Webinar: AI and Your Business: An Introduction for Manufacturing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the manufacturing landscape—improving efficiency, reducing downtime, and helping businesses make faster, more informed decisions. What was once considered advanced is now a practical tool that manufacturers of all sizes can begin using today. This introductory webinar is designed specifically for manufacturing professionals who want to understand how AI applies directly to their operations.

We’ll explore how AI is already being used across manufacturing environments, including production planning, preventive maintenance, inventory management, quality control, and administrative workflows. You’ll learn how AI can reduce manual effort, improve consistency, and uncover insights from data that often goes underutilized. The session will also break down the differences between public AI tools and purpose-built solutions, helping you determine what fits your business and risk profile. We’ll cover how to write effective prompts to get better results from AI, along with practical applications in marketing, quoting and pricing, and document creation such as SOPs and work instructions.

We’ll also touch on how AI is influencing website traffic and customer behavior, and what that means for your sales and business development efforts. This session is ideal for manufacturers, plant managers, and business owners looking for a clear, practical introduction to AI without technical complexity. You’ll leave with a better understanding of where AI can deliver value and how to begin using it in your operations.

The webinar will be led by James R. Ladlee, State Program Leader for Emerging and Advanced Technology with Penn State Extension, where he guides the development of programs that help businesses and communities understand and adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence and data-driven tools.