I'm Lilach Bullock, and I run AI training for employees that's built on the tasks they already do, so people leave using AI on real work, safely. It matters because most staff are using AI without any help: in Microsoft and LinkedIn's survey of 31,000 people, only 39% of AI users had been trained by their company.
If you're looking at AI training for your employees, the first thing to know is that you aren't starting from zero. Your team is almost certainly using AI already. The question is whether they're using it well, using it safely, and using it on the work that matters to your business.
I've spent 23 years in marketing, I built, scaled and sold a digital marketing agency, and Forbes listed me in its Top 20 Social Media Power Influencers. Now I help businesses put AI to work, and a big part of that is training teams to use the workflows I'd otherwise build for them. Here's what the research says about the training gap, what each role should learn, and how my sessions run.
Your staff already use AI, just not together
Microsoft and LinkedIn's 2024 Work Trend Index surveyed 31,000 people across 31 countries. It found that 75% of knowledge workers use AI at work, and 46% of those users had started less than six months earlier. That's a lot of people learning on their own, very fast.
The finding that changed how I run training is this one: 78% of AI users bring their own AI tools to work, and at small and medium-sized companies it's 80%. They also keep quiet about it. 52% of people who use AI at work are reluctant to admit using it for their most important tasks, and 53% worry it makes them look replaceable.
So the first job of employee AI training isn't teaching people what AI is. It's bringing the use that's already happening into the open, so you can see the risks and copy the wins.
The training gap in five numbers
Here's the same report, boiled down to the figures I'd show a leadership team before they budget for training:
| Finding | Figure |
|---|---|
| Knowledge workers using AI at work | 75% |
| AI users bringing their own tools to work | 78% (80% at small and medium-sized companies) |
| AI users who've had AI training from their company | Only 39% |
| Companies planning to offer generative AI training in 2024 | Only 25% |
| Leaders who wouldn't hire someone without AI skills | 66% |
What employees should learn, role by role
One workshop for everyone rarely works, because a salesperson and a bookkeeper don't do the same job. Everyone needs the same rules. After that, the training should follow the work.
- Everyone: which tools are approved, what information never goes into them, and how to check an AI answer before it leaves the building.
- Sales: turning call notes into follow-ups, researching a prospect before a meeting, and keeping the CRM up to date without the evening admin.
- Marketing: briefs, first drafts in your brand voice, repurposing one piece into several, and spotting when AI copy sounds like everyone else's.
- Operations and admin: summarising long documents, sorting inboxes, drafting standard replies and building simple checklists.
- Managers: reviewing AI-assisted work, deciding which tasks to automate, and using AI themselves so the team sees it's allowed.
How I run AI training for employees
My aim is simple: your team learns the AI workflows I would have built, so you build internal capability rather than depending on a consultant. I run it in workshops, online or in person, and every session uses your work, not generic examples.
- A free call: we talk about your team, your tools and what's worrying you.
- Collect the tasks: before the session, each team names the jobs that eat the most hours.
- Agree the rules: approved tools and what never goes into them, written in plain English.
- Hands-on workshops: I show the workflow on a real task, then everyone builds their own version on their own work.
- Follow up: we check what's being used and fix what's stuck, because that's where most training quietly fails.
What makes the training stick
The session is the easy part. What happens in the following month decides whether you've paid for a habit or a nice afternoon. Give each person one task to run with AI in the first week. Make a named person the go-to for questions. And make sure managers use it in front of their teams, because staff copy what they see.
I've written up the four-week plan I use to train staff on AI if you want to see it step by step. As someone I've worked with put it: "The best part wasn't the tools, it was the clarity. We finally understood what to automate and what to ignore."
Employee training or a company-wide programme?
Employee AI training works best when a few decisions are already made at the top: which tools you'll pay for, who owns the rules, and how you'll measure whether it's working. If you need the whole programme, from leadership rules to team sessions, my corporate AI training page explains how I run it. If you only need the rules, start with a short AI policy for your team.
My advice before you book AI training for employees
Ask your team, anonymously, which AI tools they already use and for what. You'll learn more from that list than from any vendor demo, and it tells the trainer where to start. Then book training that uses your own tasks, ends with written rules, and includes a follow-up a few weeks later. If a trainer can't tell you what changes on Monday morning, keep looking.
If you'd like to train your team with me, book a free 30-minute call on my work with me page. If it isn't a fit, I'll say so before we hang up.
Frequently asked questions
Why do employees need AI training if they already use AI?
Because most of that use is unsupervised. In Microsoft and LinkedIn's 2024 Work Trend Index, 78% of AI users brought their own AI tools to work, but only 39% had received AI training from their company.
What should AI training for employees cover?
Approved tools, what information never goes into them, how to check AI output, and hands-on workflows for each role's real tasks, such as sales follow-ups, marketing drafts and admin summaries.
Is AI training for employees better online or in person?
Both can work. Lilach Bullock runs hands-on workshops online or in person; what matters more is that the training uses the team's own tasks and includes a follow-up.
How long does it take for AI training to change how a team works?
The workshop starts it, but habits form in the following weeks. Give each person one task to run with AI in the first week and check in a few weeks later.
How do I book AI training for my employees with Lilach Bullock?
Book a free 30-minute call through the work with me page to talk through your team, tools and goals.