This way up. It’s the CRO Roundtable Roundup!
Thanks to Iqbal Ali, Matt Beischel, and David Swinstead for joining us. Want to get in on the action and talk with other cool CRO people? Then you should probably…
One Sentence Takeaway
I’m a busy person; give me the TL:DR
Responsible experimentation requires careful review, legal alignment, and awareness of risks when optimizing user experiences.
The Notes
What we discussed this week
- AI Tooling in Experimentation
- AI-generated CSS produces excessive, unreadable code
- WYSIWYG-style AI interfaces reduce transparency in changes
- Prompt-driven experiment generation is gaining adoption
- Recurring hype cycles caused by shifting terminology
- Automation layers increase the risk of unreviewed output
- LLM-driven interfaces mimicking legacy web-builder patterns
- Abstraction distances practitioners from the underlying implementation
- Experiment Deployment Timing
- Launching major experiments late in the week
- Accepting short-term performance fluctuations for learning
- Monitoring is not something you should be short-staffing on
- Coordinate rollout windows with business activity
- Risk tolerance differs based on the experiment scope
- Weekend timing affecting rapid-response capability
- Legal Constraints on Experimentation
- Mandatory legal copy expanding beyond the intended design
- Regional regulations controlling the placement of consent messaging
- Compliance restrictions preventing the use of tooltips for disclosures
- Finance-sector requirements enforcing multi-stage approval
- Legal review cycles extending experiment timelines
- Copy adjustments driven by legal clarity requirements
- Lawyers are actually really, really good copywriters
- Ethical Considerations in Testing
- Influencing the behavior of vulnerable user groups
- High-risk microtransaction mechanics prompting ethical review
- Legal exposure connected to targeting compulsive behavior
- Approval frameworks for sensitive experiments
- Your responsibilities should extend beyond conversion metrics
- Risk of personal liability for harmful optimizations
- Expectations for safeguarding user well-being
- Intersection of experimentation and regulatory scrutiny
- The Problems with Experimentation Culture
- Decline of testing programs following leadership changes
- Limited presence of true experimentation cultures across companies
- Gaps between claimed and actual testing maturity
- Executive sponsorship determines program longevity
- Variability in organizational enthusiasm for experimentation
- Structural fragility affecting the continuity of testing practices
- Internal disparities in defining experimentation culture
- Industry skepticism toward dominant culture narratives
- AI Hype in Experimentation Tools
- Vendor claims overstating AI’s ability to replace technical roles
- Assertions that AI can automate full experiment creation
- Framing AI as a universal solution regardless of applicability
- Persistent need for human oversight in implementation
- Promotional cycles outpacing delivered value
- AI is positioned primarily for differentiation, not capability
- Practical outcomes failing to match marketing narratives
- Decision-making is still reliant on practitioner judgment
Hey all you cool GRO People!
GRO Talks Live returns to the winter 2025 Experimentation Elite conference with a heaping helping of in-person roundtable sessions, and we want to see you there!
GRO Talks Live Roundtables
December 9th, 2025
155 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3YD
The Quotes
Standout quips from this week
“You cannot spell Adidas without AI.”
“Snow makes everything looking nicer.”
“I’m in trouble today because I started an A B test, and in fact quite a big one.”
“I hate reading other people’s CSS because everybody else is terrible at it.”
Book Club
Relevant reads recommended this week
No Book Club this week, sorry!
CRO Link Digest
Useful and thought-provoking content shared this week
- Product Management Festival – a conference focused on learning experiences for product practitioners seeking depth, practical insights, and real connections
- Conversion Hotel – 3-day event on Evidence-based Growth
- Kameleoon – A/B testing software focused on AI test building with their PBX system
Off-Topic Sidebars
Experimentation isn’t the only thing we talk about at the CRO Roundtable. There’s often a healthy dose of discussion on shared interests, personal passions, and hobbies.
- Stand-up comedy
- Getting canceled during stand-up
- Experiences with attending stand-up classes and open mics
- Performing comedy at future conferences
- Colonial history, war, and politics
- Wartime profiteering
- Colonial actions by various countries
- Destroying government records
- Spotify Wrapped
- Share your annual listening minutes
- Favorite artists and albums
- Listening to Nickelback or Hamilton
Sidebar Shareables
Amusing sidebar content shared this week
- Kill Tony – a live comedy podcast taped in Austin, Texas and all over the world. Featuring Tony Hinchcliffe & Brian Redban and the band with huge celebrity guests
- Frédéric Chopin – Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano
- Hamilton: An American Musical – a sung-and-rapped-through biographical musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and based on the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow