Christchurch · Dunedin · Nationwide
AI Training for New Zealand Businesses
Help your team use AI on the work they actually do. Exodesk works with Avocado AI to connect practical staff training with the tools, access controls and support your business needs, so people can choose a suitable task, brief it properly and check the result before it becomes business work.
Supporting New Zealand businesses since 1989
The problem
What stops AI training sticking
Buying a licence and running a demonstration does not give staff a working method, and that is the gap AI training has to close.
People need suitable tasks, clear rules about what information may go into a tool, time to practise, and a way to check the result before it becomes business work. They also need to recognise where the tool is a poor fit for the job. Where those are missing, a kick-off AI training session is unlikely to change how the work is done.
Awareness is not the main gap. Research commissioned by MBIE and carried out by The Research Agency, covering 500 small and medium businesses in April 2025, found 94% were already aware of at least one AI tool, and MBIE concluded that awareness is not the primary barrier, naming confidence and capability as key factors. Research commissioned by Xero across 1,081 of its New Zealand customers, surveyed between 31 March and 7 April 2026, found 79% of those using AI tools were learning by self-guided experimentation, and 47% said practical training would help. Both findings describe the businesses surveyed rather than every New Zealand business.
A session that does not change Monday
People watch a demonstration, agree it looks useful, and go back to the way they already knew how to do the job. Nothing in the AI training session was the job.
Generic material
A tour of features is interesting and forgettable. None of it looks like the quote, email or report that person actually writes every week, so there is nothing to carry back to the desk.
Judged in week one
Early on, the familiar way feels faster because it is familiar. Measuring uptake a week in can make the tool look oversold before anyone has had a fair go at it.
No agreed rule on information
When nobody has decided what may go into which tool, each person decides for themselves, sometimes while in a hurry. That is how sensitive material ends up somewhere it was never approved for.
Output accepted because it reads well
AI output looks finished even when it is wrong. Without a concrete checking habit, a fast first draft turns into a confident mistake in front of a client.
No way to tell whether it worked
Attendance records who turned up. It says nothing about whether the work changed, which leaves the next investment decision as a matter of opinion.
What your team learns
What the AI training covers
Six capabilities, with the AI training built on the work your people already do rather than on general AI theory.
Choosing the task
Deciding whether AI, a template, an existing software feature or doing it by hand is the best fit. Knowing where not to use it is part of the skill.
Giving a clear brief
Stating the goal, the context that matters, the limits and the format required, using only information approved for that tool.
Checking the result
Comparing names, dates, amounts and commitments against the source material, recalculating what matters, and opening any source the tool cites to confirm it says what the output claims.
Handling information
Which account and which tool to use, what may go in, where the access boundaries sit, and who to tell if something is disclosed by accident.
Building a repeatable method
Practising on suitable tasks, keeping the instructions that worked, and reviewing both the quality and the total time the task now takes.
Knowing when to stop
If checking and correcting reliably takes longer than doing the task the usual way, and a better brief or a different tool does not fix it, the right answer is to stop using AI for that task.
Who does what
How Exodesk and Avocado AI work together
Two organisations, one arrangement. The AI training and the technology around it are different jobs, and it is worth knowing which is which before you buy either.
Avocado AI: the teaching
Avocado AI is a New Zealand specialist in AI training and workplace enablement, and provides the specialist instruction and the practice that goes with it.
Exodesk: the tools and the boundaries
We set up the tools, control who can reach what, and keep the data-handling rules in place, so what people learn can be applied inside the rules your business has already set.
Agreed in the scope
Who delivers each part, what is included, and what any follow-up and ongoing support looks like are set out before anything starts rather than assumed.
The right shape for AI training depends on the people, the tools and the work, so the format is agreed with you rather than fixed in advance. Microsoft 365 Copilot is a common starting point for businesses already on Microsoft 365, though the training itself is not tied to one product.
AI training can be bought on its own, without moving the rest of your IT to us. Where nobody has yet worked out which tasks are worth doing first, an AI readiness assessment is the recommended starting point, but it is not a prerequisite.
