Applied AI at Work
Practical skills for professionals and small businesses
Move from AI confusion to repeatable workflows for everyday work.
Applied AI at Work is an in-person, hands-on course that helps professionals and small business operators apply AI to real work through problem definition, workflow design, verification, and responsible use.
No hype. No prompt tricks. No coding required.
Interested in offering this course, joining a future cohort, or discussing an employer version? Contact me.
The problem this course addresses
AI is everywhere, but clarity is not.
Professionals are being bombarded with AI tools, headlines, social media claims, and unrealistic promises. Many people have tried AI, but few have learned how to apply it safely and repeatably to their actual work.
The real skill is not memorizing prompts. The real skill is learning how to define a problem clearly, design a useful workflow, verify the output, and decide what should stay human.
Built for real work, not abstract AI demos
This course was designed with practical, mixed-role professionals in mind. In many small businesses and organizations, the same person may handle communication, customer service, marketing, scheduling, planning, documentation, operations, and decision-making.
That is exactly where applied AI can help, if it is used with structure and judgment.
The examples are grounded in everyday work such as guest communication, service descriptions, estimates, checklists, customer follow-up, document review, meeting notes, planning, and decision support.
Who it is for
This course is for working professionals and small business operators who want to apply AI to their actual work.
It is designed for people who are comfortable with basic digital tools but may be new to AI, and who want practical skills, not theory.
Best fit
This course is a good fit if you:
- Feel overwhelmed by AI and want a practical starting point
- Have tried AI tools but do not use them consistently
- Run or support a business with repeated communication, planning, documents, or customer workflows
- Want to use AI responsibly without becoming technical
- Want practical outputs, not theory or hype
What participants will learn
- Understand what AI can and cannot do
- Define problems clearly enough for AI to help
- Design repeatable workflows
- Use AI responsibly
- Verify AI outputs
- Create practical business artifacts
- Build an AI Workflow Playbook they can continue using
Course format
Applied AI at Work is designed for in-person delivery through community partners, colleges, employer groups, professional associations, and local business cohorts.
The recommended format is:
- 8 weeks
- 3 hours live instruction per week
- 1 hour guided applied work per week
- Laptop required
- ChatGPT Plus required
- Final AI Workflow Playbook
Custom formats may be available for organizations or employer-sponsored cohorts.
Weekly outline
The course is structured as a journey: first clearing the noise, then finding work friction, defining problems, building workflows, verifying outputs, and finishing with a practical AI Workflow Playbook.
Week 1: AI Without the Noise
Set the baseline. Clear confusion about what AI is, what it is not, what it can do, where it fails, and how to use it responsibly. Introduce the course method and the AI Workflow Playbook.
Week 2: Finding Work Friction
Participants learn how to observe their own work, identify repeated tasks, information overload, unclear processes, communication loops, and business problems that may benefit from AI support.
Week 3: Defining Problems for AI
Participants learn how to turn vague needs into clear problem statements with context, goals, constraints, risks, and success criteria.
Week 4: Prompting as Structured Communication
Participants learn reusable prompt patterns that help AI produce more useful, specific, and reliable outputs.
Week 5: Communication and Customer Workflows
Participants build workflows for emails, customer replies, service descriptions, meeting preparation, internal communication, and public-facing writing.
Week 6: Documents, Research, and Verification
Participants learn how to use AI for summarizing, comparing, researching, reviewing, and organizing information while verifying outputs and avoiding blind trust.
Week 7: From Problem to Artifact
Participants use AI to create practical business artifacts such as templates, checklists, forms, lightweight tools, plans, and workflow documents. No coding experience is required.
Week 8: AI Workflow Playbook and Capstone
Participants finalize and present one practical AI-assisted workflow they can use in their work, along with their personal AI Workflow Playbook and responsible-use checklist.
What participants leave with
Participants leave with an AI Workflow Playbook, a practical set of workflows, templates, checks, and one capstone workflow tailored to their own work or business.
The playbook includes:
- A work-friction map
- Problem definition templates
- Reusable prompt patterns
- A responsible-use checklist
- A verification checklist
- At least three practical AI-supported workflows
- One polished capstone workflow
- A 30-day adoption plan
Completion
Depending on the delivery partner, participants may receive a certificate of completion.
The course is evaluated through practical completion rather than exams. Participants complete an AI Workflow Playbook and one capstone workflow reviewed with a practical checklist focused on clarity, usefulness, repeatability, verification, and responsible use.
What this course is not
This is not a ChatGPT tricks course.
This is not a prompt library.
This is not a coding course.
This is not an AI hype session.
This is not a passive lecture.
This is a practical course about applying AI to real work through problem definition, workflow design, verification, and responsible use.
Requirements
Participants need:
- A laptop
- A ChatGPT Plus subscription
- Basic comfort with email, documents, web browsing, and online tools
No AI experience is required.
No coding experience is required.
ChatGPT Plus is used as the shared classroom platform. The course is not about learning one product. It teaches transferable AI workflow skills that participants can apply across tools and roles.
FAQ
Is this a ChatGPT course?
No. ChatGPT Plus is used as the shared classroom platform, but the course teaches transferable AI workflow skills. The focus is problem definition, workflow design, structured prompting, verification, responsible use, and practical artifacts.
Do I need AI experience?
No. The course starts by setting a clear baseline. It is designed for professionals and business operators who are comfortable with basic digital tools but may be new to AI.
Do I need to code?
No. This is not a coding course. Participants may use AI to create practical artifacts such as templates, checklists, forms, plans, drafts, and lightweight tools, but no coding experience is required.
Why is ChatGPT Plus required?
The course requires a shared AI platform so everyone can work from the same baseline. Free plans may have limits that interrupt hands-on learning.
What will I leave with?
You will leave with an AI Workflow Playbook, including practical workflows, prompt patterns, verification habits, responsible-use checks, and one capstone workflow you can apply to your own work.
Is this useful for my industry?
The course teaches a method that can be applied across industries. The examples and final workflow are adapted to your own work, role, or business.
Is this for beginners?
Yes, but it is not a passive beginner class. It starts from a clear baseline and moves into applied work.
Is this for organizations?
Yes. The course can be adapted for employer-sponsored cohorts, community groups, colleges, professional associations, or custom workforce training.
Why is the course in person?
The first version is designed around hands-on support, discussion, coaching, and peer learning. In-person delivery helps participants apply the material to real work instead of passively watching another online AI course.
For organizations and delivery partners
Applied AI at Work can be delivered for employer groups, community organizations, colleges, professional associations, or local business cohorts.
The course helps participants build a shared baseline around AI, reduce scattered experimentation, improve responsible use, and apply AI to practical workflows such as communication, planning, documents, customer support, internal knowledge, and decision support.
Custom versions can be adapted around a team, industry, or business function.
Instructor
Enrico Piovesan is a platform software architect with extensive experience in software architecture, AI-enabled workflows, platform thinking, and technology adoption at enterprise scale.
His work focuses on helping people and organizations understand how technology changes the way work is structured, delivered, and improved. Applied AI at Work translates that experience into practical training for professionals and small businesses who want to use AI with clarity, responsibility, and real-world value.
Contact
Interested in offering this course, joining a future cohort, or discussing an employer version?
Get in touch and I can share the course concept brief.