Apply learning to real work.
Employees practice using AI in their own responsibilities. Training and champion-led office hours give them support as they learn. Selected champions can develop further as builders.
Learn to use AI in your own work and lead its use across your company. Start with practical executive education and a plan built around your business. Then choose whether you’d like our support during implementation.
Talk to the teamUnderstand the toolsTake on more ambitious work
Phase 1Get ready to lead with AI.
Build a practical understanding of AI through your own work. You’ll learn what the tools can do and how to judge where they’re useful.
Alongside that learning, we examine how your company operates. Together, we turn what you learn into a company-specific plan for the next 90 days.
You leave prepared to explain the plan and lead your team through it.
Talk to the teamStart with the people who will lead the change.
- Executives and leaders
- take part in the preparation. They make the decisions that shape the plan.
- Department leaders and employees
- help us understand their day-to-day work. They share how they’re already using AI and where they could use support.
- We also look for potential champions:
- people showing initiative and practical AI experience. These are the people who could help colleagues get started. Some may later develop the skills to build applications.
The audit and executive preparation run alongside each other. Both shape your plan for the next 90 days.
01 — Organizational audit
We look at how your company works and how people are already using AI. That includes the systems and information they rely on. We identify useful opportunities and what your team would need to pursue them. We also clarify access permissions and who is responsible for the work.
02 — Executive preparation
Your leaders take part in six weeks of practical learning. The sequence starts with a four-hour kickoff, followed by five 90-minute workshops. Each session connects AI tools and leadership decisions to your company’s work.
03 — Your 90-day plan
Your plan brings the decisions together. It sets out what to tackle first and who will lead each part of the work. It identifies the tools and resources you’ll need, with milestones to track progress.
It also sets out how employees will learn and where champions will help. For people ready to build applications, it identifies the additional preparation they’ll need.
What Phase 1 prepares you to do
Understand what makes AI work for your business.
A model alone doesn’t know how your company runs. Learn how company knowledge, connected tools, and clear instructions help it do useful work.
Practice giving AI the context it needs and checking the results. Create instructions you can reuse for recurring tasks. Develop workflows and simple dashboards around your own responsibilities.
As you work with the tools, you’ll learn where they help and where your judgment is still needed.
Give every department a clear direction.
- Choose priorities.
- Assess where AI could create useful business results. Weigh that value against the effort, feasibility, and risk.
- Decide what to use or build.
- Understand what existing tools can handle. Identify where systems need to connect and when specialist engineering is needed.
- Set the rules.
- Decide which uses and information are appropriate. Make review requirements and responsibility clear.
- Prepare your people.
- Give employees time to learn. Identify champions and decide how people will get support.
- Measure progress.
- Establish a starting point so you can tell what’s improving. Choose measures that fit the work, such as quality, time, cost, or business results.
Lead the rollout yourself, or work with us in Phase 2.
Phase 2Put the plan to work.
Phase 2 is a separate, optional engagement to support your rollout over 90 days. Your executives lead the work. We provide practical training and help your team work through problems as they come up.
Get the tools ready.
We help with setup that needs specialist support. We also help connect the appropriate company information, within your access rules.
Share what works.
Champions help colleagues and document useful practices for others to use. Executives review progress and address decisions or support needs that require their involvement.
Questions about getting started
What type of company is this for?
Companies committed to making AI part of how they work. You may be exploring your first tools or already have people building with them. We start with how your company uses AI today and what your people need to take the next step.
Will Obney replace our IT team or outsourced IT provider?
No. AI Activation focuses on preparing leaders and helping people use AI in their work, rather than taking over day-to-day IT support. We work alongside your internal IT team or managed service provider (MSP), the term for an outsourced IT provider. They should be involved in decisions about tools, access, company information, and security so the rollout fits your existing systems and responsibilities.
Who takes part?
Phase 1 focuses on executives and leaders, with input from people across the business. Phase 2 extends learning and support to employees, champions, and selected builders.
How much time will our team need to set aside?
Executive preparation runs over six weeks, with one four-hour kickoff and five 90-minute workshops. Leaders and relevant employees also contribute to the organizational audit and planning. Those sessions are not the entire time commitment: people need time to practice, make decisions, and contribute knowledge of the business. The 90-day roadmap identifies the learning time and support needed for the rollout.
What is an AI champion?
A champion is someone in your company who understands how to use AI well enough to help colleagues learn. They can explain an approach, help someone work through a problem, and share useful practices. They do not need to be a developer or build software. Their role is to make learning and support available within the team.
What is a builder, and how is that different from a champion?
A builder is someone who wants to create things with the tools, such as an integration, a workflow, or a piece of software. A champion focuses on helping others learn; a builder develops solutions. One person may do both, but not every champion needs to become a builder. Part of that development is recognizing what they can manage themselves and when IT or specialist engineering support is needed.
How do we approach sensitive company information?
Planning includes defining approved uses, information boundaries, review requirements, and who is responsible. Your IT team or provider should help decide which tools and access are appropriate. During Phase 2, we help with configuration and access to appropriate company information within your rules. Learning to use AI does not mean giving every tool access to all of your company’s data.
What does the 90-day plan cover?
It sets out the work you’ll prioritize and who will own it. It also identifies the tools, information, and learning your team will need. Milestones help you track progress over the 90 days. Larger changes may continue beyond that period.
Do we need Phase 2 to get started?
No. Phase 1 stands alone. Your leaders leave prepared to begin the rollout with your team. Phase 2 provides optional support as you put the plan into practice.
What should our team be able to do afterward?
After Phase 1, your leaders should be better equipped to use AI themselves and decide where it can help the business. They should also be prepared to lead the rollout.
If you choose Phase 2, the goal is for employees to use AI more independently in their day-to-day responsibilities. They should also know when to ask for help.
We assess progress against the priorities and measures in your 90-day plan.
Let’s talk about AI in your business.
Tell us what you’d like to improve and how your team is using AI today. We can start there.
Already know what needs building? Explore Custom Software.