How it works
How the AI training runs
Four stages, in this order. The order is the part that matters, because practising on live client data before anyone has agreed the rules is how sensitive information ends up somewhere it should not.
Agree the rules before anyone practises
Which tool, which work account, what information is permitted, and who to ask when somebody is unsure. This is settled first, not taught at the follow-up once real material has already been used. Your AI acceptable use policy and AI data security arrangements are where the detail sits.
Practise by role, on realistic work
Each person works through two or three tasks of the kind they do every week, using fictional or already approved material. An operations coordinator drafts supplier emails and tidies messy spreadsheets. A salesperson summarises call notes and prepares proposals. Same tool, different worked examples.
Move onto live work inside the rules
Once the tool, the access and the data use have been signed off, people apply the method to real work, with somewhere to ask questions as they go. This is the stage where the checking habit either forms or does not.
Follow up and review
Sticking points from the AI training get fixed, what worked gets shared, and the method is reviewed against the work rather than against a calendar. The Australian Government Copilot trial evaluation associated more varied training with higher reported confidence, which is why offering more than one way to learn is worth doing. It does not set a schedule that suits every business, so the follow-up and any ongoing support are scoped with you.
Measuring it
How you tell whether it worked
Compare the same kind of task before and after AI training, and count the checking time as part of the task rather than as an overhead sitting outside it.
- The task, end to end. Count drafting, checking and correcting together. A faster first draft only saves time if the whole task takes less time, and only counts if the finished work still meets the standard.
- The same quality bar. Whether the finished work meets the standard it met before, judged the way you judged it before.
- Use among the people it suits. Active use among those with work that genuinely fits, rather than an expectation that everybody uses it weekly.
- Capability, not confidence alone. A short exercise shows more than a survey: can somebody spot an incorrect figure, reject a claim the source does not support, and recognise information that must not go in. People can be confident and wrong.
- Why somebody stopped. When a person drops the tool, the useful first question is why. Sometimes the honest answer is that it was not the right task for it.
Skills fade when they are not used, so give people work to practise on soon after an AI training session and come back to the tasks they found difficult. Agree the follow-up around the work, the team and any change to the tools, rather than around a fixed interval.
Cost
What affects the cost
Scope drives the cost of AI training, which is why a per-person figure on its own tells you very little.
- How many people, and how many roles. Two roles doing different work need different worked examples, which is not the same job as one group doing the same thing.
- The learning format agreed. What is included, how the sessions are arranged and what happens between them are settled in the scope, and they move the figure.
- Follow-up and ongoing support. How much continuing help forms part of the arrangement, quoted so you can see it separately from the initial work.
- Implementation around it. Setting up tools, access boundaries and data-handling rules is separate work from the teaching, and some businesses already have it in place.
- Software licences. Any tool licences are their own cost and are not assumed to be included.
- Your own time. The hours your people spend practising and testing are a real cost, and worth putting in the business case rather than discovering later.
An AI training quote should separate the teaching from the implementation, name anything charged separately, and be clear about which parts you already pay for. Ask us for the scope and price for your team.
Why Exodesk
Why work with Exodesk
- The teaching and the technology arrive together. Avocado AI provides the specialist teaching. Exodesk handles the agreed work around tools, access and information rules. We set out each organisation’s responsibilities and the support included before work starts.
- Built around your work. AI training sessions use the tasks your people already do, so the method transfers to the following Monday rather than staying in the session.
- Safety comes before the first exercise. The rule about what may go into which tool is agreed up front. Teaching it after real material has been used is the wrong way round.
- We will tell you where AI does not belong. Where a predictable rule or an existing software feature does the job better, that is the recommendation. Applied to a messy process, automation reproduces the mess faster.
- Local, and here since 1989. Offices in Christchurch and Dunedin, clients throughout New Zealand, and advice that accounts for the Privacy Act rather than a different country.
This sits inside our wider AI solutions programme. If you are still deciding where AI fits your operation, AI adoption covers that question, and AI productivity tools covers what to put in front of each group.
