Successful AI Workshop on "
" AI Meets the Trades: Our workshop at the industry gathering at Rosenburg showcased practical digital possibilities
On May 31, under bright sunshine, the annual Lower Austrian industry gathering of the State Committee for the Jewelry, Watch, Antiques, Art, and Stamp Trade and the State Guild of Arts and Crafts took place in the impressive setting of Rosenburg Castle.
Thomas Fessel, State Guild Chairman and State Guild Master, welcomed approximately 120 guests to the castle’s historic library. The event focused on a topic that is becoming increasingly important even for micro-enterprises and craft-based businesses: the simple and practical use of artificial intelligence in everyday work.
In a session titled “More Time for Craftsmanship—Simple and Practical AI Tools for Micro-Businesses,” Elaine Grubmann, BSc, demonstrated how digital tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI applications can be effectively used in day-to-day business operations. Using concrete examples, she clearly demonstrated how AI can help formulate proposals, create texts, structure ideas, or develop custom GPTs for recurring tasks.
The focus was clearly on practical applicability: Rather than presenting an abstract vision of the future, the guests were given easy-to-understand insights into tools that can be used today with minimal effort. For one-person businesses and small companies in particular, AI tools offer the opportunity to handle administrative and communication tasks more efficiently, thereby freeing up more time for their core business.
The topic of visual design was also given ample attention. In the presentation “Canva and AI in Everyday Work Life—Bringing Creative Ideas to Life Faster” by Patricia Zethofer, BSc, she demonstrated how Canva and its integrated AI features can assist in creating social media posts, promotional materials, print products, website content, job postings, and image editing. In her presentation, the graphic design expert demonstrated how easy it is to create professional designs and creative content even without extensive prior graphic design experience.
Through numerous realistic examples from everyday professional life, it became clear that artificial intelligence is not a complicated topic of the future, but rather a practical tool that can help small businesses in particular to work faster, in a more structured way, and more creatively. The positive feedback from the participants showed that there is a great need for easily accessible information and practical support.
The industry gathering at Rosenburg thus not only provided an opportunity for professional exchange in a unique setting, but also gave an important boost to the digital advancement of small businesses and traditional craft industries.
It was a successful afternoon that demonstrated that when AI is used wisely, it not only opens up new possibilities—but, above all, frees up valuable time for craftsmanship.