- What are the main formats for staff AI training?
- What should decide the format for your team?
- How do you make online AI training work?
- How do you make in-person AI training stick?
- Is a hybrid approach worth the extra planning?
- Questions to ask before you book any AI trainer
- Where I fit if you're choosing how to train your staff
- Frequently asked questions
Both work. Choose in-person when your team sits together and needs hands-on practice with plenty of questions, and live online when people are spread out or you want shorter sessions spaced over a few weeks. Self-paced courses suit basics, not habit change. What matters most is practising on real tasks and following up. I'm Lilach Bullock and I run AI workshops for teams both online and in person, which makes me one option to consider.
Last checked: October 2026.
Picture two teams. One spends a lively day in a meeting room with laptops open. The other joins three short video sessions from home offices and kitchen tables. Either team can come out using AI well, or neither can. The format matters less than people think, but it does shape what's easy and what takes extra care.
This guide is for small business owners and marketing leads choosing how to train staff on AI. It's written to help you pick a format that fits your people, whoever ends up running it.
What are the main formats for staff AI training?
Most options fall into four groups. Each has a clear strength and a clear trap.
| Format | Suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Live online sessions | Teams spread across sites or working from home; shorter sessions spaced over a few weeks | Cameras off, attention drifting, people watching rather than doing |
| In-person workshop | Teams in one office; groups that need lots of hands-on help and a bit of energy | A great day with no follow-up, then old habits creep back |
| Self-paced course | Basics and vocabulary; new starters; people who like to learn alone | Low completion, and little link to your own tasks or tools |
| Hybrid | Mixed teams: an in-person kick-off then online follow-ups, or the reverse | Remote attendees becoming second-class in a room-first session |
What should decide the format for your team?
Skip the question "which is better?" and work through these instead. The answers usually point clearly one way.
- Where your people are. If the team is spread across locations or works remotely, online removes travel and makes shorter, spaced sessions easy to arrange.
- How much hands-on help they'll need. Nervous or less technical staff often do better with someone beside them who can see their screen and say "click there".
- Whether they can practise on their own tools. Training sticks when people work on their real documents, accounts and tasks. Check this works in whichever format you pick.
- Confidence levels in the group. A mixed room needs a trainer who can stretch the confident people without losing the cautious ones. Smaller groups help either way.
- Attention span. A full day is long for anyone. Online, attention fades sooner, so shorter sessions win.
- Follow-up. Whatever the main format, plan how people will get help in the weeks after.
For teams that are new to all this and unsure where to begin, this guide to getting AI help as a non-technical founder covers the wider picture before training even starts.
How do you make online AI training work?
Online training has a reputation for being passive. It doesn't have to be. A few simple rules change it completely:
- Cameras on, where people are comfortable. It keeps the session a conversation rather than a broadcast.
- Real tasks, not demos. Ask everyone to bring one piece of their own work to try during the session.
- Small groups. Keep numbers low enough that everyone can share their screen or ask a question.
- Breakout practice. Send people into pairs to try a prompt, then bring them back to compare results.
- Shorter and spaced. Several shorter sessions a week or so apart beat one long marathon.
- Leave something behind. A shared document of prompts and steps people can return to later.
How do you make in-person AI training stick?
In-person days are often energising. The risk is that the energy stays in the room. These habits help it travel back to desks:
- Ask people to bring laptops with the tools they'll use day to day, logged in and ready.
- Bring real work: a brief, a messy set of notes, a customer email that needs answering.
- End with each person writing down one task they'll try with AI the next morning.
- Book a short online follow-up call a couple of weeks later, before the day happens.
- Collect the prompts that worked into one shared place before everyone leaves.
Is a hybrid approach worth the extra planning?
Often, yes. A common pattern is an in-person session to build confidence and energy, followed by a few short online check-ins where people bring what they've tried. It plays to the strengths of both. The thing to avoid is a room full of people with a couple of colleagues dialled in on a laptop at the end of the table. They'll hear half of it and do none of it. If you mix, give remote people their own session or a dedicated helper.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Whichever route you take, start with tasks that give people quick wins. This piece on where marketing teams save the most time is a handy list to pick from.
Questions to ask before you book any AI trainer
- Can you run this online, in person, or both, and what changes between them?
- Will people practise on their own tools and tasks during the session?
- How many people per group do you recommend, and why?
- What do attendees keep afterwards?
- What follow-up is included once the session ends?
Where I fit if you're choosing how to train your staff
I'm a good fit for small businesses and marketing teams who want practical, hands-on sessions on their own tasks, either online or in person. I've spoken at more than 100 events internationally, so I'm comfortable keeping a room engaged, and I keep online groups small enough that everyone gets to try things. You can see how my AI workshops for teams work.
I'm not the right choice if you want a large self-paced course library, formal accreditation, or technical training for developers. A dedicated e-learning or technical provider will suit you better there.
Frequently asked questions
Is online AI training as good as in person?
It can be, if sessions are short, groups are small and people practise on their own tasks. In-person suits groups that need more hands-on help.
How long should an AI training session for staff be?
Online, shorter sessions spaced over a few weeks work better than one long one. In person, a half day or a full day with breaks and plenty of practice works well.
Are self-paced AI courses enough for employees?
They're good for basics and vocabulary, but on their own they rarely change how people work. Pair them with live practice on real tasks.
How many people should be in an AI training group?
Small enough that everyone can ask a question and try things during the session. Large groups turn training into a lecture.
What should employees bring to AI training?
A laptop with the tools they use every day and one or two real tasks from their own work to try during the session.
