North Star AI Consultation

ai training

AI training for small business owners and their teams

We teach small business owners and their employees to go past chatting with AI and set up AI agents that do real work: Claude Code and Codex most often, plus whichever AI tools fit each job. No coding needed. Training is live and online at $100 an hour, and it starts with a free 30-minute call.

No slideshows and no generic course. We take a task your people actually do, have the AI do it while they watch, then turn it into something that runs on its own.

When small businesses were asked where they need the most AI support, the top answers were training employees to use AI well and picking the right tools (38% each), then connecting AI to the systems they already use (31%) and writing AI policies (28%). (GTIA, August 2026)

Book your free 30-minute intro call

Three ways to learn

start here: your first call is free

One-on-one AI coaching

You and us, on your screen, working on your real business. We find the jobs AI can take off your plate, set up the tools that fit in your own accounts, and coach you until you're the one running them.

  • Your real work, not a lecture: the quote you're behind on, the emails you dread, the posts you never get to.
  • We start with the task that eats the most of your week: an AI agent like Claude Code or Codex does it on your computer, then we save it as a skill and put it on a schedule.
  • One session or a standing weekly hour, at your pace. No slideshows, no homework.
Good for
Owners who want to understand AI themselves before they hand it to anyone else.
Price
$100/hr, online. Billed after each session.

AI training for your team

Live training on a video call, built around the jobs your people actually do: front desk, office, sales, the field. They go from chatting with AI to handing it real jobs, and they learn to check its work and keep customer information safe.

  • Built from your business, not a generic course: real examples from your own emails, forms, and customer questions, with private details taken out first.
  • Past the chat window: they watch an AI agent like Claude Code or Codex do one of their real jobs, then save it as a skill that runs on a schedule. No coding needed.
  • The basics everyone needs: how to check the answer and what never gets pasted into an AI tool, plus a one-page set of AI rules for your team, written with you.
  • We say it out loud on day one: this is about taking the boring out of their jobs, not taking their jobs.
Good for
Teams where a few people already use ChatGPT on the side and nobody agreed on how.
Price
$100/hr, online. You'll know the total before we start.

Train your in-house AI person

Pick one person on your team, often the office manager or the curious one. We coach them one-on-one until they can set up tools, answer the team's AI questions, and spot the next job worth automating. The know-how stays in your building.

  • Hands-on from the first session: they build real things for your business as they learn, so every lesson leaves something useful behind.
  • The whole toolkit: AI agents like Claude Code and Codex, the right AI tool and model for each job, saving skills, scheduling jobs, and where an agent should live (an always-on computer or the cloud).
  • They learn how to judge new AI tools on their own, so you're not chasing every launch.
  • Cheaper than hiring an AI specialist, and they already know how your business runs.
Good for
Businesses where AI questions come up every week, but not enough to hire someone just for it.
Price
$100/hr. We estimate how many sessions it takes on the free call.

inside a training

What happens in an AI training?

Every training follows the same path, from the AI your people already use to AI that runs a real job on its own:

  1. Start where you are

    We ask what AI everyone uses today. Usually it's ChatGPT, for research, emails, and documents. That's a fine start, and it's the shallow end.

  2. Meet the AI agent

    Then we ask who has tried an AI agent like Claude Code or Codex. Most people say no, because they think it's for coders. It isn't. You tell it what you want in everyday sentences, and it does the work on your computer.

  3. Watch it take the wheel

    We show an agent building a custom tool from a description, sorting a messy folder, and even running the computer itself: opening apps, clicking, filling in forms.

  4. Do one of your real tasks

    Your team picks a job they do every week. The agent does it while everyone watches, and we adjust the request until the result is right.

  5. Turn it into a skill

    Once it works, we tell the AI to save it as a skill: a recipe it follows the same way every time, so nobody has to explain the job twice.

  6. Put it on autopilot

    Then it runs on a schedule or a trigger. Every weekday at 10am, check the inbox for quote requests and draft the quotes. When a receipt lands in the folder, file it. Anything headed to a customer waits for a person's OK until you trust it.

  7. Pick where it lives

    Scheduled jobs only run while the agent's computer is on, so a computer that stays on around the clock keeps your routines going day and night. Running the agent in the cloud works too, with more setup and more limits. Or use a cloud agent like OpenAI's dots or Grok Bot, which lives on a computer of its own online and works around the clock.

  8. Your questions, your call

    Then your questions, as many as you have. From there you might keep going on your own, have us build the next one, or keep us on call.

Claude Code and Codex are where we usually start, not the whole toolbox. Every business is different, so the tools follow the job: we lay out the options and recommend what fits yours.

what your team learns

What does AI training for employees cover?

Along the way, the know-how that turns AI from a toy into a tool:

The right AI for each job
Which tool fits which task (an agent, a research assistant, the AI inside apps you already pay for), which AI model to pick, and how much effort to let it spend: quick and cheap for simple jobs, slower and more careful for hard ones.
The AI's home base
One simple set of folders where your agent's instructions, skills, and files live, so it remembers how your business works every time. We call it the harness.
One agent, a whole crew
An agent can start helper agents and split a big job between them. Your team learns when that's worth it and when one agent is plenty.
Memory, limits, and cost
How much an AI can keep in mind at once (its context window), why very long jobs get fuzzy, and how usage limits and plans work, so nobody hits a wall halfway through a task.
Checking the work
What agents do well, where they slip, and why AI can be confidently wrong. Names, numbers, dates, and facts get checked before anything reaches a customer.
What stays private
Which accounts are safe for business use, what never goes in (customer records, payment and health details, passwords), and a one-page set of AI rules written with you.

how it works

From the free call to follow-up

  1. The form and the free call

    Two minutes of questions, then a free 30-minute phone call. We hear how your business runs and who needs what.

