Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a Copilot AI training session in Durban, an experience that shifted the way I view AI’s role in marketing, customer engagement, and business efficiency. As part of my responsibilities at work, I’m always exploring new ways to use technology to elevate client engagement and drive smarter cross-selling. This session pushed those boundaries even further.
I’ve been using ChatGPT for four years, and like many people, I believed I had a solid grasp of AI. This training proved just how much more there is beneath the surface. What stood out for me was learning how to build AI agents that can assist with everyday tasks, intelligent digital helpers designed to make your workflow smoother and more strategic.
For example, instead of ending the day scrolling through hundreds of emails, an AI agent can summarise everything for you and highlight what truly matters. That alone is a game-changer for productivity.
I didn’t wait to experiment. Right after the training, I started applying what I learned. My AI assistant now summarises my daily emails, and I’m setting it up to remind me about important meetings and what I need to prepare. And this is just the beginning, there are countless processes within my role that can be streamlined, automated, or enhanced through the right AI setup.
The Standout Moment
The moment that really captured my attention was seeing how quickly these AI agents can be created, literally in minutes. It demystified what many people think is a highly technical or intimidating task. The training also touched on the history of AI, how it actually operates, and how much prompting technique influences the output. Understanding how to ask is just as important as understanding what to ask.
AI’s Growing Impact on Business
If there’s one takeaway from the session, it’s this: AI isn’t the future, it’s the present. More businesses are adopting AI to improve customer experience and streamline operations. There’s a myth that AI will make people lazy, but that’s far from the truth. AI is only as good as the data and instructions we feed into it. It supports us, it doesn’t replace our thinking, creativity, or decision-making.
For AI to be effective, companies need to ensure that their online data is accurate, structured, and usable. Clean data fuels better customer journeys, better insights, and ultimately, better results.
