Even after 30 years, people still ask me, “What is the purpose of a Scrum Master?” The title sometimes confuses people, and the practice remains inconsistent as organizations embrace Scrum in very different ways. But maybe AI can provide an opportunity for Scrum Masters to step out of the shadows and double down on their number one accountability: team effectiveness. They oversee the delivery machine, and AI is a tool that can transform the delivery engine.
Over the last 18 months, AI has moved from a tech trend to a core capability, and Scrum Masters need to be enablers for this change. That means Scrum Masters need to not only embrace it but also serve as catalysts for it.
And that is why Scrum.org released a new instructor-led course, Professional Scrum Master - AI Essentials (PSM AI-Essentials).
Drawing on our community of Scrum Masters using AI, this course offers a quick start to AI, providing a foundation for Scrum Masters to take control of their team's AI strategy.
Here are four outcomes the course supports:
- Beyond the chatbot AI acts as a facilitation partner. AI is often viewed as a simple Q&A tool, but its real power lies in supporting team collaboration. Imagine using generative AI to synthesize diverse perspectives during a Retrospective or using agentic AI to model complex dependencies during Sprint Planning. By integrating AI into day-to-day work, Scrum Masters can reduce cognitive load and focus on what matters most: people.
- The art of the prompt Effective facilitation requires asking the right questions. In the digital age, this extends to how we interact with technology. "Prompt engineering" is becoming a critical skill for Agile leaders. Learning to craft precise, context-aware prompts allows a Scrum Master to get desired results faster—whether that’s drafting a clear Definition of Done or generating data-driven insights to support the Product Owner. The Scrum Master can not only build out prompts but also take ownership of the team's prompts and context libraries.
- Ethical guardrails in an automated world. AI is an amazing tool, but it comes with challenges such as ensuring AI tools do not compromise secure and proprietary data, being aware of biases built into the models, and ensuring that transparency and accountability are not compromised because AI operates like a super-powerful black box.
- Transitioning to an AI-augmented team and organization AI isn't just a tool for developers; it influences the entire organizational structure. Scrum Masters are uniquely positioned to act as catalysts for this change. By demonstrating practical AI applications in Scrum events, they help their teams and the broader organization become more effective and adaptable in an ever-evolving landscape.
PSM AI-Essentials does not expect Scrum Masters to become data scientists or machine learning experts, but it encourages them to begin developing expertise in using AI tools within teams and organizations.
Some have said that AI will be as important as the printing press or the steam engine. It will enable the next wave of the digital revolution. But it will only do that with people driving the change. It is more than team effectiveness; AI can ultimately enable organizations to deliver capabilities differently, and Scrum Masters should be key to that change.