AI Academy | Piloting AI Course Series

Turn AI understanding into action with Piloting AI

You understand the fundamentals of AI, but now comes the most critical question: How do you actually make it work for your business and career?

Many organizations invest in AI, but fail to see significant returns because they lack a clear process for identifying and launching the right projects. This series provides that process, giving you a complete playbook to bridge the gap between understanding AI and creating measurable value with it.

4-Course Series Duration ~6 hours
Released August 2025

Course Level Beginner

Certification Professional certificate awarded after exam

Format On-demand videos to learn at your own pace

About This Series

The Piloting AI series is your hands-on guide to moving from AI theory to tangible business impact. In this series, you will master a complete methodology for identifying, prioritizing, and building high-impact AI pilot projects.

You will learn two powerful frameworks: a bottom-up Use Case Model for finding quick efficiency gains, and a top-down Problem-Based Model for aligning AI with your most critical strategic goals.

The series culminates by empowering you to become a creator, teaching you how to build your own custom AI assistants to augment your capabilities and accelerate your performance. Upon completion, you will be equipped to lead the charge in your organization, confidently launching the pilot projects that prove the value of AI and pave the way for a full-scale transformation.

You'll Learn To

Apply two practical frameworks—The Use Case Model and The Problem-Based Model—to identify a balanced portfolio of AI pilot projects.
Master a systematic process for prioritizing AI initiatives based on value, feasibility, and strategic alignment.
Deconstruct jobs and campaigns into automatable tasks to find immediate efficiency gains and build momentum.
Craft compelling business cases for AI projects by defining and quantifying high-value business problems.
Build your own custom AI assistants (“Co-X”) using platforms like OpenAI’s GPTs, Google’s Gems, and Anthropic’s Projects.

Key Questions Addressed

This Professional Certificate series provides a comprehensive, actionable answer to the key questions every leader faces when adopting AI:

Now that my team understands AI, what is the process for getting started with real projects?
How do we decide what to work on first to ensure we get some quick wins and build buy-in?
Should our AI strategy focus on improving efficiency (bottom-up) or solving major business challenges (top-down)? (Hint: You need both).
How do I build a powerful, data-driven business case to get budget and approval for my AI ideas?
How can I empower myself and my team to build our own simple AI tools instead of waiting for vendors?

Who It's For

This Professional Certificate series is designed for:

Business leaders, department heads, and managers responsible for implementing AI and demonstrating its ROI.
Innovators, strategists, and product managers tasked with finding and launching new AI-powered solutions.
AI-forward professionals who have completed the AI Fundamentals series and are ready to lead the implementation of AI in their roles.

What You'll Do

Throughout this Professional Certificate program you will:

Engage with interactive courses that provide proven frameworks, real-world case studies, and practical tools.
Utilize downloadable workbooks to apply the Use Case and Problem-Based Models to your own organization.
Learn to use custom AI assistants like JobsGPT and ProblemsGPT to accelerate your work.
Complete a series of hands-on exercises that culminate in building your very own custom AI assistant.

Upon successful completion of all courses in this series, you will earn the Piloting AI Professional Certificate.

Course Syllabus

Course 1: Piloting AI in Business: Moving from Understanding to Adoption
This course is a strategic playbook for any leader or innovator tasked with making AI a reality in their organization. You will move beyond basic experimentation and learn how to design and execute high-impact AI pilot projects.

We will introduce you to two proven frameworks—The Use Case Model and The Problem-Based Model—for identifying, prioritizing, and building the business case for your first AI initiatives. This course provides the practical tools and methods needed to demonstrate ROI and secure buy-in for your AI strategy.

What You'll Learn
This course will teach you how to:
- Differentiate between the Understanding, Piloting, and Scaling stages of AI transformation.
- Apply two distinct models—The Use Case Model and The Problem-Based Model—to identify high-impact AI pilot projects.
- Utilize a 4-point framework (data-driven, repetitive, predictive, generative) to qualify potential AI use cases.
- Implement the "30-90 Rule" to effectively manage AI pilot projects from activation to evaluation.
- Develop a strategic brief to overcome common barriers to AI adoption within your organization.
Course 2: The Use Case Model: Brainstorming and Prioritizing AI
This course is a strategic playbook for any leader or innovator tasked with making AI a reality in their organization. You will move beyond basic experimentation and learn how to design and execute high-impact AI pilot projects.

