AI & Automation Made Practical for Small Business
Simple ways AI can lighten your workload and help your business run smoother.
Outline:
A practical, hands-on workshop in making AI genuinely useful in your business - safely.
Most people who've “tried AI” have used one tool, once, without a framework. This session resets that: what AI actually is (and isn't), a head-to-head look at the four major tools, a simple framework for getting good results every time, and a live look at how AI applies across finance, marketing, governance and HR. You'll leave with a working prompt library and a concrete 90-day plan.
We'll cover
What AI really is, and isn't — cutting through the hype and the myths
Five principles that outlast any single tool: prompting, context, verification, workflow design, and human judgement
A head-to-head comparison of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot — strengths, costs, and when to use each
The CLEAR framework for writing prompts that get useful results first time
AI in practice across Finance, Marketing, Governance and HR, with live demonstrations
Hands-on build: create your own prompt library, or design a reusable AI workflow
Safe and compliant use: data privacy in plain English, and the four common failure modes to avoid
Your 90-day AI action plan: one task, one tool, one measure
Who is this for?
Small and medium-sized businesses, professional firms and charities — including people who've already tried an AI tool and found it didn't stick, as well as complete beginners. No prior experience is needed.
What will you learn?
How to use AI tools responsibly and effectively in your day-to-day work; how to get consistently better results through better prompting; where AI fits (and doesn't) across different parts of your business; how to stay safe and compliant when using AI with business or customer data.
Quick win
Leave with a working prompt library for your own business, and a one-task, one-tool, one-measure action plan for the next 90 days.
Date: 17th November 2026
Time: 10am - 12:30pm
About the trainer
David Taylor has over 30 years’ experience in online marketing, communications and business support.
With experience across journalism, media relations, marketing, digital strategy and business consultancy, David Taylor specialises in guiding organisations through today’s fast-changing business and communications landscape.
His broad, cross-sector background - from early days as a newspaper journalist to advising SMEs on digital transformation - gives him a unique, practical perspective that resonates with leaders and teams alike.
David has co-authored books on digital marketing, delivered national and international talks on digital change, and appeared regularly on BBC TV and radio as a commentator on the evolving digital world.
His business support methods have been used by enterprise organisations across the South and East of England to help hundreds of SMEs build stronger digital skills and more resilient businesses.
Venue and transport arrangements
The Manor Barn is a short walk from Bexhill Mainline Train station.
There is also a car park right next to the venue.
FAQs
Which AI tool is best for my business — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot?
It depends on what you need: ChatGPT is the strongest all-rounder for open-ended tasks, Claude excels with long documents and careful review, Gemini suits businesses already using Google Workspace, and Copilot is worth checking if you already pay for Microsoft 365 - many businesses aren't using a tool they've already paid for. We compare all four directly in the session.
Is it safe to put customer or business data into AI tools?
Not without care. Free tools may use your inputs to train their models, and anything that identifies a real person counts as personal data under GDPR. The session covers what's safe to share, what to anonymise first, and what to check before adopting any new tool.
Do I need any experience with AI to attend?
No. The session is built for both complete beginners and people who've tried AI tools before without much success — there's no assumed knowledge.
Will AI replace jobs in my business?
No - AI assists, people decide. The session is explicit about this: every AI output should be treated as a draft, not a fact, and reviewed by a person before it's used, published or acted on.
What's the difference between AI assistance and automation?
AI assistance is one-off help with a task - drafting, summarising, analysing - which is the focus of this session. Automation applies to repeated processes and is a separate, deeper conversation covered in PBC's 1:1 coaching.
