Linda Cunningham launches AI Espresso for Australian business owners

Linda Cunningham has launched AI Espresso, a live online training series aimed at helping Australian business owners use AI in day-to-day work. The first Zoom session runs Oct. 28 and focuses on building a practical executive assistant tool for $29.

Why it matters: - AI adoption remains a pain point for many Australian small businesses, with National AI Centre research finding 19% of small and medium businesses did not know how to use AI in their business. - AI Espresso is aimed at closing that gap with practical training, not theory, for owners who need immediate, usable tools. - The series also targets business leaders who want to understand AI well enough to make informed decisions without becoming technical specialists.

What happened: - Linda Cunningham launched AI Espresso, a live online training series for Australian business owners. - The first session, AI Espresso Dream Executive Assistant, will run on Zoom from 11 am to 12 pm AEDT on Wednesday 28 October 2026. - Tickets for the first session cost $29. - Cunningham is based in Hawkesbury, Western Sydney. - Cunningham runs a self-publishing business selling books through Amazon and a new business focused on practical ways to use AI.

The details: - Cunningham will demonstrate an AI assistant she uses to bring together commitments from different places and create one summarized view of what needs attention. - The assistant can check her calendar, prepare draft replies and surface next actions. - Some tasks run automatically before Cunningham starts work. - Cunningham said the tool helps prevent tasks from falling off the list and brings back items she may have deprioritised, ignored or put in the too-hard basket. - Each live one-hour AI Espresso session focuses on one real application Cunningham has built and uses in her own businesses. - The series draws on more than 20 years of Cunningham’s work delivering technology change across banking, global medical technology, government and essential services. - Cunningham’s career has centered on bridging communication between business teams and technical delivery teams. - She first began using AI in her publishing side hustle in 2023 while continuing her corporate career delivering technology programs. - By late 2025 and early 2026, AI had become a much bigger part of both her corporate and personal work. - In her corporate role, Cunningham was leading AI programs. - Outside work, Cunningham was building AI agents and automations for repeatable tasks and vibe coding apps by describing what she wanted in plain language. - Cunningham said that at 53 she wondered whether it was too late to reinvent herself, and that change can feel hard when someone has spent years building credibility and authority. - Cunningham has since left corporate and is pivoting into a new business focused on practical ways to use AI. - Cunningham said many business owners, often women, lead with the idea that they are not good with technology. - Cunningham argues that using AI well comes down to communication, including explaining what is wanted, giving context, asking good questions and working with the response. - auDA’s Digital Lives of Australians research found 72% of women believed they did not have the technical skills required for a career in IT and technology, compared with 54% of men. - Cunningham believes business owners and leaders need direct experience with AI tools to understand what they can do and make informed decisions about how they are used. - Cunningham said one useful application can lead to another, gradually building confidence and capability. - Cunningham also sees an opportunity for people in the middle and later stages of their careers as businesses, customers and workplaces continue to change. - Cunningham said experienced workers can combine judgement, domain knowledge and AI to not just keep up, but lead. - Cunningham is available for interview on practical AI adoption, career reinvention after 50, women and technology confidence, and how experienced business owners can use AI to amplify their existing knowledge. - More information is available on her LinkedIn profile, Instagram account, Facebook page, YouTube channel and TikTok account.

Between the lines: - AI Espresso is positioned as a confidence-building product for non-technical owners, especially those who feel behind as AI adoption speeds up. - Cunningham’s pitch blends practical productivity with career reinvention, which may resonate with mid-career professionals weighing whether they can still adapt. - The emphasis on lived examples, not slides about strategy, suggests a hands-on format designed to lower the barrier to entry.

What's next: - Cunningham plans to continue the AI Espresso series with additional one-hour sessions built around tools she has already tested in her own businesses. - Interest in the first session will indicate how much demand exists for practical, low-cost AI training among Australian business owners. - Cunningham is also expected to use the series to build her new AI-focused business and public profile.

The bottom line: - AI Espresso is Cunningham’s bet that Australian business owners want simple, practical AI lessons they can use right away, not more abstract talk about the future of work.