Expand Your Knowledge of AI for Business with Cosmic

Taunton Chamber of Commerce member Cosmic CIC has a wide variety of online AI sessions coming up this Spring – there will definitely be a number of the following online workshops that would benefit your organisation!

All of the following sessions are bookable via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/cosmic-9792520143

AI For Absolute Beginners | AI Workshop For Small Businesses

21st April, 5th May, 19th May, all 11- 12pm

AI does not need to feel intimidating. This beginner-friendly workshop is designed for people who feel behind, unsure or slightly wary, and want a calm, practical introduction without jargon.

In this one-hour session, you will get a plain-English explanation of what generative AI is, where it can genuinely help, and where it can go wrong. We will show you how to complete one safe, simple real world task and explain the basic rules around privacy, confidentiality and checking outputs before you use them.

This session is ideal for sole traders, small business owners, staff members and anyone who wants a sensible first step rather than a technical deep dive.

You will leave with:
• a clearer understanding of what AI can and cannot do
• one safe prompt pattern you can try straight away
• a simple checklist for safer day-to-day use

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “This was an excellent AI course… it helped me feel less threatened by AI and more confident about how it could support my work.”

AI First Steps for Busy Small Businesses | AI Workshop

28th April,12th May, 26th May, all 11 – 12pm

If you are curious about AI but short on time, this workshop is designed to help you find realistic first steps that fit around the day job. AI First Steps for Busy Small Businesses is built for busy small business owners and cautious beginners who want useful quick wins, not hype.

During this one-hour session, we will look at where AI can save time in a small business, how to spot low- risk tasks worth trying first, and how to avoid the common mistake of trying to change everything at once. The focus is practical, grounded and relevant to everyday work. This is a good fit if you want to improve productivity, reduce repetition or simply understand where AI might help in your business without creating extra complexity.

You will leave with:
• a simple mental model of where AI can help
• three realistic quick-win ideas for your own work
• a short first-step plan you can use this week

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “I’ve gone from just using AI here and there… to properly understanding how to use it and make myself more productive in my business.”

What Is Prompt Engineering? | AI Workshop for Better Prompts

29th April, 6th May, 20th May, all 11 – 12pm

Tried AI and felt the results were hit and miss? What Is Prompt Engineering? shows you how better prompts lead to better outputs. It is designed for people who want AI to be clearer, more relevant and more useful in real work. In this practical one-hour session, you will learn a simple structure for writing stronger prompts, how to add the right level of context, and how to use constraints and examples to improve quality. We will also cover how to sense-check what AI gives you and how to save useful prompts so they become repeatable templates rather than one-off experiments.

This session is useful for anyone writing emails, content, documents, summaries or plans with AI support and wondering why the results still feel generic or unreliable.
You will leave with:
• a prompt structure you can reuse
• better habits for adding context and quality control
• practical ways to improve output consistency

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “The training gave me a much clearer understanding… and showed me just how much difference better prompting can make in real tasks.”

Safe AI At Work In 60 Minutes | AI Workshop

22nd April, 13th May, 27th May

Would you like to use AI more confidently at work without taking unnecessary risks? Safe AI At Work In 60 Minutes is a one-hour workshop that will give you the practical safe-use basics in plain English. It is designed for people who want useful guidance, not heavy policy language.

We will cover the most common risks in day-to-day AI use, including made-up content, confidentiality problems, personal data, over-trusting outputs and using public tools carelessly. You will also learn a simple sense-check routine so AI stays a draft helper, not an autopilot.

This is a strong first step for teams, managers and individual staff who need clarity on what safer everyday AI use looks like in practice. It is especially useful for organisations where trust, professionalism and judgement matter.
You will leave with:
• clearer boundaries around what not to paste into AI tools
• a practical checking routine for everyday outputs
• a small set of rules you can apply straight away

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “I now understand how to use AI responsibly and ethically… and how AI can support my work and save time in the right way.”

From AI Curiosity to a Shortlist of Use Cases | AI Workshop

23rd April, 7th May, both 2- 4pm

Many organisations feel they should be doing something with AI, but struggle to decide what is worth trying first. From AI Curiosity to a Shortlist of Use Cases is a two-hour workshop that will help you move from vague interest to a realistic shortlist of use cases and a sensible first pilot.