We will introduce you to two proven frameworks—The Use Case Model and The Problem-Based Model—for identifying, prioritizing, and building the business case for your first AI initiatives. This course provides the practical tools and methods needed to demonstrate ROI and secure buy-in for your AI strategy.

What You'll Learn
This course will teach you how to:
- Differentiate between the Understanding, Piloting, and Scaling stages of AI transformation.
- Apply two distinct models—The Use Case Model and The Problem-Based Model—to identify high-impact AI pilot projects.
- Utilize a 4-point framework (data-driven, repetitive, predictive, generative) to qualify potential AI use cases.
- Implement the "30-90 Rule" to effectively manage AI pilot projects from activation to evaluation.
- Develop a strategic brief to overcome common barriers to AI adoption within your organization.
Course 3: The Problem-Based Model: Accelerating Growth and Innovation with AI
This course is designed for leaders and strategists who want to align AI initiatives with core business growth and innovation. You will master the Problem-Based Model, a framework for identifying known pain points and quantifying the value of solving them with AI.

Using the Problem-Based Workbook and our custom ProblemsGPT tool, you will learn to draft compelling business cases, prioritize projects, and build a strategic plan for driving long-term enterprise value with AI.

What You'll Learn
This course will teach you how to:
- Apply the Problem-Based Model to identify and prioritize major business challenges that can be solved with AI.
- Master the art of crafting compelling problem and value statements to build a strong business case for AI initiatives.
- Utilize the Problem-Based Workbook to categorize potential solutions as Quick Wins, Sweetspots, or Moonshots.
- Leverage the ProblemsGPT tool to brainstorm and refine high-value business problems relevant to your industry and role.
- Follow a 10-step process to move from problem discovery to a full strategic implementation plan.
Course 4: How to Build Your Co-X: Creating AI Assistants That Augment Human Potential
This hands-on course is your guide to becoming a creator of custom AI solutions. You will learn how to use platforms like OpenAI's Custom GPTs, Google's Gems, and Anthropic's Projects to build powerful AI assistants tailored to your unique professional needs.

Through a detailed case study on creating a "Co-CEO" assistant, you will learn how to identify pain points, define the AI's role, and provide it with the knowledge and instructions to become a valuable collaborator. This course empowers you to build the exact AI tools you need to enhance your productivity, creativity, and strategic thinking.

What You'll Learn
This course will teach you how to:
- Compare the features, privacy policies, and use cases for OpenAI Custom GPTs, Google Gems, and Anthropic Projects.
- Identify repetitive, data-driven, generative, and reasoning tasks in your own workflow that are perfect for a custom AI assistant.
- Apply a step-by-step process to define, build, and configure your own "Co-X" assistant.
- Utilize a template prompt that can be adapted to create a variety of strategic AI advisors and assistants.
- Develop a strategic mindset for augmenting your own role with a team of personalized AI assistants.
Final Exam

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Dshanya Reese
Strategic Insurance Marketer

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Erin Carpenter
Sr. Digital Marketing Director

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Yadin Porter de León
Leading Global CXO

About the Instructor

Paul Roetzer is on a mission to accelerate AI literacy and human-centered AI transformation in organizations.

As the founder and CEO of SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute, Roetzer is the driving force behind some of the industry's leading AI events and content. He created the Marketing AI Conference (MAICON), co-hosts the popular podcast The Artificial Intelligence Show, and is co-author of Marketing Artificial Intelligence.

Through SmarterX’s AI Academy, his work directly helps thousands of professionals and leaders understand and apply AI. His free monthly Intro to AI class alone has reached more than 40,000 registrants since its launch in 2021.

Roetzer’s entrepreneurial journey began long before the current AI boom. A graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, he founded PR 20/20, HubSpot’s first partner agency, and sold it in 2021 after establishing it as a pioneer in digital marketing.

This unique background as both an agency innovator and AI educator gives him a practical, story-driven approach to helping professionals and leaders reimagine business models, reinvent industries, and rethink what's possible.

Paul Roetzer

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