Questions
AI training questions
What is AI training for business?
AI training for business teaches staff how to use AI tools on suitable workplace tasks, protect information and check the results. Here it means developing the skills of the people doing the work, rather than building or training an AI model. A useful session covers the specific tasks each role handles, how to brief the tool, how to verify what comes back, and which information is permitted, then builds that into a routine through practice.
Who delivers the training?
Exodesk works with Avocado AI, a New Zealand specialist in AI training and workplace enablement, for the specialist teaching. Exodesk handles the agreed implementation, access and security work around the tools. Your scope states who delivers each part and what follow-up or support is included.
Can we buy AI training on its own?
Yes. Training can be arranged without moving the rest of your IT to us. Where nobody has yet worked out which tasks are worth doing first, an AI readiness assessment is the recommended starting point, but it is not a prerequisite. If Exodesk already looks after your systems, the tools and access side of the work is usually simpler because the environment is already understood.
What does AI training cost?
It depends on how many people and roles are involved, the learning format agreed, how much follow-up and ongoing support forms part of the arrangement, and how much implementation work is needed around the tools. Software licences are their own cost. When you compare options, check what is included beyond the first session, whether live help is part of it, and whether setup work and licences are separate. Ask us for the scope and price for your team.
Which team should start first?
Start with a team that has a suitable recurring task, the time to practise, and somebody able to judge whether the result is any good. Work with clear inputs and manageable risk is the best first choice. The busiest department is not automatically the right one, because practice needs room. Admin, operations, customer service, sales and management roles often fit, since they handle repetitive, information-heavy or writing-heavy work.
What do staff actually learn?
Six things: choosing whether AI is the right tool for a task at all, giving a clear brief, checking the result against source material, handling information inside the approved boundaries, building a method they can repeat, and recognising when to stop using AI for a particular job. The material is built on the work each role already does rather than on general AI theory.
How do you keep AI use safe during training?
Agree the approved tools, accounts and information before practice begins, and use fictional or already approved examples for the first exercises. Staff need to know what is safe to enter and what is not, backed by a clear acceptable use policy, how to verify an output before acting on it, and who to tell if something is disclosed by accident. Training supports your security and privacy controls rather than replacing them.
How do you measure whether AI training worked?
Compare similar tasks before and after training, including drafting, checking and correcting time. Check that the finished work meets the same quality standard. Practical exercises can also show whether staff recognise incorrect outputs and information they must not enter into a tool, which matters because usage and confidence on their own do not prove the work improved.
Is AI training a one-off or ongoing?
An introductory session establishes the basics. Follow-up practice and support are what help staff apply them, and refreshers are useful when the tools, the tasks or the rules change. The frequency should match the work and the team rather than follow a fixed schedule for everyone, so the follow-up and any ongoing support are agreed in the scope.
Do we have to use AI everywhere for this to be worth it?
No. Start with suitable tasks where AI can improve the work enough to justify the cost and the risk. Check the total time, the quality of the result and the information involved. Automation and AI applied to a messy process reproduce the mess faster, so cleaning up the process usually comes first. Occasional use may be entirely appropriate for some roles.
Do you work with businesses outside Christchurch and Dunedin?
Yes. We have offices in Christchurch and Dunedin and clients throughout New Zealand, and how a team outside those two cities takes part is settled in the scope along with the rest of the delivery arrangements. Tell us where your people are and we will explain what is available to them. Being a New Zealand provider also means the advice accounts for the Privacy Act and for how New Zealand businesses operate.
How do we get started?
Tell us which team needs help, the tools they use, and one task you would like to improve. We will talk through the options, explain what Avocado AI delivers and what Exodesk delivers, and set out a suitable starting point. Call 0800 396 337 or send the form below.
Next step
Discuss AI training for your team
Tell us which team needs help, the tools they use, and one task you would like to improve. We will explain the options and what each part involves.
It helps to know roughly how many people are involved and whether you are on Microsoft 365. If you do not have those details to hand, start with what you know.
Get in touch
Talk to us about AI training
Tell us a little about your team and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941