industry faced turmoil. In the aftermath, Expedia and Booking.com seized the moment, consolidating hotel listings and permanently inserting themselves between hotels and their customers. The industry has been paying for that decision ever since.
“We’re seeing a similar situation unfold,” he stated.
“If you watch ChatGPT commercials, many focus on travel. They recognize this is a giant industry that isn’t serving its customers effectively—and they’re saying, ‘We can do better,’” Van Hartesvelt explained.
The scope of the opportunity, and the urgency of addressing it, is considerable. Research by Skift indicates that the typical traveler visits 141 different pages over 45 days before booking a hotel. Additionally, a study from Accenture found that 66% of travelers dislike the planning stage. AI could alleviate this headache. The real question is: who will develop the solutions and who will reap the rewards?
GCommerce is pursuing what Van Hartesvelt calls an active strategy—utilizing new data protocols to integrate hotel inventory into AI systems. This way, when travelers ask ChatGPT where to stay, the hotel’s own availability and rates will be displayed, rather than those of third-party sites, restoring the direct connection eroded during the internet generation.
Implications for Utah
KSL has discussed Utah legislators’ efforts regarding AI—proposed laws, regulatory structures, and conversations around accountability and transparency.
However, Miele and Van Hartesvelt argue that the policy discussions are, in some ways, catching up to a reality that’s already unfolding. The AI that lawmakers are looking to regulate is already operational in dental clinics and hotel booking engines across the state. AI is currently involved in responding to patient feedback, addressing queries on websites, and influencing travelers’ accommodation choices.
Neither of them takes this lightly. They both recognize the trust issues at play—clients who may be hesitant to let AI represent them, staff who are concerned about job implications, and customers who might not always know when they’re interacting with a machine. These challenges are substantial and won’t resolve overnight.
Yet both Miele and Van Hartesvelt point out that businesses that learn to successfully implement AI—honestly and in ways that enhance human capacity rather than replace it—will gain a growing competitive edge. And some of those forward-thinking companies are right here in Utah.
“Utah is really committed to technology,” Miele noted. “We are absolutely competing with Silicon Valley. I’m confident we’ll emerge as leaders in AI moving forward.”
