Louise and Kelly recently attended ESTU’s Team Innovation: Operationalising AI course and returned with ideas for making AI work in real-world business settings.
While everyone’s talking about AI these days, this event cut through the hype to focus on practical implementation. The speakers, David Royle, Jamie Crossman-Smith and Silke Anderson, shared genuine insights about turning AI from a buzzword into real results.
The AI revolution isn’t coming, it’s here
First reality check: the AI cat is well and truly out of the bag. The technology is moving incredibly fast, and businesses can’t afford to sit on the sidelines watching. The question isn’t whether to adopt AI anymore; it’s how quickly you can get started.
What struck us most was that most businesses are implementing AP projects and change management initiatives, yet over 90% of these initiatives do not deliver the expected results. AI for business is not about the basic chats we’re all familiar with.
Building real solutions in record time
The standout moment? We built a working application in just 30 minutes that could instantly sort and categorise customer feedback. Not a prototype or a concept, but an actual functioning tool that could start saving time immediately.
This wasn’t about impressing people with fancy tech. It was about showing how quickly you can create something genuinely useful when you know what problem you’re solving.
Start with the boring stuff
The most practical advice was refreshingly unglamorous: look for the everyday wins. Think about those monthly reports that take a day every month to produce, or the data entry tasks that your team never gets around to.
What could your team accomplish with that recovered time? Better client work? More strategic thinking?
These aren’t earth-shattering transformations, but they add up. Small efficiency gains multiplied across a team can add up to significant time savings and affect the bottom line.
Getting the whole team involved
One clear message emerged: AI implementation works best when it’s not just the tech team’s problem. Leaders need to be involved in AI training, and the more people who understand the possibilities, the better your results will be.
You might be surprised to discover hidden AI talent within your own team. Some people have probably been quietly experimenting with tools and techniques, waiting for permission to share what they’ve learned.
Making it practical at Indigo Tree
For us at Indigo Tree, this training reinforced something we already believe: technology should solve real problems, not create new ones.
We’re exploring how AI can help us deliver even better WordPress solutions for our clients. That might mean automating routine site audits, speeding up content migration, or identifying performance issues before they impact users.
The key is staying focused on outcomes that matter. Faster project delivery and better quality. Giving us more time for the strategic work and deep thinking that actually delivers the return on investment for our clients.
Beyond the basics
What became clear throughout the course is that AI literacy needs to become as fundamental as digital literacy was a decade ago. Not everyone needs to become a prompt engineering expert, but understanding what’s possible helps teams spot opportunities and then go to the right person to make it happen.
The technology will keep evolving at pace. The businesses that thrive won’t necessarily be the ones with the fanciest AI tools; they’ll be the ones who’ve built a culture where everyone feels empowered to experiment, learn and apply these capabilities to work challenges.
Where we go from here
Coming away from the ESTU course, we’re not just excited about AI; we’re equipped with practical approaches to roll it out in an ethical and controlled way within Indigo Tree.
The challenge now is moving from inspiration to action. Which processes could we improve first? Where are the quick wins hiding? How do we bring the rest of the team along on this journey?
These are the questions we’ve asked, and the course has given us frameworks to answer them.
Want to know more about the course? You can find details about ESTU’s Team Innovation: Operationalising AI training here.
What everyday tasks are eating up your team’s time? Sometimes the best use of AI isn’t the flashiest one, it’s the one that gives people back their Friday afternoon! If you’d like to discuss how we can help with your website, with a sprinkling of AI, get in touch.
AI Innovation FAQs
Not at all. The course demonstrated that you can build useful applications in 30 minutes with the right approach. The key is understanding what problems you’re trying to solve, not having advanced coding skills.
No, the course emphasised that AI implementation works best when leaders and team members across different roles get involved. You’ll achieve better results when more people understand what’s possible.
Look for repetitive tasks that consume regular chunks of time, like monthly reporting or data categorisation. These “boring” wins add up quickly and demonstrate value without requiring massive change.
Extremely fast. The gap between what’s theoretically possible and what’s practically achievable is shrinking rapidly. Businesses that wait for the “perfect moment” to start will find themselves increasingly behind.
Quite possibly. Many people experiment with AI tools in their own time or for personal projects. It’s worth asking your colleagues; you might discover hidden expertise you didn’t know you had.