How Novo Scales Content Operations
with Vault AI in PromoMats

As life sciences organizations face growing demands for localized, multi-channel materials, content teams are under pressure to deliver ‘more, better, faster.’ At Novo, International Operations (IO) covers all commercial markets outside the U.S., encompassing 80 affiliates serving approximately 120 markets across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Under the leadership of Alejandra Betancourt, AVP of content and media IO, Novo modernized its global end-to-end commercial content supply chain. While exploring opportunities to implement AI across content creation and compliance, the team recognized the need to scale globally while maintaining compliance and keeping humans in the loop.

Integrating AI into content approval

When evaluating where AI could deliver the greatest operational return, Novo analyzed two primary areas: content authoring and content approval. But as content volume continues to increase, accelerating content authoring with AI would only constrain the review process further. Instead, the team focused on integrating AI into the content approval process to streamline approvals, expand review capacity, and create the foundation needed to scale content operations.

“If you accelerate content authoring without addressing review capacity, content piles up at the approval stage,” says Betancourt. “We decided that before adding more content to the pipeline, we had to expand approval capacity with AI.”

Rethinking AI adoption as ‘a feature, not a tool’

Initially, Novo built a custom internal AI tool tailored specifically to its standard operating procedures and legal guidelines. However, rolling out a standalone internal application required users to change daily workflows and revealed significant adoption hurdles. In addition, scaling the tool globally demanded a traditional software rollout with pilot markets, local champions, and extensive training, placing increasing demands on the core project team.

To eliminate friction, Novo shifted to a ‘feature, not a tool’ strategy and introduced Vault AI capabilities in Veeva PromoMats. “It’s like getting a new car with a built-in backup camera,” says Betancourt. “You don’t complete hours of training to use a backup camera; it’s simply a value-add feature built into the car you already drive.” Because Novo’s IO team works in PromoMats daily, embedding AI as a feature meant zero adoption friction and minimal disruption.

Achieving adoption momentum with light-touch launch

Novo implemented Vault AI in PromoMats for nearly 4,000 users across IO. Its light-touch launch strategy prioritized minimal friction and user empowerment. Users were encouraged to explore organically during standard pre-submission and review workflows.

Without intensive change management or mandates, the feature-first approach led to immediate adoption momentum. While Novo’s custom-built application was tailored to company-specific guidelines, the seamless accessibility of an embedded feature inside PromoMats drove higher day-to-day engagement. Adoption was particularly strong upstream among external agency partners and internal brand owners.

Novo’s blueprint for scaling content delivery with AI

For other biopharma organizations seeking to accelerate content delivery through AI, Novo’s experience offers three foundational learnings:

1. Optimize approval first: Focus AI investments on eliminating the review and approval bottleneck before scaling content generation.
2. Augment humans expertise: Use practical, industry-specific AI to eliminate manual checks while leveraging human expertise for decision making.
3. Embed AI into daily workflows: Deliver AI as an embedded feature within established, daily workflows rather than launching standalone tools.

Learn how embedding Vault AI directly in your existing PromoMats workflows can accelerate your commercial content supply chain.