Rather than chasing ideas at random, you will learn how to spot tasks where AI is most likely to save time or improve quality, how to weigh up value, effort and risk, and how to prioritise a first step that is small enough to be practical. The session is designed for owners, managers and team leads who want a more structured starting point. This workshop is especially useful if you want to avoid wasted effort, shiny-object thinking or buying tools before you are clear on the problem.

You will leave with:
• a shortlist of relevant AI use cases
• a simple way to score ideas by value, ease and risk
• a clearer outline for a realistic first pilot

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “I went from barely using AI to having a strong understanding of the use cases and how to start applying it straight away in my day-to-day work.”

AI For Marketing Content That Still Sounds Like You | Workshop

30th April, 14th May, 28th May, all 11- 1pm

AI can speed up content creation, but only if the end result still sounds like your business. AI For Marketing Content That Still Sounds Like You is a two-hour workshop is for people who want faster marketing output without losing tone, credibility or trust.

We will look at how to use AI for ideas, first drafts, rewrites and repurposing across website copy, emails, blogs and social posts. You will learn how to guide tone more clearly, reduce fluff, improve structure and fact-check outputs so they stay useful rather than generic. The focus is on keeping content human, believable and aligned with your voice. This session is ideal for small business owners, in-house marketers and anyone producing regular content with limited time.

You will leave with:
• better prompt patterns for common content tasks
• stronger tone-control and review habits
• a clearer way to use AI as a drafting partner, not a replacement

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “The training opened my eyes to what is possible with AI… and I can now see practical ways to apply AI in day-to-day work rather than just thinking about it in theory.”

AI For Admin and Personal Productivity | AI Workshop

23rd April, 7th May, 21st May, all 11- 1pm

If routine admin keeps eating into your day, AI for Admin and Personal Productivity workshop will help you use AI to reduce friction and get time back. It is a practical two-hour session for people dealing with regular drafting, note-taking, organising, follow-ups and repeat tasks.

We will explore how AI can help with emails, summaries, meeting notes, document preparation and recurring admin patterns without creating extra complexity. The goal is not to automate everything. It is to build a small number of repeatable habits that make everyday work easier and more consistent. This session is a strong fit for owner-managers, admin-heavy roles, project staff and anyone who feels buried under routine writing and organisation.

You will leave with:
• practical prompt patterns for recurring admin tasks
• ideas for inbox triage, note capture and document drafting

a simple time-back plan for your own work

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “The AI sessions improved my confidence not just with AI, but in other areas of my business too… and gave me a fresh perspective on how my tools and systems can work together as an ecosystem.”

Build Along Custom GPT or Copilot Agent | AI Workshop

21st May, 28th May, both 2 – 4pm

If you want something more reusable than one-off prompting, Build Along Custom GPT or Copilot Agent workshop helps you build a shared assistant for a real business need. In this two-hour build-along session, you will work through the foundations of a custom GPT or Copilot agent in a practical, supported way.

We will cover purpose, scope, boundaries, knowledge sources, prompt design, refusal rules, testing and handover. The aim is to create a first working version, or a clear build spec if access or setup limits mean full completion is not realistic in-session. The session also covers safe-use guardrails and simple maintenance so what you build can be used responsibly after the workshop.

This is ideal for small teams that want a more consistent way of handling repeat questions, approved knowledge or recurring support tasks.

You will leave with:
• a clearer use case and boundary for your assistant
• a working prototype or structured build spec
• test prompts, guardrails and a maintenance checklist

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “I came into the training as a complete beginner and left having built two automations with AI support.”

Responsible AI For SMEs | AI Masterclass

30th April, 14th May, both 2 – 4pm

AI adoption is much easier when people understand the guardrails. Responsible AI For SMEs is two hour masterclass is designed for leaders, managers and trust-sensitive organisations that want a practical approach to responsible AI use without turning it into a legal lecture.

We will look at the risks that matter most in SME settings, including privacy, confidentiality, accountability, human review and what should never be handed over to AI unchecked. The session helps you move from vague concern to a proportionate, workable set of rules that supports progress without being reckless.

This masterclass is especially useful if your organisation wants clearer expectations around safe use, stronger professional judgement and more confidence in what is, and is not, appropriate.

You will leave with:
• a better understanding of the main AI risk areas for SMEs
• practical guardrails around data handling and human oversight
• the outline of a lightweight policy or internal ruleset

Feedback from previous AI training participants: “This was one of the best courses I have taken in my career… the focus on ethics, values and safe use gave me real confidence in a new way of working.”