Webinar to discuss how AI can help small businesses
A CSU Bakersfield Small Business Development Center webinar highlights practical ways small businesses can use artificial intelligence, evaluate platforms, and apply new tools while preserving their own voice and customer relationships.
Webinar to discuss how AI can help small businesses
A practical session for local entrepreneurs
A free webinar tied to CSU Bakersfield’s Small Business Development Center focuses on how artificial intelligence can be used in practical, day-to-day ways by small businesses rather than as a distant or abstract trend. The session is presented as part of the center’s long-running “Webinar Wednesday” series and is aimed at employers, entrepreneurs, and business owners looking for guidance on how to adopt new digital tools without unnecessary complexity.
The program is hosted by Kelly Bearden, director of the Small Business Development Center at CSU Bakersfield, and features Justin Powers, owner and founder of Kernville Cowork and an SBDC business advisor. Together, they frame the discussion around common questions small business owners are already asking: what AI can actually do, how to choose a platform, and how to tell the difference between useful automation and overhyped promises.
What the webinar covers
The presentation emphasizes applied business use rather than theory. The discussion centers on how AI can support productivity, inspiration, and assistance across everyday operations. It also explores how owners can evaluate available platforms and understand where AI fits into current workflows.
A major theme is that AI should complement existing business practices instead of overpowering them. The session stresses the importance of protecting a company’s brand voice, maintaining business context, and making sure customer communication still feels authentic. That is especially relevant for smaller firms that compete on trust, responsiveness, and personal relationships.
“AI as a tool, not a replacement”
That message runs through the broader presentation. Rather than suggesting that software should take over decision-making, the webinar presents AI as something that can help owners and staff work more efficiently while still keeping human judgment at the center.
Sales, marketing, and customer service uses
The session gives particular attention to areas where many small firms can see immediate results. Those include sales and marketing, customer relationship management, content creation, and customer service. The discussion also points to how AI is increasingly built into tools businesses may already be using, especially CRM and outreach platforms.
That makes the webinar relevant not only to businesses actively shopping for a new AI product, but also to owners trying to understand whether their current software already includes AI-driven features. The presentation also touches on how to recognize inquiries or outreach that may have been generated with AI, a useful skill as automated communication becomes more common in sales and marketing.
Why it matters in Bakersfield and the Central Valley
The event carries particular significance for Bakersfield and the wider Central Valley because it is rooted in a local support network for regional entrepreneurs. The CSU Bakersfield SBDC serves business owners in Kern County and neighboring areas, while Kernville Cowork represents a more grassroots startup and small-business hub in the Kern River Valley.
For a region where many businesses operate with lean staffs and limited budgets, the appeal of AI lies less in headline-grabbing innovation and more in practical efficiency. Tools that save time on writing, organizing leads, managing customer interactions, or streamlining internal work can be especially valuable for smaller firms that do not have dedicated technology teams.
The webinar also reflects a broader shift in the local business environment: AI is no longer being discussed only in large corporate or research settings. It is becoming part of ordinary conversations about how neighborhood businesses, service providers, and growing startups can stay competitive.
Broader technology significance
From a technology standpoint, the session highlights an important transition in how AI is being introduced to the public. Instead of focusing on futuristic claims, it treats AI as a business utility that must be evaluated the same way owners would assess any other software investment: by its usefulness, fit, cost, and effect on customer relationships.
That matters because small businesses often face the challenge of adopting new technology without wasting money, losing their identity, or creating more work than they eliminate. By centering platform selection, integration, and tone of voice, the webinar suggests that successful AI adoption depends less on chasing the newest tool and more on understanding the business problem being solved.
The program also reinforces the idea that local institutions like the Small Business Development Center can play an important role in helping smaller companies navigate technological change. In that sense, the webinar is not just about one training session; it reflects how regional business support organizations are helping translate fast-moving tech trends into practical guidance for local employers.
Continued support beyond the event
The webinar is presented alongside the center’s broader offer of free one-on-one consulting for new and existing businesses. That gives the event added importance, since attendees are not simply being introduced to AI concepts in isolation. They are also being connected to a support system that can help them decide whether, where, and how those tools make sense for their own operations.
For Bakersfield-area businesses, that combination of instruction and follow-up advice may be the most important takeaway. It turns AI from a vague buzzword into a set of decisions that can be tested, adapted, and aligned with local business needs.
Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Business Desk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.