AI Free course · Certificate included
AI Automation & Agents for Small Business
Automate repetitive marketing, sales and support work with no-code AI workflows and agents, safely and measurably
- Advanced
- 6 h 15 min
- 16 lessons in 5 modules
- 2 h 22 min of video lectures
- Updated Sep 2026
About this course
Small businesses, creators and agencies lose hours every week to repetitive tasks: logging leads, answering the same questions, formatting reports and chasing follow-ups. AI automation and agents can take on much of that work, if they are designed carefully.
This advanced, hands-on course teaches you to find the tasks worth automating, choose a platform such as Zapier, Make, n8n or Power Automate, and build a complete AI workflow with structured AI steps, human approval and error alerts. You will design safe agents in no-code builders with MCP tools, human review and agent-ready knowledge bases, and deploy them on WhatsApp and phone lines within platform rules and consent requirements.
You will adapt proven marketing and sales playbooks, measure ROI honestly, govern risks with registers, kill switches and incident playbooks, keep automations healthy with monitoring routines, and package it all as a service clients will pay for.
Tools you’ll use
- n8n
- Zapier
- Make
- Microsoft Power Automate
- Microsoft Copilot Studio
- WhatsApp Business Platform
- ElevenLabs Agents
- Google Sheets
- Slack
- Gmail
- Model Context Protocol
Skills
- Workflow automation
- AI agents
- Human-in-the-loop design
- Automation ROI
- AI risk management
- Sales automation
- Conversational AI
- No-code development
What you’ll be able to do
- Audit your work and prioritise automation candidates by frequency, clarity, time and risk
- Choose an automation platform and build an AI workflow with structured output, approval and error alerts
- Design safe no-code agents with scoped tools, MCP, human review and agent-ready knowledge bases
- Deploy WhatsApp and voice agents within platform policies, consent rules and hand-off expectations
- Place human-in-the-loop checkpoints by risk and adapt proven marketing and sales playbooks
- Calculate automation ROI from a baseline, including review and maintenance costs
- Govern, monitor and maintain automations, and package them as a client service
Curriculum
Syllabus
- Modules
- 5
- Lessons
- 16
- Reading time
- 3 h
- Assessment questions
- 25
Find the tasks worth automating, choose a platform, and build a complete AI workflow with triggers, structured AI steps, approval and error handling.
- Finding the right tasks to automateVideo lecture, 9′Video · 10 min
- No-code automation concepts: triggers, actions and AI stepsVideo lecture, 9′10 min
- Choosing an automation platformVideo lecture, 9′12 min
- Hands-on: building your first AI workflow end to endVideo lecture, 9′18 min
Distinguish assistants, automations and agents, design safe agents, build them in no-code tools with MCP and human review, and give them reliable knowledge.
- Assistants, automations and agents: what is the difference?Video lecture, 9′10 min
- Designing a safe, useful AI agentVideo lecture, 9′10 min
- No-code agent builders: tools, MCP and human reviewVideo lecture, 9′14 min
- Knowledge bases that keep agents accurateVideo lecture, 8′13 min
Where to put human checkpoints and ready-made automation playbooks for marketing and sales.
- Designing human-in-the-loop checkpointsVideo lecture, 9′10 min
- Automation playbooks for marketing and salesVideo lecture, 9′11 min
Deploy AI automations and agents on WhatsApp, social messaging and phone lines within platform rules, consent requirements and customer expectations.
- WhatsApp and messaging agents that follow the rulesVideo lecture, 9′14 min
- Voice agents that answer your phoneVideo lecture, 9′14 min
Measure whether automation pays off, govern its risks, keep automations healthy over time, and package automation as a client service.
- Measuring the ROI of AI automationVideo lecture, 9′10 min
- Risks and governance for AI automation and agentsVideo lecture, 9′11 min
- Monitoring and maintaining automationsVideo lecture, 8′13 min
- Selling AI automation as a serviceVideo lecture, 9′13 min
- Final assessment
Your certificate
Finish with a credential anyone can check
Earn the Certified AI Automation Strategist badge: The holder can identify high-value automation opportunities, choose platforms, build AI workflows with structured steps, human approval and error alerts, design safe no-code agents with scoped tools and reliable knowledge, deploy messaging and voice agents within platform and consent rules, measure ROI, and govern, maintain and sell AI automation responsibly.
Completed all lessons and scored at least 80% on the final assessment.
- A public verification page
- A PDF certificate to download
- An Open Badge you can share
- One click to your LinkedIn profile
Final assessment
- 25questions drawn from a larger pool
- 40 mintime limit
- 80%pass mark
- 3attempts per 24 hours
Start learning today. It’s free.
Every lesson is free to read. A free account saves your progress, unlocks the final assessment and issues your certificate.