(A)I'm Ready! - AI and Automation Foundations for SMEs
- Delivery mode: online or in person by agreement
- Duration: 8 hours
- Language: English or Italian
A practical introductory course for SMEs and professionals who want to understand AI, use it responsibly and identify simple automation opportunities in everyday business processes.
About this course
What you will learn
This introductory course on AI and Automation provides small and medium-sized enterprises with a clear and accessible introduction to artificial intelligence and automation in everyday business activities. The course is designed for organizations and professionals who want to start using AI more consciously, by understanding what it is, how it works, and what its limits are, before applying it to daily tasks and processes. Participants are guided from the fundamentals of AI, to effective interaction with AI systems, and then to basic automation and process integration. Along the way, the course introduces essential concepts related to responsibility, human oversight, and the correct use of AI in a business context. The course can be delivered online or in person, depending on the organization’s needs and by prior agreement.
Why attend?
AI tools are becoming increasingly accessible, but many organizations are still unsure how to use them effectively, responsibly and in ways that create real business value. This course may be particularly useful if:
- Your organization is experimenting with generative AI without a shared approach or clear internal guidance;
- Employees are using AI tools inconsistently, with limited awareness of risks, limitations and quality controls;
- You want to identify realistic automation opportunities before investing in new tools or complex solutions;
- You need to distinguish between tasks that can be supported by AI, tasks that can be automated and activities that still require human judgement;
- You want to move beyond isolated experiments and begin evaluating how AI could support existing processes and workflows;
- You need a practical and accessible foundation for discussing AI and automation across teams and functions.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand what AI can and cannot do in everyday business activities;
- Use generative AI tools with more realistic expectations, clearer prompts and better control over outputs;
- Distinguish between AI, traditional automation and AI agents, recognizing their different roles and limits;
- Identify simple, repetitive business tasks that may benefit from automation;
- Recognize the basic conditions for integrating AI into business processes in a useful and responsible way;
- Apply essential principles of human oversight, output quality and responsible AI use in an SME context.
Course Overview
The course is delivered in four 2-hour sessions, for a total duration of 8 hours. The structure is progressive and specifically designed for non-technical participants. The main topics covered include:
- Introduction to generative artificial intelligence and its limitations;
- Overview of AI tools and typical business use cases;
- How language models work and why prompting matters;
- Designing effective and reusable prompts;
- Automating low-value, repetitive tasks;
- Introduction to AI agents;
- Integrating AI into business processes;
- Principles of human oversight, output quality, and responsible AI use;
- Introductory overview of the GDPR and the EU AI Act.
What’s included?
- Instructor-led sessions delivered by a trainer with experience in corporate and SME environments
- Clear explanations using non-technical language;
- Practical examples and business-oriented use cases;
- Guided exercises to reinforce understanding;
- Digital training materials;
- Certificate of completion.
What is not included?
- Technical development or implementation of AI solutions;
- Direct integration into company systems;
- Process-specific consulting activities;
- Legal, regulatory or compliance advice;
- Paid software licenses.
Would you like to discover more about this course?
Contact me for a free 30-minute video call. We will discuss your needs together and find the path that is right for you!
Good training does not end when the session ends. It starts working when people return to their context.
- 15+ years of experience across project management, transformation, customer experience and training;
- PMP® and PMI-ACP® certified;
- Experience with corporate, academic and professional audiences;
- Training delivery in English and Italian;
- Online and in-person formats.