A new AI focused event in Inverness later this month aims to help women led businesses across the Highlands unlock growth, save time and build practical skills for the changing world of work.
AI Build Day will take place on 27 May 2026 and is being positioned as the first step in a wider ambition to make the Highlands a leading region for AI adoption and automation across Scotland.
The event follows discussions at the Highland Women Growth Summit earlier this year, where organisers challenged themselves to create practical ways for women in business to access the opportunities emerging around artificial intelligence.
Organisers Jill McAlpine of inpurpose associates and Geoff Todd of Farsight Digital Solutions say the focus is not on chasing trends or fashionable software, but on teaching business owners how to apply AI intelligently and safely within real businesses.
The timing also comes as Scotland attempts to accelerate AI adoption nationally after the Scottish Government published its AI Strategy for 2026 to 2031 earlier this year.
Research referenced by the national AI Scotland programme suggests around three quarters of Scottish SMEs have still not adopted AI and currently have no plans to.
Jill McAlpine said the Highlands already has the talent, networks and entrepreneurial mindset needed to lead.
“At the Highland Women Growth Summit, we set out the challenge to help women led businesses unlock opportunity, and AI Build Day is the natural next piece of that work.
“It starts with women, and the wider ambition is to bring every Highland business along with them.
“Geoff Todd, founder of Farsight Digital, and I are determined to build that capacity right across the region around AI and automation, with the data foundations underneath, to unlock growth for Highland businesses in this new world of work.
“Highland businesses can be the ones writing the playbook for Scotland.
“Our region already has the talent and the networks to lead on AI.”
The event will run from 9.30am until 3.30pm and promises a hands on approach, with attendees expected to leave having built working AI tools, practised prompting techniques and explored live automation systems during the day.
Organisers say no technical background is required.
The programme will also focus heavily on responsible AI use, including working securely with business data and creating AI policies using inpurpose’s Ethical AI framework.
Research published by Lean In earlier this year also highlighted a growing gender gap around AI adoption in workplaces, with men currently more likely to use AI tools daily and more likely to receive recognition or encouragement for doing so.
Organisers say the event is partly designed to close that gap by helping women business leaders build confidence and capability directly within their own organisations.
Geoff Todd, founder of Farsight Digital Solutions, said successful AI adoption depends far more on systems, structure and security than simply choosing the latest tools.
“Most of what makes AI actually work for a small business isn’t actually the AI tools themselves.
“It’s the business systems, the security wrapped around them, and how they interact.
“Get that right and AI has the context and access to deliver huge time and cost savings.
“Get it wrong and you carry hidden risk.
“That matters here in particular because the Highlands runs on its small businesses, and helping them thrive on this is personal for me.”
AI Build Day takes place in Inverness on Wednesday 27 May and is aimed at women leading, building or delivering within businesses across the Highlands and Islands.
Ticket booking at https://ai.inpurpose.co.uk/
