Beginner AI workshops
Small-group sessions for business owners who want to move from 'everyone keeps talking about AI' to actually using it with confidence. You'll bring your own laptop, your own business, and your own questions.
AI Training & Workshops
Everyone's talking about AI. Most of it sounds like it wasn't written for you.
This is beginner-friendly AI training for small business owners, sole traders, consultants and professionals - not developers.
No jargon. No hype. No technical background needed.
Just practical, hands-on training that helps you understand what AI can do, where it fits, and how to use it for the everyday work that takes up your week - marketing, content, admin, planning, research, paperwork and decision-making.
Not sure where you fit? Book a free 30-minute discovery call and we'll work it out together.
No experience needed
Truly. Beginners are the point.
Plain English, guaranteed
Every term explained clearly, without making you feel silly for not already knowing.
Bring your own business
You'll practise on real tasks, not pretend examples.
What we cover
Real business uses, not party tricks
I teach as a marketer and educator, not as an AI engineer. My KISSS method applies here too: keep it Simple, Structured and Strategic.
We use beginner-friendly tools like ChatGPT, Claude and NotebookLM, but the focus is always your business, not the technology.
The goal isn't to hand everything over to AI. The goal is to understand where AI can help, where it shouldn't, and how to keep your voice, judgement and customer relationships at the centre of it all.
Content & marketing
Ideas, drafts, captions, emails and repurposing - without sounding like every other AI-generated post online.
Admin & paperwork
Summarising documents, drafting replies, organising information and making everyday admin easier to deal with.
Productivity & workflows
Breaking the jobs you avoid into smaller, clearer steps, and finding practical ways AI can support the work you already do.
Planning & thinking
Using AI as a sounding board for decisions, offers, campaigns, customer journeys and next steps.
Working with your own information
Using tools like NotebookLM to make sense of your documents, procedures, research, notes and business knowledge.
Ways to learn
Pick the format that suits you
Private team training
A session built around your business, your tools, your workflows and your team's real tasks - so everyone leaves with something practical they can use.
1:1 sessions
Just you, me and your business. Ideal if you'd rather learn at your own pace, want help setting up a practical AI workflow, or have something specific you want to work through together.
Conference & event speaking
Practical, energising AI sessions for conferences, industry groups and business events - tailored to your audience and refreshingly free of hype.
Sessions run in person across Cairns and Far North Queensland, and online Australia-wide. I'm currently planning the next round of beginner workshops. Register your interest below and you'll be the first to know once dates are locked in (AI Bites subscribers hear next).
Booking for a conference or event? There's a separate speaking page with topics, past events and what organisers can expect.
Want to be first to know?
Register your interest
Tell me a little about where you're at, what you'd like help with, and whether you'd rather learn in person or online.
I'll keep you posted as soon as the next beginner AI workshop is ready to go.
Why learn AI from a marketer?
Because the barrier was never just the technology
After more than a decade helping non-technical business owners understand how to use social media, I've learned that the hard part is rarely the tool itself.
It's the jargon around it, the fear underneath it, and the lack of clear examples that actually relate to your business.
AI is the same story.
My rule for both is simple: the tools should support the person, not replace them. AI should help you think, create, organise and make decisions with more confidence, without handing over your voice, judgement or customer relationships.
Where you might have seen this work:
- Weekly guest on Triple M Cairns' breakfast show for the Tech Tuesday segment from 2022 to 2024, covering tech, scams, social media and AI
- Part of James Cook University/QLD AI Hub's Cairns AI Literacy Series in 2024
- Co-presented AI tools training for Mari Smith's VIP clients in San Diego in 2025
- Guest on Social Media Examiner's AI Explored podcast, interviewed by Michael Stelzner
- Speaker at the CityLife Annual Business Retreat 2025
- Invited to train Social Media Examiner's private AI Business Society group in the US on NotebookLM in 2026
What I bring home from all of that is simple: the useful bits, explained in plain English, for Australian small businesses.
From people who've seen it in action
“Lisa's practical workshop on 'NotebookLM: Your AI thought leadership companion' was a standout. She transformed an audience that had mostly never heard of NotebookLM prior to the session into eager users, inspired to incorporate this tool into their daily workflow. If you're looking for a speaker who delivers practical value, connects effortlessly with the audience, and truly gets the needs of small business owners, I can't recommend Lisa highly enough.”
“Lisa Monks is a thought leader in generative AI, particularly for Google Workspace and, specifically, Google NotebookLM. She is years ahead of her peers in educating herself about AI and recognising its possibilities. She shines as an AI strategist, focusing on practical and cost-effective solutions for her clients. And as an AI educator, she communicates clearly with logical, easy-to-follow structures, and a huge amount of enthusiasm. Lisa is one of the true 'Gems' of the AI world.”
Lisa Monks is an exceptional presenter and fellow explainer — clear, structured, and wonderfully engaging. Lisa's contribution was a total standout: step-by-step, super easy to follow, and packed with practical gems. Watching her demo how she uses tools like NotebookLM for in-depth learning was pure magic. My clients were like hungry chickies in the nest, eagerly soaking it all up. I'd have no hesitation in recommending her for AI tools training.
Mari Smith
Premier Facebook Marketing Expert & Social Media Thought Leader
AI tools training for Mari's VIP clients - San Diego, 2025
Nervous? That's normal
Questions beginners actually ask
Do I need to be technical?
Not at all. These sessions are built for beginners - if you can send an email, you have all the technical skill you need. Everything is shown step by step, in plain English, and you'll practise as you go.
Which AI tool should I start with?
For most small business owners, ChatGPT is the friendliest starting point, and NotebookLM is brilliant once you want to work with your own documents and information. In a session we'll work out what suits your business - there's no one-size-fits-all answer, and you don't need ten tools. You need one or two that you'll actually use.
Can AI help me with marketing?
Yes - this is where it shines for small business. Content ideas, drafting posts and emails, repurposing what you've already written, planning campaigns and taking the blank-page dread out of writing. As a marketer, this is exactly the lens I teach it through.
Will this be too advanced for me?
No. The whole point of these sessions is that they're written for you, not for tech people. We start from wherever you are - including absolute zero - and plenty of people arrive feeling nervous and leave using AI the same week.
Can you train my team?
Absolutely. Private team training is one of the most popular formats - a session shaped around your business, your tools and your team's real work, in person in Far North Queensland or online anywhere in Australia.
When's the next workshop?
I'm currently planning the next round of beginner workshops and don't have public dates locked in just yet. Register your interest and tell me whether in-person or online suits you better - you'll be the first to know once it's confirmed, before it's announced anywhere else.
Ready to stop feeling behind on AI?
Register your interest in a workshop above, ask about training for your team, or book a free 30-minute discovery call - a relaxed chat, no obligation, and absolutely no jargon.