AI course in Johannesburg: a free live workshop you join online
If you work in Johannesburg and want to use AI properly at work, you can start with our free 3-hour workshop, which runs online, live on Zoom, with no venue in Johannesburg and nothing to drive to. It runs at 12:00 SAST on a Saturday or a Sunday, so it fits around a working week in Sandton, Rosebank, Midrand or the CBD. The sessions are live online, and people join from other countries too.
This guide looks at the work people in Johannesburg actually do, where AI saves the most time in it, what to keep out of a chatbot, and how to join.
Key facts about our free AI workshop
- Free, live on Zoom, Saturday or Sunday
- 3 hours, 10:00-13:00 UK, 11:00-14:00 CET, 12:00-15:00 SAST, on Saturday or Sunday (you pick one)
- ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini on your own work
- No coding needed
Is there an in-person AI course venue in Johannesburg?
Not for our workshop. It runs only online, so you join from home, the office or anywhere with a stable connection. For most people in Gauteng that is the easier option: no parking, no travel time, and you work on your own laptop with your own files open, which is where the learning sticks.
Live online is not the same as a recorded video. A host takes you through each step, you try it on your own tasks as you go, and you can ask questions about your own work and get an answer on the spot.
What kind of work is done in Johannesburg?
Johannesburg is South Africa's biggest office economy. The City of Johannesburg says the city produces about 16% of the country's GDP and nearly 40% of Gauteng's output, and that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is Africa's largest (City of Johannesburg, 2 April 2026). That means a lot of people whose working day is email, reports, spreadsheets, proposals and meetings: exactly the work AI tools are good at.
| Figure | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg's share of South Africa's GDP | About 16% | City of Johannesburg, Apr 2026 |
| Johannesburg's share of Gauteng's output | Nearly 40% | City of Johannesburg, Apr 2026 |
| Foreign investment projects in the city that are software and IT | Nearly 19% | City of Johannesburg, Apr 2026 |
| Johannesburg Stock Exchange market capitalisation | Over 1.28 trillion US dollars | City of Johannesburg, Apr 2026 |
| Gauteng official unemployment rate, Q2 2026 | 34.6% | Stats SA, QLFS Q2 2026 presentation |
| Change in people employed in Gauteng, Q1 to Q2 2026 | Down 22,000 | Stats SA, QLFS Q2 2026 media release |
The last two rows matter for anyone in work. Stats SA's Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the second quarter of 2026 shows Gauteng was one of three provinces where employment fell. When teams shrink, the people who stay are asked to do more, and an hour saved on a weekly report is an hour back.
Want to try this with a host on hand? Join the free live workshop on Zoom: three hours, Saturday or Sunday, 10:00-13:00 UK, 11:00-14:00 CET, 12:00-15:00 SAST, working with ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini on your own work. Save my free seat.
Which Johannesburg jobs get the most out of AI first?
Start where your week has the most repeated writing and checking. A few examples from jobs that are common in Johannesburg:
- Finance and accounting teams: drafting the commentary on monthly management accounts, explaining a variance in plain English, and getting formula help in Excel. Our guides AI for accountants and AI in Excel go into detail.
- Financial advisers and bank staff: turning meeting notes into a client follow-up, and summarising a long product document into the three points a client cares about. See AI for financial advisers.
- Consultants and head-office managers: a first draft of a proposal or a board pack summary, and minutes with actions from a recorded meeting (see summarise meetings with AI).
- Sales and marketing: tailored follow-up emails, research on a prospect's public annual report, and five versions of a campaign line to test.
- HR and admin: job descriptions, policy summaries for staff, and standard letters, with personal details left out.
In every case the habit is the same: give the tool your context, ask for a format, then check the result before it goes anywhere.
What should a Johannesburg company keep out of chatbots?
Many Johannesburg employers hold a lot of personal information: bank clients, policyholders, patients, employees. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) applies to all of it, and the Information Regulator enforces it. In practice:
- Remove names, ID numbers, account numbers and contact details before you paste text into a chatbot.
- Use the AI tools your employer has approved, on the work account, where they exist.
- Do not upload client contracts, payslips or medical details to a personal chatbot account.
This is general information, not legal advice. If you handle sensitive personal data, confirm your obligations with an attorney. Our guide POPIA and AI at work covers it in more depth.
How do people in Johannesburg join the workshop?
- Sign up on the homepage and pick Saturday or Sunday; the homepage shows the next workshop weekend.
- Zoom emails you your own join link and a calendar invite.
- On the day, join from a laptop with the Zoom app installed rather than the browser, because some features only work in the app.
- Bring one task from your own work, such as a report, an email you write every week or a spreadsheet you dread.
The session runs 10:00-13:00 UK, 11:00-14:00 CET, 12:00-15:00 SAST, so you can still do the morning school run or the gym first.
What does the free workshop cover?
Over three hours you set up AI to know you and your job, learn prompting techniques that work, get answers from your own documents, see real AI agents and apps built for businesses, watch an app built live and then use it, and write a process once so AI follows it every time. You leave with a 30-day plan. Our hosts have taught more than 12,000 people.
Training a team at a Johannesburg office rather than just yourself? Send a team enquiry. If you are not ready to join yet, get the newsletter and read our wider guide, AI course in South Africa: where to start.
No coding needed. Join live: you can ask your questions as you go, and you leave with something you can use on Monday. Save my free seat.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free AI course in Johannesburg?
Yes. Upskill in AI runs a free live 3-hour workshop on Zoom on set weekends, 10:00-13:00 UK, 11:00-14:00 CET, 12:00-15:00 SAST, on Saturday or Sunday. You join from home or the office in Johannesburg; there is no venue.
Is the workshop held at a venue in Johannesburg?
No. It runs only online, live on Zoom, so there is nothing to drive to. Join from a laptop with the Zoom app installed.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You work with ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in plain language on tasks from your own job.