Step one: your AI assistant
The free tools worth having, the four moves that turn a chat box into something that does real work, assistants that act for you, one privacy rule, and an optional six minutes to set up your own Meeting Note.
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We Thrive BC · Cohort 2 · Session 1
Free · On Zoom · Tuesday, September 29
From Chatbox to AI Employee
Free AI for winning customers and saving time
A two-hour talk for women who run a business in BC, or are about to start one. See what AI can do for a small business today, using free tools: winning customers, content, sales and follow-up, paperwork and decisions. Apart from one short, optional moment to set up your own free Meeting Note app, there are no live exercises: every exercise is in a practice guide you can open any time and do at your own pace. No coding, and nothing to buy.
Open the practice guide
Every exercise and prompt from the talk. Free, and yours to do any time.
Registration is through OCCA. Registered participants receive the Zoom link by email.
Date
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Time
6:00–8:00 pm Pacific
Format
Zoom · talk, examples and Q&A
Cost
Free · nothing to buy
What the evening covers
Five parts, from your first assistant to your own system
One short, optional hands-on moment: you set up your own free Meeting Note app on your phone, and it takes notes of part two for you. Every other exercise is on the practice guide, to do at your own pace afterwards.
What AI can do for your business
Winning customers, content, sales and follow-up, paperwork, your team's know-how and decisions, plus voice and small tools built from a description. And what stays yours.
Step two: jobs that run every week
One job done the same way every time, several AI helpers taking one step each, and a look at the notes your Meeting Note took.
Step three: your own system
When a business needs a system of its own, and the part AI doesn't have: your judgement.
Starting on Monday
Where to start at your stage, a seven-day plan, and the practice guide.
The evening
| Time (PT) | What we do | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 | Welcome from OCCA: the opening, a land acknowledgement and the program | OCCA |
| 6:15 | From chatbox to AI employee: what AI can do now, and the three-step ladder | Talk |
| 6:28 | Step one: your AI assistant, with the free tools, four moves, assistants that act for you and one privacy rule | Talk |
| 6:37 | Optional: set up your own free Meeting Note on your phone, so it takes notes of part two for you | Hands-on · 6 min |
| 6:44 | What AI can do for your business, function by function: customers, content, sales and follow-up, paperwork, know-how and decisions, plus voice and small tools built from a description, and what stays yours | Talk |
| 7:08 | Step two: jobs that repeat, and a look at the notes your Meeting Note took | Talk |
| 7:15 | Step three: your own system, and the part AI doesn't have | Talk |
| 7:19 | Starting on Monday: where to start at your stage, and the practice guide | Talk |
| 7:26 | Your questions | Q&A |
| 7:40 | Survey and closing | OCCA |
Who it's for
A good fit if you…
- are a woman, or identify as one, starting or running a business in BC, especially in the Okanagan and other communities outside Metro Vancouver and Victoria
- have typed into ChatGPT or a similar tool, but it isn't part of your week yet
- want AI to help bring in customers and give you back time, not a lecture on how AI works
- are new to Canada: newcomers are especially welcome, and you can work in the language you think in
Probably not for you if you…
- want to build AI software or write code: there is none tonight
- are looking for a product or service to buy: nothing is sold
- already run your week on saved prompts, custom instructions and your own checklists
What to bring
- 1A laptop, or a phone next to your computer, for one optional moment: setting up your own free Meeting Note
- 2A notebook, on paper or on your phone
- 3Questions from your own business: a reply you find hard to write, a task that eats your week
- 4Optional: a free ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini account, for the practice guide afterwards
What you take home
The practice guide
Every exercise from the talk on one page: four exercises, copy-and-paste recipes for your business and a seven-day plan. Free, to do at your own pace, in English, Chinese and French.
Open the practice guideYour own Meeting Note app
A free app that turns a recorded conversation into a transcript, summary and to-do list. Each person installs a private copy on a free account: no card, no subscription.
About Meeting NoteEvery prompt from the night
All of them are in the practice guide. The slides and the take-home notes go to the group the day after, in English, Chinese and French.
A seven-day plan
One small task a day, about twenty minutes each, so the talk turns into a habit instead of a memory. It is part of the practice guide.
Part of We Thrive BC, Cohort 2
OCCA's free program for women entrepreneurs runs eight online sessions and two in-person gatherings, in Kelowna and Vernon, this fall. Three of the sessions are about AI.
This session
Tuesday, September 29
From Chatbox to AI Employee
Tuesday, October 6
AI for Your Marketing Content
Tuesday, November 24
Set Up Your Own AI Tools
OCCA may adjust dates and topics.
Full Cohort 2 schedule on OCCA's pageYour facilitator
Yao Song
Founder, NextAgent AI Solutions · Senior AI Engineer
- Nearly 10 years of hands-on AI implementation and teaching
- Has deployed 10+ production-grade AI systems in healthcare, education and enterprise
- Specializes in private AI deployment, workflow automation and full-stack applications
- Guides learners from AI fundamentals to deploying their own applications
- Dual bachelor's degrees in computer science and economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Master of Finance, Saint Mary's University
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. The workshop is part of OCCA's We Thrive BC program, funded by the Government of Canada's Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. Every exercise uses free tools, and nothing is sold during the session.
Do I need to be technical?
No. If you can type a message and take a photo on your phone, you can do everything in the practice guide.
Is there hands-on practice?
One short, optional moment: about six minutes to set up your own free Meeting Note app on your phone, so it takes notes of the talk for you. The rest of the session is a talk with examples and time for your questions, and every other exercise is on the practice guide page, which you can open any time and do at your own pace.
Which language is it in?
The session is delivered in English. You can write your prompts in any language, and the practice guide and the take-home notes come in English, Chinese and French.
I was in Cohort 1. Is this different?
Yes. Cohort 1 covered the basics, including a prompt framework. This session goes further: what AI can do across a whole business, working from your own files, custom instructions, jobs you repeat every week, and writing down your own judgement. The exercises are in the practice guide.
Is the session recorded?
The facilitator records it with Meeting Note so that written notes can go to the group. The audio is used only for the notes and deleted after seven days. If you'd rather not be included, say so at the start or in the Zoom chat, and your comments stay out of the notes.
Who can register?
Women, and people who identify as women, who are starting or running a business in BC. The program especially welcomes newcomers and entrepreneurs outside Metro Vancouver and Victoria. Registration is through OCCA.
Is there a one-on-one?
OCCA's registration page includes a free 60-minute one-on-one with the speaker for participants. OCCA arranges it.
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Bring one real question from your business
Tuesday, September 29, 6:00–8:00 pm Pacific, on Zoom. Free, through OCCA's We Thrive BC program.
Registration questions: [email protected]
Hosted by OCCA Communities Association as part of We Thrive BC, funded by the Government of Canada's Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, in partnership with WeBC. Presented by NextAgent AI Solutions.