VIATEC AI Meetup: Business Track

Doors open at 11:30 and presentations start promptly at Noon.

Are you curious about how AI can transform your business and career? Join us at the VIATEC AI Meetup.

Everyone is welcome.

You've chatted with ChatGPT, and maybe you've even set up a custom GPT or a Claude skill. What's the next step?

It's an always-on AI assistant that's connected to the platforms you already use, like your email, calendar, documents and event tools. It does real work while you're busy, then waits for your yes before anything goes out. In this talk I'll show how a non-technical business owner hires a first digital employee, sets it up in three steps, and keeps it in check with one simple rule: it drafts, you approve.

Who it's for

This talk is for the practical people who come to the VIATEC AI Meetup: marketers, owners and consultants who use ChatGPT and wonder what else it can do. No code and no prior setup are required. I'll use real examples from my own business:

• a morning brief that reads my calendar and three inboxes and proposes decisions
• a content assistant that plans a video and shows the cost before it spends anything
• a bot that manages my event listings and caught a registration setting I'd missed

What attendees will walk away with

• A starting point: one assistant, one boring, repeatable job, and how to know when to add a second.
• A setup framework: give it context about you and your business, connect it to the tools you already use, and tell it what a good result looks like.
• A rule they can use on Monday: drafts come first, and a human approves anything sent, published, deleted or paid for. Plus the cost lesson that cut my video spend from over $7 to a target of about $1.50 to $2.50.

The Format:
30 minutes: about 24 minutes of talk with a live demo, then Q&A. The demo runs while I explain the setup, with a recorded fallback ready. Demo data is fake or blurred, so no client information appears on screen.

Feel free to grab a bite at the Fort Cafe, located on site.

Mark Shepard teaches practical AI to REALTORS and small businesses here in Victoria, and runs a free weekly session series for REALTORS. He runs his own business on a team of AI assistants, and nothing gets sent or published without my approval. He's made the mistakes this audience worries about, like running too many bots and paying more than he should for one video, and he'll share them honestly.

This event is organized by Robert Cooper, Founder of PlusROI Online Marketing and Steve Harris, Founder of AI4Enterprise, along with the generous support of VIATEC.

This is your chance to connect, learn, and lead in the world of AI innovation.

Spots are limited—RSVP today and be part of Victoria’s AI-powered future!

Event venue & nearby stays

Fort Tectoria - Shaw Conference Room, 777 Fort Street, Victoria, Canada

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