AI-Enhanced Entrepreneurship: A 102-Level Guide to AI Applications in Business

NOTE: This is a 102-level session. To get the most out of it, you should already:

*Have experimented with at least one AI tool (like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot), even if just for personal use.
*Understand the basics of prompting — how to give AI an action, context, and output request, and how to refine those prompts toward better results.
*Be familiar with the idea that AI isn’t always accurate, and that while AI is a tool, your judgment and expertise remains essential (“human in the loop”).
*Have a general sense of your business goals or pain points where AI could help.
*(Optional, but helpful) Bring a simple setup document you created in AI 101, such as a brand voice guide, customer persona, or FAQ list.

Not ready quite yet? Join us for our AI 101 session: Is it the Real World, or is it AI? An Entrepreneur’s “101” Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

You’ve learned the basics of prompting and explored where AI can fit into your workflow — now it’s time to go deeper. One of the biggest challenges with AI is moving from “interesting outputs” to meaningful results you can actually use in your business. In this 102-level session, we’ll continue our journey as AI Explorers by:

*Showing how context engineering makes AI outputs more relevant, accurate, and aligned with your brand.
*Tailoring AI outputs with context-driven responses using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
*Building a simple Custom GPT that demonstrates how to combine AI’s strengths with your business context.
*Practicing how to stay the human in the loop by refining AI outputs and spotting where judgment still matters.
*Applying all of these skills to a realistic case study to better understand what AI can and can’t solve on its own.

This session is designed for small business owners, managers, and professionals who have experimented with AI tools and basic prompting, and who are ready to integrate AI more strategically into their operations. You’ll leave with practical experience in customization, tools for bridging AI and human expertise, and clear next steps for bringing AI into your own business with confidence.

By the end of this session, you will:

*Learn a framework for using AI to solve real business problems.
*Understand how context engineering and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) helps you steer LLMs toward results that sound more like your business and less like a generic answer.
*Understand how lets AI “look things up” rather than making guesses.
*Learn how to build and test a simple Custom GPT.
*Practice being the “human in the loop” by refining AI outputs and deciding what should be trusted, improved, or discarded.

This class is online.

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration up to 5 business days prior to the start of this training program without penalty. Cancellations, requests, and other notice of changes for this program should be provided in writing by sending an email to sbdc@wsb.wisc.edu indicating your name, business, and the course you were registered for.