  2. We learn your team's week

    Which tasks repeat, which ones people hate, and where mistakes cost you. That becomes the training plan, priced before we start.

  3. Live training on video

    The path above, built from your own examples with private details taken out. Your people work on their own tasks while we're there to help.

  4. Follow-up, your way

    A check-in once the habits have had time to form, an in-house AI person to keep it going, or us on retainer. Or none of the above.

becoming ai-native

What does an AI-native small business look like?

Not robots. Just a team that reaches for AI the way it reaches for email. It happens in steps, and every step is worth it on its own:

  1. Step 1A few people try AI on their own, with no shared rules.
  2. Step 2Everyone uses the same approved tools, with one page of rules.
  3. Step 3The team shares saved skills and checklists, so good results repeat.
  4. Step 4The repeat jobs run on their own, and a person checks the results.
  5. Step 5AI agents handle whole jobs start to finish, and a person approves what goes out.

You don't need to reach the top to feel the difference. Most of the time saved in a small business comes from the middle steps.

Questions about this

Can you train my employees to use AI?

Yes. We run live training on a video call, built around the jobs your people actually do, using real examples from your own business with private details taken out. Everyone leaves knowing how to ask AI for good work, how to check what it gives back, and what should never be pasted into an AI tool.

What will my team actually learn in AI training?

Your team learns to hand real work to AI, not just chat with it. They start from what they already use, then watch an AI agent like Claude Code or Codex do one of their own tasks, save it as a skill, and set it to run on a schedule. Along the way they learn which AI tool and model fit which job, how to check AI's work before it reaches a customer, and what information stays private. We also write a one-page set of AI rules for your team with you.

Does my small business need an AI policy?

If anyone on your team uses AI, yes, and it can be one page. It should say which tools are approved, what information never goes into them (customer records, passwords, anything private), and that a person checks AI work before it goes out. We write it with you as part of team training. It's practical guidance, not legal advice.

Can you train someone on my staff to be our AI person?

Yes. You pick one person, often the office manager or whoever is most curious, and we coach them one-on-one until they can set up tools, answer the team's questions, and spot the next job worth automating. You get the know-how in your building, from someone who already knows how your business runs.

I'm the owner and I'm not technical. Can you just teach me?

That's exactly who one-on-one coaching is for. We work on your screen with your real tasks, set things up in your accounts, and go at your pace. If you can write an email, you can do this.

Do I need to know how to code to use Claude Code or Codex?

No, you don't need to code to use Claude Code or Codex. They're AI agents that started out as tools for programmers, but you give them instructions in everyday sentences and they do the work on your computer: building simple custom tools, organizing files, drafting documents, and running repeat tasks. Most people skip them because they assume they're for coders. We set them up with you and practice on your own work.

Is it safe to put customer information into ChatGPT or other AI tools?

Not on a free or personal account without checking its settings first. Consumer AI plans may use your chats to improve their models unless you turn that off, while business plans (like ChatGPT Business and Enterprise, Claude Team and Enterprise, and Gemini in Google Workspace) say they don't train on your data by default. Either way, keep private details like account numbers, health information, and passwords out unless the tool is approved for that kind of data.

Can AI do my repeat tasks automatically, on a schedule?

Yes: once an AI agent does a task right, you can save it as a skill and have it run on a schedule or when something happens. For example, every weekday at 10am it checks the inbox for quote requests and drafts the quotes, or it files each new receipt as soon as it lands in a folder. Claude Code and Codex both have scheduling built in, and we can set up custom triggers. Scheduled jobs need the agent's computer to be on (or a cloud agent like OpenAI's dots or Grok Bot). Start with tasks where a small mistake is cheap, and keep a person approving anything that goes to a customer until you trust it.

How do I set up an AI agent for my small business?

Start with one repeat task, pick an AI agent that fits it, and set it up on a computer you control, with a person approving anything that reaches a customer. For most small businesses that means an agent like Claude Code or Codex, but the right tool depends on the job. Do the task once with the agent, save it as a skill once it's right, then put it on a schedule. We set it up with you and teach you to run it.

Does an AI agent need a computer that's always on?

For scheduled jobs, yes: an AI agent that lives on your computer can only run a routine while that computer is on. A computer that stays on around the clock keeps routines running day and night. Running the agent in the cloud instead is possible, but it takes more setup and has more limits. Cloud agents like OpenAI's dots and Grok Bot are built for it: they live on a computer of their own online and work around the clock, each with its own plans and limits. We walk through the options and recommend what fits your business.

Will AI replace my employees?

For most small businesses, AI takes over tasks, not people: the typing, sorting, and first drafts that pile up around the real job. Your team still does the work customers pay for, and still checks what AI produces. We say that out loud on day one of every team training, because nobody learns a new tool well while worrying about their job.

Can you train my team in person at our office?

Yes, around the Bay Area. Most team trainings run on video because they're easier to schedule and cost less, but when your team needs someone in the room, we set that up on the free call.

All the questions

ready when you are

Start with a free 30-minute call.

Two minutes of quick questions so we come prepared, then we reach out to set up your free phone call. No pitch, no jargon: we hear how your business runs and point you the right way.

Why is the first call free?

We'd rather prove it than pitch it. The first 30-minute call is free so you can hear what's possible for your business before spending a dollar. After that it's $100 an hour for online sessions, training, and builds, low for the Bay Area on purpose: the AI does the heavy lifting. You'll know the price of anything before we touch it.

Book your free 30-minute intro call

Questions before you book? Text us: +1 650 679 0216

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Book your free 30-minute intro call