Artificial Intelligence for Business Users

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a topic of the future – it is a reality and is changing the way companies operate. As a sole proprietor, this presents many opportunities and challenges, primarily a matter of time. Thanks to my focus on digital communication/marketing and my many years of training experience in the digital field, I was offered the opportunity to take part in a European pilot program “Artificial Intelligence for business users” in 2024. I was invited by WIFI Lower Austria, WIFI Austria is one of the European supporting institutes.

Over several weeks (which felt like months), the 333 users from all over Europe concentrated on four key points.

Source: E-Learning Eurochambre, program overview (EN), after login, https://elearning. eurochambres.eu/course/view.php?id=6, created on February 4th, 2025

Based on our feedback, the program is currently being revised to be – like every pilot – even stronger than before.

AI for Business: A First Step

From my point of view, this often painful confrontation was essential. Sole proprietors have many roles (based on my graphic design colleague Bernhard Rauchbauer).

You can easily imagine this. Just like a parent, a sole proprietor looks after his child or adult child -> his company with a variety of activities that take up more or less time and are more or less relevant to the balance sheet, for example:

🔹 Shopping (coffee beans, chocolate cake, the occasional tea or honey; water filters; printer paper, pens, and much more)

🔹 Smooth licensing processes

🔹 Customer support and development by arrangement

🔹 Inspiration and acquisition

🔹 Accounting, invoices – receipts

🔹 Taxes, everything financial

🔹 Networking meetings (to stay grounded or to feel it again — to get out of your own bubble)

🔹 and much more // this refers to private life

So how do we find time for AI and why? What kind of AI and isn’t it all the same? There’s only ChatGPT, right?😉

Often you can’t see the forest for the trees. When you’re in the middle of it, you’re in your reality, in your bubble, in your own forest. Hmn. So let’s say I’m a gardener, I have my regular customers and I know exactly how much I earn per year, just like in an employee. Roughly, and the 13th and 14th salary is the wild card, depending on how well my vegetables actually grow based on the weather conditions.

Now I ask myself, why should I create an irrigation concept (investment costs/resources -> i.e. money and time, maintenance, changing my usual processes) if everything is going well? Well, how long until I retire and have I made provisions? So I can still do my work when my body needs help. (…) Either way, we can imagine that there are a few variables that come into play. If I invest – while it is annoying and exhausting – in new methods slowly and at a pace that is manageable for me, I can test what is good for me. That’s all. I want to let your imagination run wild here.

You know, there will always be cases where it is good to keep what has been tried and tested. In my view, it is important to give yourself and your company the opportunity to evaluate without fear and to use what is useful and sensible. A tractor gets you through the vineyard well, a Tesla less so. You need different driving licenses for both machines. Yes, there are tractor driving licenses, after the war there were fewer cars.

Here are some inspirations / links from the e-learning modules to illustrate the current state of affairs and cases:

AI in Practice – Different Perspectives

AI is versatile and impacts a wide range of industries.

🔹 Visual introduction to AI: An overview of the current developments and challenges of the technology: YouTube Video

🔹 Application examples and use cases: This video shows how AI is used across industries: YouTube Video

🔹 AI technologies in the business environment: An overview of the 15 most important AI technologies that are currently shaping the corporate landscape: Edureka article

AI in customer interaction

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way companies interact with their customers:

💄 AI & Beauty: How Sephora is using AI to transform the customer experience: Beauty and AI

🛒 AI in e-commerce: Amazon shows how AI is used to make the shopping experience safer and more intuitive: Amazon & AI

📊 AI in CRM: AI is changing customer relationship management and helping companies to better understand customers: AI in CRM

📈 Automation and data analysis: How AI optimizes customer management and opens up new potential: Information Week

Conclusion: The future is the next moment

AI is not a hype, but a possible, essential tool for companies to optimize processes, improve customer relationships and secure competitive advantages. It can also be used by people. At least for now. The European program has shown that it is primarily about creating a knowledge base – as a basis for the next steps in digital transformation.

For business users, this means: Now is the right time to get involved with AI and take the first, second and maybe even third step. The future is here. 🚀